Sidewalk Sweeper (Living in Austria)

This post goes along with the last one. This past week the work crews came around to our neighborhood and picked up all the rocks that they had put down in the winter (over here they don't use salt, or a salt/sand, or a salt/sand/rock mix they put down straight rocks). One of the guys here was saying that they pick up the little rocks and save them over the summer to be used again next winter. To pick the rocks up though, they don't use a lot of people with brooms and shovels instead they have mini street sweepers that fit down the small sidewalks that do the work for them (granted there is a person with a shovel to get the few that the sidewalk sweepers miss). The street sweepers back home are some big machines, where these little guys will fit right down the sidewalk no problem, and they aren't intimidating if they are coming right at you from 10 feet away.
When they pick up the rocks it means that spring is for sure here (and it has been beautiful out), I just hope mother nature doesn't pull some WI weather stuff and send some more snow this way.

Snow - Salt right? (Living in Austria)

This is an old entry that I had written and forgot to post online. Its a little late and irrelevant, but it shows a little more into what living in Austria is like.

For the most part of this winter we have enjoyed warmer weather and very little snow (the exception being the last 2 weeks where it has been very cold and the last 5 days where it seems to have snowed every day). With the multiple days of snow there was a lot of shoveling that needed to be done and, you would think, salt needed to be put down so people wouldn't slip. Well, over here they do it a little different. Instead of having a big bucket of salt and walking around and throwing it down to melt the ice/snow, they have little "trucks" that they drive around on the sidewalks that put down rocks. The rocks aren't very big, maybe the size of a dime, but I guess they are supposed to help give you traction while walking on a slippery surface. I am not certain what they put on the roads but my guess is that it would be the same thing. Then once it gets warmer they hop in the little machines and come around and pick up the rocks to use again for the next. I dont think they work quite as well as the salt we would use back home, but it seems that they have a pretty slick system and if nobody falls and gets hurt it must be working.

Living in Austria - Autobahn

Here in Austria the highways (autobahns) are the easiest way to get from one place to another. Unlike back home in WI though they are not free. Here you have to pay a sort of toll so you can use the highway. But, unlike driving to Chicago there isn't nice little booths with friendly people that glady accept your money, over here you are supposed to buy something called a Vignette to put on your window. The Vignette goes on the windshield (either behind the rear-view mirror or off to the side on the upper right or left corner of your windshield - so it doesn't obstruck your view while driving) and is automatically read when you go past certain points (cameras on the highway).
The prices for a car:
10 day pass is: 7.70 Euros
A month pass is: 21.80 Euros
A year pass is: 72.60 Euros

It is possible to get to places without using the highways but it would take a lot longer, especially as there are a lot of tunnels that go through the mountains instead of going around or over them. (I think that is why you have to pay to use the highways here because of the cost to build them - they have to recoup that money somewhere - and I am sure a tunnel isnt cheap to drill)

Living in Austria - that pile stinks

This post has to do with one of the business parts of the day. I'm not talking about the one where there is a boss or you have a desk or a cubicle, the business I'm talking about has to do with reading a magazine/doing a Sudoku, possibly having some really good ideas, or maybe even just relaxing. Yep I'm talking about the business of #2, numero dos, nummer zwei.
Over here the toilets are a little bit different than the ones back home and in the spirit of trying to share what life is like over here I wanted to make sure I didn't leave anything out. In the picture you can see our lovely "toilette" (pronounced toy-let-a). You may notice that there isn't a little handle that you push down to flush. Instead the flushing mechanism in on top of the toilet. The toilets here are like back home in a way, where if you push the lever/button all the way down the toilet will flush with a lot of water. Well, this isn't always necessary, so when you push down on one side of the button and the toilets starts to flush you can also push down on the other side to stop the flow of water. Seems simple enough but I think it is a great water saving idea.
Aside from the this the toilets are pretty much the same, except for one major difference. The bowls. The bowls back home are filled with water, and describing the process aside, whatever you did flushes down in the water. Over here - not the same. The bowls are not filled with water almost all the way like they are back home. There is a ledge that catches whatever you deposit.
Have you ever walked past a fresh pile of dog poo out in the open? It stinks, and you are roughly 6 feet above it, now try sitting 6 inches above it. And then there is the problem of getting what rests on the ledge to actually go down. Have you ever stepped in dog poo and then tried to wipe it off? Not the easiest thing in the world if you don't have water. Same deal here. The ledge is without water and so your business sometimes gets stuck...not streaks, but the piles; and unless you have a toilet brush handy you're better think quick...dook and dash (like dine and dash) or find some way to get it to go down.
Being the reader-of-this-blog-loving-person that I am I will give you some tips if you ever find yourself in Europe at business time.

1) You can put a couple strips of toilet paper down which will act as a barrier on top of the ledge and send what is supposed to go down where it is supposed to go. (this however doesn't alleviate the smell.

2) The better option is to push the flush button as you go (remembering that you can stop the flow of water as well). You can still crack the magazine, think, or work on that Sudoku but this way you can do it in a non-terrible-smelling environment (the people after might thank you as well :) ).

