Austria.

After three days in Paris, we spent five (plus two mostly-travel) days in Austria. As amazing as our time in Paris was, we were beyond excited to hang out with T's sister and brother-in-law in the place they call home for eight months of the year. You might remember that Alex plays hockey in the Austrian league - yep, this is one hockey-loving family that I joined. He and T were actually goalies together in college, which is a whole other story. At any rate, we get to see Avery and Alex in their summer apartment in Boston and during summer family gatherings in Connecticut, but without ever having been to their home in Linz, we always felt a little too far removed from the primary part of their year.

Now, we're officially in the know. When Avery tells stories about the rest of the folks in their Melrose Place-style Austrian hockey commune, we know exactly who's who. Instead of just noticing whether Alex's team won or lost, we're now looking at every player's stats. More than that, though, we got to see them in a place they've come to love, a place where they're building roots, and there's nothing more worthwhile than that.

I didn't take as many pictures as I should have in Austria. We were around so many more people that my photographer's instinct slipped away. So not pictured in this slideshow are hilariously fun evenings of hanging out with A&A and the rest of the team and their corresponding "WAGs" (that's "Wives and Girlfriends," by the way... and yes, the term is actually used), which may or may not have ended with the Linz police breaking up the fun, pictures of Alex's awesome cooking, or pictures of many, many rounds of Catch Phrase and Telestrations. But I do have photos of picturesque Linz and Salzburg (despite the not-so-picturesque weather), the three of us drinking a tad too much strong German beer or "hot wine" in the stands during an away and a home game, and adorable things like dogs on ice.

A few teasers:

 

Without further adieu, the full slideshow:

Paris.

Oh, Paris.

You are my new favorite.

Your small streets and your little moments... those are the things that stole my heart.

Your wow moments are pretty heart-stopping, too.

And if you'll indulge me, I have to say that being in love in your city is a special kind of magic.

There's more, much more... and I'm counting down until the day we can return. Enjoy our slideshow!

Au revoir! Auf Wiedersehen!

I'm taking advantage of what I expect may be my last clearly thinking moment until I step on the plane to bid adieu for the holidays. While we'll miss our stateside holiday traditions this year - and of course the familiar faces that come with them - we're thrilled to do something just for us this year. Seeing the world a little bit this Christmas just feels right, especially since some other familiar faces are involved.

As my parting gift, I offer our 2011 holiday card, which makes me embarrassingly happy. Our house portrait was done by the lovely Rebekka Seale (whose blog is also lovely), and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. Even better, after our cards are all sent away in the mail, we have a portrait ready for framing that we can enjoy each day of the year. Best. Card Idea. Ever.

Thanks for the fun and the conversation we've shared over the year, friends. I hope each of you has your merriest holiday season yet!

Anticipation (!!!)

Recent items on my mind:

• Could the Austrian Christmas markets possibly live up to expectations?
• How rewarding is a Winter Wonderland-style vacation if you are not a ski bunny?
• What, exactly, does one wear in Paris in December?

That's right, folks... we're spending Christmas in Europe!

We're bursting with excitement about this trip, which is the perfect mix of romance and family and practicality.

• Romance: Three nights in Paris, just us. Not a piece of cheese or cup of hot chocolate left in my wake.

   

• Family: Visiting T's awesome sister and her equally awesome husband, who live in Austria during hockey season.

• Practicality: Seeing our brother-in-law play hockey professionally, which we have somehow still never done. And not that the clock is ticking on how much longer he'll be playing, but you know... tick tock.

We're thrilled. And the great thing about spending half the trip in Salzburg and Linz with locals is that we can let our hosts be hosts, and focus on planning the Paris portion of the trip. Which leads me to ask the following questions:

• Have any of you ever visited Paris in winter?
• Do you have a Paris hotel recommendation?
• What are your must-see's and do's, keeping winter weather in mind?
• What in the world should I pack? 
• What are your must-eats? (the fun question!)

Merci! Danke!

(!!!)

PS: Perhaps the promise of future posts labeled "Eurotripping" will guilt me into finishing the recaps of A&A's wedding trip... a year and a half ago. Oops! I really can't believe I still haven't written about my favorite part of Prague.

Prague Nightlife: Serpents and Robots

One of the best things about Prague was that we saw it with T's stepbrother, who was making his way to the wedding in Slovenia just as we were, only doing so with a large backpack, an affinity for hostels, and no real plan other than his whims. T and I aren't cool enough to travel like that. At any rate, J lived in Prague for a semester in college and the city still has a hold on his heart. With J as our tour guide, we were able to see a slew of things that many other folks there for only two days might never find. J's biggest influence was a certain beer hall, but that's another post (see how I keep building the beer suspense?) After an afternoon of beers and then more beer over dinner, J took us to two of his favorite spots from his college days.

