Our very first Europe Trip together as a family….. here we go!
It was Taj (5) and Jax (almost 4) first time across the Atlantic Ocean and first visit to the European Continent. We were so excited to embark on this momentous journey. Thanks to our friend Mike and Julia's wedding in the Austrian Alps in the month of September, it gave us the perfect opportunity to begin our Euro travel but most importantly we combined it with a little walk down memory lane for my early beginnings of childhood (Austria) and introduction to the Czech culture and family. It was incredibly important for me to introduce the boys to their Czech culture, extended family and cousins their age, and to just build on the connection to the country, language, and people. Coincidentally at age 5, I myself was introduced (in reverse) to the Austrian and American culture in our immigration process from the former Czechoslovakia. I remember so many different things from that period of my life, the first impressions, and the transition. I hope that the boys too, will remember this significant trip and that it will pave the way for many future visits.
We flew from Toronto through London, to Vienna. One of the perks of living in WNY, is having Toronto a mere 3 hour drive which really truly simplifies travel to Europe as the flights are better priced, shorter duration, and more direct routes. The one negative is that all the flights are red eye (overnight) and though we thought we could sleep the whole 7 hours to London, I was wrong. The boys were excited and restless, and they did not want to sleep. Even when they began to tire, they had a hard time getting comfortable and stretching out. I ended up with Jax's head in my lap for a huge chunk of the flight, and my bottom basically numbed from not being able to move about. Those are the sacrifices mommies have to make in order for their children to catch some ZZZ's!
London layover. The airport was awesome and very state-of-the-art. Yummy eggs benedict (and great cappuccino) made for a lovely British breakfast, as you can see Taj was really savoring it!
A hop and skip of a flight over to Vienna, and we arrived in the evening in time to rent our car and drive to our hotel. The hotel was perfect for us, and couldn't have arranged it better with us being able to go to bed right away.
The next morning we woke up refreshed and re-energized. The hotel had a complimentary breakfast Austrian style with an elaborate spread of yogurts, cheeses, deli meat, bakery…. it was nice! They even had a kids corner which we learned is typical every place you go. They cater to children so much.
Our first stop during our Austria time, was Ramsau-Bei-Hainfeld. A teeny village my family and I moved to upon escaping Communism in Czech. Here we were given refugee protection and housing. It hasn't changed much since, as the same family that ran it then, continues to house refugees from many different countries- the most recent Afghanistan. I took Brad and boys to visit my old school where I remember attending kindergarten…. I was Taji's age when we lived here. It was like coming full circle visiting the school with MY 5 year old!
the school's playground
the old church we attended with our class almost every morning when school started
This was the lodge we lived in. Looked much prettier with flower boxes back when we lived there in our 1 room we shared as a family of 4. Bathrooms were communal and most families lived together in a small room the size of a hotel room. We lived here almost a year before we were granted sponsorship in the US.
our rental car
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