Amara Danica Leckie!

As I write this I am staring at our little girl who is already 6 weeks old! For the past month and a half this is how we spend the larger part of our days, staring at Amara with wonderment and pride. As expected, parenthood is keeping us pretty busy and we continue to enjoy the bliss of it all.

Amara Danica Leckie was born on October 16, 2010. This is the day we found a new boundless kind of love. Earlier in the week, Georgia & Blair arrived in Vienna in anticipation of their first grandchild. They had a few days to settle in and we had this time to spend with them before officially becoming parents. We talked over meals and walks around the city knowing that anytime we would bring a child into the world and not knowing just how amazing it would be. The night before Amara was born we had a Spanish tapas dinner and went to the famous Sachar Hotel for dessert. There was some anticipation when going to sleep that evening because the next day was my "due date." Sometime after midnight I started feeling what I thought were cramps. Knowing that about five percent of babies are born on their actual due date I didn't want to psych myself out. I tried to sleep through them until about 3:00 when they kept me awake. At 6:00 AM I started timing them and I thought they were too frequent to be contractions. Finally around 7:45 I decided to call my midwife Ulli and let Andrew know that I think something is really happening. Ulli told me to meet her at the hospital in an hour. After packing our things, we walked the 3 blocks to the hospital while I took breathing breaks every two minutes or so. Once there, Ulli found that the baby's heart rate was healthy and that my contractions were constant. At that point she found that I was 7 centimeters dilated. To get to the point, she drew me a bath, called my doctor, and I ended up having a natural water birth 3 1/2 hours later.

Upon first glance, I'm still not sure if it was us or our baby that was more wide-eyed. We were staring at a baby, our baby. After finding that she was a girl, we were still trying to absorb that she was ours. Amara was alert, beautiful, and little. I held our baby girl while Andrew cut the umbilical cord. After the birthing part was said and done we spent time alone in the room as a family. Soon after we had proud Baba Jo and Grandpa Blair meet their grandaughter. Together, we took in what we could of this moment. Amara and I laid together as we admired her perfect little head covered with brown hair, her bright slate-blue eyes, her scrawny arms and legs, and her long fingers nails on her tiny hands. She was born ready to greet us and did not cry until she was taken off my chest about 90 minutes later when we were curious to know her stats. Having to do the metric conversions, Amara was 6.1 pounds, 19 inches, and born at 12:20 PM.

Amara is Greek origin meaning eternal. Danica (Dawn-itz-a) is Slavic meaning morning star.  Danica is a family name on Andrew's side and version of Diana in English, being my mother's name. Now we know it's a beautiful name of our beautiful daughter.

In her six weeks outside the womb, Amara has been loved by the family that has come to visit (Baba JoJo, Grandpa Blair, