What Can I Say?

During our recent vacation to Vienna and Budapest, my daughters Anna and Clara made a series of videos encapsulating their European experience, each bearing the title, “Clara is Dumb”. I share the final entry with you, dear reader, here. Pray for me to be a better father.

Thankful

Back home safe and sound. Grateful to Divine Providence Who granted us safe travels and wonderful family time. Aware that not everyone can scratch that travel itch. Praying for safe arrival in that heavenly homeland that contains all beautiful places, more real than these shadows. Pray we all meet there. Pax.

Today we mixed some lesser sights with shopping and eating. The weather was a bit frigid, with gusty winds and intermittent snow. Yes, snow. We took the U-bahn to Karlsplatz, where I toured the Secession building, paying €10 to see some Klimt. The Beethovenfriese, specifically. Why a gorilla figures into the Ode to Joy I don’t know.

Then the not-surprisingly dead in February Naschmarkt, where we saw plenty of Morocco and Tunisia and not so much Austria. Next, we saw Karlskirche, where a Catholic has to pay €8 to enter a Catholic church, even if only to pray. Schönborn’s Amerika.

Then, we discovered the best way to avoid lines at the Prater is to ride the famous Riesenrad ferris wheel in a snow shower. Then it was on to Mariahilferstrasse for power shopping at the ladies’ insistence.

After that, we had a pricey but delightful dinner at Castelletto, with schnitzel, Italian fare, and the best gelato I’ve had outside of Italy. At last, an evening stroll down the Graben.

Bonus pics: Last night’s trip to the grocery store produced real Spanish chorizo and jamón serrano. A nice little treat.

Today, my son learned the hard way one of the lesser known laws in Vienna: if Sigmund Freud boards the U-bahn, he gets your seat:

One more day in the land of schnitzel!

Walking. It’s What We Do.

More Vienna today. The first photo is a poster near our apartment of our beloved president giving the Statue of Liberty the beating she deserves. After that, walking, shopping, hitting Peterskirche (where I was able to go to confession), touring the Hofburg (photos not allowed), and visiting Stephansdom, where we walked verically, 343 steps. Along the way, I was delighted to find that we haven’t escaped the Camino, as we twice encountered signs that we were on the Way of St. James. Wish I could keep going…

Holy Mass, Sachertorte, Fine Art, Holy Roman Emperors, and Ice Skating: One Family’s Day

I don’t know when this blog became my vacation journal, but I guess it was when I ran out of ways to describe the horrors of Francisdom. Anyway, checking in from Vienna:

We heard Mass at the Paulanerkirche (the real Mass, that is). Then on to the Hotel Sacher for Früstück and some apfelstrudel mit schlag, sachertorte and melange. Then a drag-the-kids-into-culture-at-any-price tour through the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Then a view of the treasury of the Austrian Emperors (no photos because my phone died), including Charlemagne’s crown, a relic of the true cross and holy lance, and scads of jewels. Then ice skating until my shins bled at the Wiener Eistraum, then the family platter from Wienerwald to save us all.

So, nothing much happened.

We Covered a Lot of Ground. The Gipper Stayed Put.

Szent István Bazilika

Budapest

Good Friends and Wienerschnitzel

Two ingredients for a great vacation!

Grüss Gott