June 17th- Wien/Cortina, Italy

June 17th- Wien/Cortina, Italy

Another great day!  We went to the delicious buffet again at the
Marriott for Breakfast, and then headed to church!  We were a bit late
getting out of the hotel parking lot, because we couldn't find the
ticket for our parking!  Oops!  Then as soon as we got out of the
parking lot, the main street that the GPS kept trying to get us to
take was closed because there was ANOTHER parade going on!  First the
Gay Parade, then this motorcycle parade!  Parade central!  Yowsas!
Anyways...so we FINALLY made it to church just a little bit late-
which was kind of scary considering M & D were the speakers!  But they
held the meeting for a few minutes for us so that it wasn't too
stressful for my poor parents.  Helmut Wundra also spoke- the man that
took us around yesterday! He's the Stake President (like I said
yesterday) and such a wonderful man.  He and his wife-and their 2
cutest ever kids!-were so much fun to be around.  Everyone spoke so
wonderfully!  The interpreters were even working the whole time for me
this time!  Last Sunday, I didn't get to hear either of my parents
talks because my headset wasn't working.  But I got to hear them
today, and they were both wonderful.  It was SOOOOOO flippin hot in
the chapel though!  Wow!  I was literally dripping sweat through the
whole meeting!  It was bad news!  So after church, we drove for a
minute and stopped at a gas station so that everyone could change
their clothes and get a little bite to eat.  We just got Gas Station
Sandwiches and they weren't too bad!  I guess I dont' mind gas station
sandwiches! :)  After that, we took an incredibly LONG, but probably
the most beautiful drive I've ever taken!  Seriously....it was
absolutely breathtaking.  It was SUPER long though!  Stockton was a
little angel for most of the trip, but then as soon as he was done, he
was DONE!   Poor little tyke cried for the last hour or so of the
trip!  When we got to Cortina, Italy, he was one happy camper!  Wow-
this city is absolutely amazing!  It is SO gorgeous!  It is SO green
everywhere, and the buildings, homes, hotels- everything- are
absolutely beautiful!  We hopped out of the car- happy to be
stretching our legs- and checked into our hotel.  Coolest. Hotel.
EVER.  It's called the Villa Alpina, and it is an old school hotel
with different decor stuff in each room, and it is so cute and quaint!
The rooms are REALLY fun and big, and it was actually quite cheap to
stay here!  Something like $100 a night or something- pretty good!  I
tell you what- we never would have been able to do this trip!  WAY too
expensive!  We had a hard time doing Paris, and we didn't even have to
pay for the plane ticket to get to Europe!  The hotel was enough for
us!  So I am SO grateful to my parents for such a wonderful
opportunity.  This is a once in a lifetime trip- that's for sure!
After we checked into our hotel, we headed out to find an Italian
Pizza!  And find one- we did!  We went to a delicious little pizzeria
and Cole got a pizza and I got some pasta so as not to upset the
little brother too much!  They were both very yummy.  Another good
meal!  I've gained my fair share of weight on this old trip- I tell
ya!  Kind of makes me sick, but what can ya do.  Get it off when I get
home I guess.  We are in the Dolimite mountains right now in Cortina,
Italy, and they are spectacular.  Such a neat place to visit.  I can't
wait for tomorrow when we get to see some more of them!

Cool random castle on the way to Italy

And another...

Aren't those mountains spectacular?!

Baby Snuggle time!

