Vienna week 3....we're still alive!

I know that my mom and Sean's mom get worried when I don't post often, so here's a little "hello" from Vienna! We haven't been as busy this week, but we've still done a lot of fun things.

Lately I've been getting tendinitis when I type too much, so I'm just going to post the pictures and short captions.

We miss everyone back home! Leave me comments please! I need to know that people who love me are out there somewhere :) We feel so much like aliens here sometimes. Not being able to speak the language very well makes us feel so awkward. Plus, everyone is always staring at me (probably due to the screaming children in my arms...) but it's a little unnerving to always be stared at.

Anyway, here are the pics:

Natural History Museum

It seemed like the museum had one of every single animal in the world!

War History Museum

Statue "April" at the Belvedere Palace. I love the expression on his chubby face! There was a cute little kid statue for each month.

Vienna Rathaus (City Hall)

In front of the Radhaus was a circus!

Statue/fountain in front of the Parliament building

I just love all the cool statues here....I wish I had a better camera so I could get clearer pictures. This merman had the greatest facial expression - he looked so burdened, but also determined to do his job. I wonder how often I have that expression on my face.

Zentralfriedhof of Vienna (the main cemetary). It was such a picturesque day. The air had a nice autumn chill, falling crisp leaves, and warm sun shining through the huge trees onto all these upright grave stones. What a beautiful and peaceful place.

Mozart's grave (actually, after reading a little bit, no one is really sure where he is buried, so I guess this is more like a monument)

Beethoven's grave

Strauss' grave
There were SO many incredibly lovely statues at the cemetary! I really love this one - the dragonfly winged fairy and the little cherub - how sweet!

Peterskirche

I rented a bike and went on a solo-adventure to Schönbrunn Palace.

They groom some of the trees perfectly so that they form walls of green all around the palace gardens.

I love the shaped bushes and designed flower beds at Schönbrunn.

The palace gardens have many of these leafy arch ways. It was such a nice evening. I loved being able to walk around the gardens here and feel the warm evening sun, and enjoy the peacefulness.

A visit to the park by our apartment. Cool grafitti! There are quite a few buildings that have grafitti like this - it's more like a mural.

I had another solo-adventure to the Art History museum. This is the main staircase that leads to the paintings. There were lots of statues, tapestries, and other artifacts that were very beautiful.

Every painting at the museum was so beautiful. The one above is called "The Holy Family" (Joseph, Mary, and Jesus). It was overwhelming to see that many beautiful, huge pictures. Some of them must have been 20 feet tall! I felt like I couldn't appreciate them fully because I only had enough time to look closely a few paintings. But seeing all those incredible pieces of artwork was really amazing.

The woman at the well story. Isn't it gorgeous? I wish my iPhone camera was better able to capture the beauty...

This guy came riding past me on the way out! Luckily he stopped to let me take his picture.

One of our neighbors (I wish I knew his name) brought over a plate full of delicious cheese filled "Gypsy bread". Yummm! He said it is a tradition of his to welcome new people to the building. Meeting nice people like him is so great when you are away from home. There have been many people we met here who have been so kind to us. Being far from home always makes me so grateful for my family and friends, and also grateful to people who befriend us even though we won't be around for long.

Only one more month of Europe before we head back home! Sometimes I feel an urgency to get out and see everything we possibly can. Other times I want to just sit at home and write on my blog all day :)