friday things: thanksgiving weekend

it seems that after the initial dust cloud settled after the first week of the american election, things starting to feel a little happier, thank goodness.

so i bring you five happy things for the end of this third week of the month, from recent trips to expat life successes…

1. vienna!

we enjoyed a long weekend in the austrian capital last week. although busybusybusy, it was so good! shopping, eating schnitzels as big as our ‘eads at figmüller, seeing the pointillism exhibition at the albertina (i do adore this museum), wandering around the innere stadt until our feet felt like falling off, and of course… plenty of cakes and coffees consumed, including the full cafe hawelka experience. no menus, no problem.

it is just the city break i needed to enjoy the holiday season at home and do all of those great ‘i’m not traveling’ things in the upcoming season! we took the train there for the first time and were so pleased at what a short connection of only a few hours it is between vienna and our town – it certainly brightens our spirits being so close to these wonderful cities and places in europe. although kind of ironic that we maxed out our spending and have only mere crowns left on black friday. ehhh, worth it.

more extensive posts about our first vienna visits can be found here & here.

2. christmas markets!

i was super pleased to see that the christkindlmärkte in vienna were opening the weekend before i would be there – does it seem like the markets are starting earlier and earlier every year, or what? (not that i can complain!) even though i did get total christmas market burn-out in berlin last year (did you know that was a thing? because it definitely is!), i felt more than ready to embrace the markets of vienna. my favorite, am rathausplatz (above), was dazzling as always at night. also new for me was the very enjoyable maria-theresien platz market and the one at am hof – surely, some of the best in the entire city! we also stumbled upon one in the spittelberg district which had a laid-back, neighborhood vibe to it that was very reminiscent of the st. lucia markt in prenzlauer berg i visited last year.

gluehwein, lebkuchen, cheesy photoautomat shots, and ornament shopping… if you visit a vienna christmas market, bring a lot of euros and be prepared to want allthethings! there were about ten different ornaments i wanted, whereas i couldn’t find a single one that suit me last year in berlin.

so pleased the ones here in budějovice are opening (as they do every year) today. you know where you’ll find me!

3. he is coming!

you might think, from the previous point,that i’m talking about the ol’ “JC” here. but au contraire, it is now almost one week until we meet our new best (doggy) friend! the bag of food has been delivered, the harness is sitting on the table… shopping for dog beds… i feel like an expectant mum setting up the nursery… minus the backaches and braxton hicks. the funny thing is that it seems like some of our friends and neighbors are just as excited as we are. awesome!

4. can i have a gold star?

i give these stickers out to some of my students to show learning milestones, and then they can show it to their parents, and so on.

but sometimes, i feel like i kind of want one for my “living in another language” milestones. can somebody give me the “successful communication interaction with PPL delivery guy on phone & in person with no awkwardness whatsoever” sticker? we’re going to feed our dog this fancy, expensive american dog food that can only be received through the post…. see how long this keeps up.

who else thinks there should be ‘living abroad success’ stickers? hmmm… the wheels are turning.

5. happy thanksgiving weekend!

whether you have already sat down and shared a thanksgiving meal with your closest family and friends or are planning to do it this weekend (as we are), i wish you a wonderful time of sharing, gratitude, and spending time with loved ones. these days it can be hard not only to get together but to really come together – i think it is so important.

the other day, i read a certain post about how a certain expat no longer celebrates thanksgiving in her adopted country because of a variety of personal reasons, and it actually made me really sad. as i am the holiday celebrating type, it’s going to take me a little more than “can’t find cranberry sauce” to keep me from the holiday, no matter where i am. even in prague when we were up to our ears in teaching certification coursework, we found time to at least roast some chicken and have some mashed potatoes.

this year, i am cooking my first ever thanksgiving dinner for guests, inspired by a certain bloggy friend of mine who convinced me, last year, to share this american tradition in my current home. it takes a bit of courage, but we’ll see how it goes off! (wish me luck!)

now, just to get the finishing touches at the market tomorrow…

this post is a part of wanderful wednesday.