Main street in Cortina

The Dolomites

Main street again

June 16th- Wien

June 16th- Wien

Happy 8th Anniversary to US!  Yeah!  Today is Cole and I's wedding
anniversary, and what better way to spend it then here in Vienna.  We
had a great day.  We started out the day with a VERY fancy breakfast
here at the Marriott- complete with some contention regarding the
price of our breakfast between an employee and my Dad, but after that
all got taken care of, we enjoyed a very lovely breakfast!  After
that, we met the Stake President and his family here in Wien- the
Helmut and Julia Wondra (I think?) and they gave us a guided tour of
the city while my Mom and Dad met with a missionary that is struggling
a little bit.  It actually took them a lot longer than planned, so we
had a really nice tour with them.  They were SOO nice and they had
their 2 little boys with them so it helped us to think about our
cuties at home for a bit.  They showed us a whole bunch of things!  We
saw St. Stephens Cathedral which was so beautiful, some Crypts where
the Hapsburg (royal family) was buried, we also saw the church where
their insides were all buried ! Why they are buried in two different
places, I dont' know!  We saw the royal palace, the old one and then
newer one.  We saw some really neat old Roman Ruins that were built
over 2000 years ago!  Randomly, we were walking the streets and we
heard some music, and a cool marching band made up of really old men
came walking by and we listened to them for a minute.  It was so cool!
We saw a memorial to the Austrians that were killed in the
concentration camps- very humbling and interesting to hear about!  We
also walked along the major street of Wien for a while, and saw alot
of really nice places to shop!  It was really fun!  Then, my parents
called, and it was time for lunch, so we went to the restaurant that
Helmut and Julia (and apparently everyone else too!) said that had the
best Schnitzel in Austria!  And it was SO delicious!  Wow!  HUGE too!
I got the Chicken Cordon Bleu, which was SO yummy, and Cole shared the
schnitzel with my dad, and we loved them both.  It was SOOO hot in the
restaurant, that I couldn't even stay in there to feed the baby, so
after we ate, we headed back to the St. Stephens Cathedral to feed him
because he was so grouchy that it was so hot!  I don't blame the poor
fella!  After, we went to the Wondra's favorite Ice Cream shop, and
BOY was it delicious!  Of course, I couldn't have anything milk based,
but they had the BEST Sorbet EVER!  I had the grapefruit and lime, and
it totally hit the spot. Cole got the Strawberry (probably the best
either of us has ever had! and the Mozart (a chocolate ice cream with
martzipan and pistachios..mmmmmm) So we were both very pleased. :)
After that, we parted ways with that cute family and walked back to
the hotel- on the way walking past a building that we wanted to see-
RIGHT into the heart of the BIGGEST gay parade I've ever seen!  YIKES!
Alot of things that I did NOT need to see today!  There are alot of
naked things here in Europe that I did NOT need to see, but what can
you do.  When we finally made it back to our hotel- after a LONG walk-
we decided to just take a bit of a rest.  We were all very tired,
because it was SOOO hot today.  So, we got back and the boys all went
down to the swimming pool for a dip, and Stockton and I stayed in the
room and had a little snooze. Much needed, might I add!  When we got
up, everyone was still just kind of hangin around, so Cole and I
decided to go out and take a stroll through town again.  We weren't
out long, because Stockton blew out of his pants and we had to go back
early!  Silly boy.  We got back and everyone was still just kind of
hangin- so we didn't head out for dinner until about 8 again.  We have
been eating SO late every night!  No wonder i am so chubby!  :)
Dinner was pretty good, but we had an apple strudel for dessert and
it was SO delicious!
    For our anniversary, Cole and I were going to take a carriage ride
through the city, but it was too expensive, so we just headed back to
the hotel gift shop- didn't end up getting anything because we
couldn't find anything!  So, we headed back up to our room to a
grouchy baby boy that took us about 30-45 minutes to put to bed.  Ah
nuts.  Off to bed now, big day ahead of us tomorrow!

This 05 symbol was everywhere all over Austria- apparently- and Helmut told us it was a sign of the Resistance during WWII.  I thought it was so cool to see that it was all over the place!

Some cool ruins RIGHT in the middle of the city!  So cool!  Cole thought these were really neat.

Helmut and Julia giving us some cool info.  It was SO neat to have these guys give us the tour! 

St. Stephens Cathederal.  Helmut said they are ALWAYS cleaning it up!  That is a big job!

Cool marching band dude

Most random thing ever!  we never did actually figure out why they were marching and/or playing!

Best schnitzel we had (and they say there is anywhere!) in Germany.  It was SOOO delicious!

Their two boys were so cute, and reminded us lots of our own crazy boys!

"The King"- he was upset because I had some cheese, or something.  SO sad.  But he sure enjoyed hangin with Grandma for a minute while Cole and I enjoyed our Anniversary Dessert- which was absolutely delicious- by the way!

June 15th- Salzburg/Wien

June 15th- Salzburg/Wien

We woke up this morning and headed out pretty early (after breakfast
of course- which was delicious, as always!) to the Kleinstein house-
or the "Eagles Nest".  It was absolutely spectacular!  It was a little
bit of a drive to get there, maybe 20 or 30 minutes or so, and you get
onto a bus that takes you 6 km to the top of a really high peak where
there is a "tea house" that was given to Hitler for his 50th birthday
from somoene- can't remember who!- and it is where he got away
apparently- kind of like a summer home- and he would host dignitaries,
and other high up people and stuff like that there.  The house was
still there- it wasn't bombed after the war like so many of the other
places- but they were able to preserve it, and it was absolutely
BEAUTIFUL!  We didn't get to have the chance to go into the actual
building for a tour, because we didn't go up there with a prearranged
tour group, but we did get to walk around and see the view- which was
absolutely spectacular!  Seriously...I don't know if I've ever in my
life seen anything so spectacular.  You could see for MILES and MILES
in every direction and it was absolutely beautiful.  You could see the
Kornigsee one way, the town of Salzburg another way, and some of the
other towns as well. It was so awesome.  We were able to stay up there
for about an hour or so- maybe an hour and a half, then we headed back
down to the busses and headed back down.  Then, it was time for lunch.
We got into the "Bread Loaf"-that's what our car looks like!- and
went a few minutes out of the town where the bus for the Eagles nest
was and had some pizza.  It was very delicious!  I really shouldn't
have had it though, because now Stockton is going to be a basket case!
Poor little lamb.  But there really wasn't much else that I could
have ordered- so I was stuck.  we'll just have to deal with it for the
next little while I guess.  After lunch, we hopped into the car and
drove a LONG time- about 4 hours, maybe a bit more- into Wien
(Vienna).  We got there in great time because we needed to be there by
about 8 or so so that we could get to our concert.  The concert was SO
fun!  It was the music of Johann Strauss and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
and it was great.  The orchestra was great, and there were a few
dancers, and some opera singers!  It was actually really neat.
Stockton was NOT very good during the concert, and they were not about
to let me sit in there if he made any noise at all, so I stayed out
with him for most of the first half of the concert, and during
intermission he was crying unconsolably, so Cole took him back to our
hotel to go to sleep.  What a nice boy- Cole that is!  I sure do love
him. :)  After the concert, we came back to the hotel, which was RIGHT
across the street from the concert hall and retired for the evening!
Another fun and full day!  Here in Wien, we are staying in the
Marriott, and it is SO NICE!  It is really humid here, so it feels a
bit like I just got out of a swimming pool all of the time, but the
rooms here are really nice, so it's not that bad!  Wien is nice.