Bar #1 has a name I no longer remember. I call it the serpent bar. You'll see why. By some strange vacationing whim, we decided to try absinthe at this bar. My reaction after doing so? "There's a first and last time for everything."

When J first told us about Cross Club, our second stop of the night, the best description he could provide was, "It's like partying inside of a robot." I don't know about you, but I don't really have a frame of reference for that analogy. But sure, we're game.

This place is insane. Insanely awesome. These photos are going to seem surreal, but just imagine that most of the parts are moving, and then recalibrate your idea of surreal. (For a video tour of Cross Club, check this out.) The first shot is the entrance, in case newcomers weren't already aware there was something unusual going on inside. (Actually, I take that back - there is no way to stumble upon this place accidentally. It's out there, sitting amidst warehouses and car lots.) When you see the multi-level bar, just imagine trying to get the upstairs area with a ceiling too low to accommodate a standing adult to pass any sort of U.S. government inspection. Or trying to gloss over with Mr. Building Code guy the fact that the chance of customers impaling themselves on the walls or ceilings - you know, after jugs of beer and fiery shots of absinthe - is extremely high. What can I say? We like to live on the edge, robot-style.

Without further adieu, Cross Club.

Wordplay, Art, and Graffiti, Prague-style

I haven't recapped our trip to Europe yet because, well, it's intimidating to figure out how to craft a narrative out of 500+ photos! Even the thought of telling the story chronologically is exhausting to me. Instead, then, I'll offer little stories here and there. Eventually it'll all come out, promise.

Prague was my favorite part of our trip. Just the thought of it makes me want to grab a cold beer and saddle up to a seasoned Czech at a bar. But the beer stories are for later. Today, some of the interesting art and wordplay I saw in Prague, much of it on walls.

If rooms are "free," then how can they cost 45 Euro? Hee hee hee...

Prague is a city of graffiti, nearly all of it really artfully done and maintained as part of the visual landscape. To my fellow urban planning/landscape design nerds out there, this is interesting on its own merits. But I say it here as a way to preface the following photo...

"We met by accident, became friends by choice, and fell in love by fate." Actually, this sounds like a rather conscious decision to pair up romantically to me, but okay... I like the bold proclamation, anyway. ;-)

 Best. English. Menu. EVER. Click for a larger version to appreciate "Temptations For Your Delicate Tongue," "A Hark Back To The Past," and "Something To Go With Beer."

My photo of this sculpture is terrible, but I'd already been waiting for these nice folks ("Kick em out" shirt notwithstanding) to leave for five minutes and I lost patience. At any rate, to explain what you are seeing here, it is TWO MEN PEEING INTO A POND VIA MECHANICAL APPARATI. Even better: If you text a word to a phone number, they will pee the word. Seriously. You can thank David Czerny for this, and see them in action here (along with a great description of the piece and its context from a tour guide).

 Really, nothing nice to say about Mr. Sunshine?

The Astronomical Clock is pretty awesome. We strolled up to it after beers and hit it accidentally right on the hour, no doubt annoying the throngs of people who'd positioned themselves in wait for some time. Prague: city of great fortune! You can see it work here (man I love YouTube for things like this!). Here's a piece of history for you: when the clock was built in 1338, it so pleased the townsmen who commissioned it that they blinded the artist so that he couldn't make one for any other city. Wow. Prague: city of great misfortune!

Here's where graffiti gets really interesting. This is the Lennon Wall, named so because under Communist rule, young Czechs turned this wall into a canvas for their complaints about the government, often using John Lennon lyrics to make their points. The wall was repainted every day, but recovered with graffiti every night. You could spend hours photographing this wall - new elements are still added today. It's fascinating - and gorgeous.

 I'll say it now and forever hold my peace: there's not a single flattering photo of me from this entire trip. Moving on!

These locks contain tributes to love. I had to wonder: is a lock really the best way to express one's devotion to another person? Ball and chain... trapped under lock and key... unable to break free... "Hey baby, I really love you, so here's this lock to represent my feelings." Am I missing something?

At any rate, there are lots of them. Locks of love: yea or nay? Discuss!

Prague: I'm forever locked in by its artistic charm! Or something like that. Seriously, I love this place. Much more to come!