Sledding.......For Real

What do you do if you are by the Alps, but shouldn't ski as it could be really bad for your job (ex - hurt your knee or break your wrist)....GO SLEDDING!
Last week on Monday a teammate and I drove 2hrs45mins to a sledding hill - Wildkogel am Bramberg. It might sound kind of crazy but this place was cool. When we got there we rented sleds, and the sleds aren't your average plastic sled you can get at Walmart, or a saucer or inner-tube; these were the real deal. They were made out of wood and had metal lining on the two rungs that made contact with the snow. Then there was a woven net that you sat on and you had a rope to hang onto that could help you steer. - we asked how much it would cost to buy one of these sleds new - 140 euros (thats like $190)
To get to the top of the hill (mountain) we took a gondola up. Once we got a ways up we thought this was going to be awesome because the run looked so long and it turned out we were only halfway up the hill. At the top of the mountain we could see so far and see many of the different alps and we could barely see the houses at the bottom - which was awesome because we knew we were going to get to ride a sled the whole way down.
The sled run was 9 miles long (14kms) and the internet says it takes anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour depending on your skill level and how fast you can go. We did it twice. The first time it took us closer to an hour, especially as we stopped halfway down for a little break to warm up (they had a hut/bar/small restaurant halfway down that you could stop and grab something to eat/drink and warm up). Because we both didn't bring super warm boots and winter clothes - we had basketball shoes and thin winter coats- we took advantage of this. (And before the second run we stopped at the restaurant at the top of the hill and grabbed a hot chocolate and warmed up our toes).
The first run may have been a little slow and with a couple crashes into snow banks, but after we warmed our toes up and it was time for the second run it was game on and we hauled arse. The second time down we passed other sledders and even a lady on skis-we for sure made it down in 20 or so minutes. And the cool part about the 2nd time down is that we did half of it at night with the lights on. The run we did is actually the longest floodlight toboggan run in the world and we wanted to make sure we experienced that night aspect of it too.
I can't tell you how fast you get going but there were times where we were cruising. It was so cool....I definitely recommend if you get the chance to do something like this to do it!; and I am hoping that I will also get the chance to do it again.

Katy at home

The apartment here in Austria has a been a little quiet the last 1.5 weeks as it has just been me here. Katy flew home almost 2 weeks ago with Myla and spent time at home visiting her and my family.
Even though Myla was only 3 months old when she flew on the plane, Katy said she did really good. She only had one meltdown and that is because she was really tired. Otherwise, when she was awake she was people watching and flashing that bright smile at anybody who stopped to say hi. (I think she really likes to be where there is a lot going on so she can see whats happening). When you get on a plane and see a baby you get a little worried, at least I do. But Katy said that the other people on the plane really liked her and had a lot of fun with her.
While at home Katy got to see a lot of our families and many people got to meet Myla for the first time. Myla got to meet many of her cousins and had some fun playing with them. Katy said they were pretty busy while they were back but said she really enjoyed the time with everyone!
They fly back this week and I am very excited to see my two girls again and give them both big hugs. Two weeks doesn't seem like it would be that long, but it felt like it was a long time and it will be good to have them back.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Like I mentioned in the last post, the Chirstmas trees over here are a little bit different shape and the way they decorate them is a little bit different too. I think each person has there own way of decorating but I think I can make a generalizations. Usually a tree over here will have one color theme. So for example if the color you choose is red there most of the things you put on the tree will be red.
To decorate the trees over here they use balls, lights, and sometimes garland and tinsel (like we do), but here is where the similarities end. In addition or in place of lights every tree over here will have real candles that will be lit.
To keep with the fire theme many of the trees will be donned with sparklers that are lit at the same time as the candles - pyro anyone? (But I asked and the few different people I have talked to have said that there is really no worry of the tree going up and you dont hear any stories of that happening over here so I guess it is not that big of a risk - and they ususally only have the candles lit for a little while).
Aside from the live flame aspects of decorating the tree many of the other decorations are also different. In addition to balls many trees over here will have straw ornaments, as that is a traditional way to decorate the tree. And when you decorate the tree why would just put inedible ornaments on it? Pretty much every chocolate maker has chocolates shaped as bells, balls, or some other christmas shape that will either hang on the brach of the tree by itself or they attach a string to it so it can be hung.
Two of the more popular chocolates to hang on the tree are: a chocolate banana (or banana flavored chocolate pieces - I see alot of those in the stores) and chocolates shaped as umbrellas (I think becasue they are easy to hang on the tree with their little plastic handles)
You would think with all the edible stuff on the tree that candy canes might be a popular addition, but you would be wrong. I only saw candy canes in one place this year and it wasnt even a grocery store, or near other candy/chocolates. I havent seen any kids with cany canes nor have I seen anybody giving them as or with a present. Maybe the sharp point they get when you suck on them makes them too dangerous, but whatever the reason you wont find many candy canes in Austria.
The lighting of the tree -
Like us and Santa Claus, the kids get gifts from somebody special - the Christkind (Christchild). But the Christkind doesnt come down the Chimney during the night of the 25th. She comes on the evening of the 24th. Usually the kids are in another room playing or watching a movie - something to keep them busy - and a parent goes into the room where the Christkind will come. A special room
where the tree is and decorates it (as the kids cannot see this), puts chocolates on it, candles, ornaments, sparklers and of course puts the presents under the tree. Then they tell the kids to come wait outside the door to the room and the parent lights the candles and sparklers, opens the door and says the Christkind has come. This is the first time the children get to see the tree in all it glory as the Chrsitkind has decorated it and the presents that the Cristkind has brought. (Usually this is the time people open gifts to each other as well)
Even though the traditions are a little bit different I think we do many of the same things even if each culture has their own special twist. I do have to say being over is pretty cool though, as we get the chance to experience Christmas done in a little different way.