Salzburg in the background there

The tunnel leading to the elevator to ascend to the Kleinstein house

There's the Konigsee there in the background.  NBD

Higher view of the Kleinstein house

Johan Strauss

Here we are waiting to start the second half of the concert- Cole had to leave by this time. :(  Nuts!

June 14th- Konigsee/Salzburg

June 14th- Konigsee/Salzburg

We had a fun day today!  We woke up pretty early in Munich and got all
ready for the day and packed the car up to head to the most beautiful
lake ever!  The lake was called Konigsee (sp?) and it is right out of
Salzurg- I believe!  We got into the little tourist town (not sure
what it's called) and hopped on a boat- the coolest old boats!- and
took a beautiful 45+ minute ride up to another lake. Unbelievably
beautiful. I just can't get over how beautiful everything is here!
Wow!  We are all pretty tired for some reason today!  Stockton did NOT
do so well last night, and I was up doing laundry in the middle of the
night, so we were a bit tired for the car rides.  Everyone caught the
sleepy bug on the boat too and were sleeping all over the place!  It
was so neat though.  Lovin Europe, and I can't believe that we are
already/only half way done!  This has been so much fun.  It is just so
much fun to be here with my Mom and Dad.  I have really missed them,
and it is really fun to be with them again- even if only just for a
few weeks.  Sad that my kids don't get to see them, and be with them,
but doing this trip, I realize how impossible and NOT really that fun
it would be to be here with them all!  It has been super fun with
Stockton, because he is still so portable and easy, but I believe it
would be hard with the big kids.
    Anyways....after the Konigsee, we hurried into the car to see if we
could make it to the "Eagles Nest"- one of Hitler's hide outs/summer
homes- but as soon as we got into the car, we found out that the last
bus went up there at 4!  Nuts...it was 4:15.  Dang.  So, we are going
to have to decide if we want to try and do it tomorrow.  I think that
it sounds so cool!  I want to see as many WWII things as we can. I
can't wait to go to Dachau.  I hope that we get to.  So, because we
missed the last bus, we decided just to head into Salzburg and see the
city!  Wow- what an amazing city.  Austria is SO awesome!  We got to
see lots of things tonight!  We got to see the gardens where they
filmed the Do-Re-Me song on Sound of Music- the Mirabell Gardens and
castle, the stairs where they hop up during that song, Mozarts birth
house and house where he grew up, the Mozart Statue, the cemetery that
they designed the cemetery that is on Sound of Music at the end- St.a
really neat fortress called MohelSalzburg ( I believe)- meaning "High
Salzburg".  It was SO neat!  The boys (Lincoln and Payton) would have
LOVED it!  There was the coolest Turret, cool old doors, windows and
floors, and the view was spectacular.  It was really neat.  We were
all really hungry after doing all of these fun things in the city, so
we headed to a really yummy place for dinner!  My parents had been
there before and wanted to take us there, so there we went!  I had the
Salmon and it was delicious!  I guess I really like to eat.  We were
so hungry that we even ate dessert as well!  All I felt like was a
crepe with chocolate on it- and they had those!  So, I was in heaven.
Cole got a delicious piece of chocolate cake!  What a fun thing.
After dinner we headed back to our hotel so that we could get an early
start!  We are missing our other kids though- that is for sure!  We
sure do love those little squirts!

My cute dad

Are you KIDDING me about this kid?!  He was like this the WHOLE trip!

The boat that we took to the upper sea- the Obersea- I believe.

Stockton LOVES to put his head hanging down.  Silly boy.

Uncle Ty was kind enough to carry Stock-o for the day. 

COOLEST forest ever- walking up to the Obersea

Up top at the Obersea.  SO pretty!

Probably my favorite picture of the trip

They had these cool vineyards everywhere. They are so pretty- I think!

And Castles

The boat house on Konigsee

On to Salzburg!  This is the garden where they preformed the Do-Re-Mi song

The steps

Cute little floppy ear

This is where Mozart was born

And this is where he grew up!

The Patch Man!

The Turrets on the fort up on top of the hill

View of Salzburg from the top

The Graveyard where they patterned the scene at the end of Sound of Music after.

Mozart Statue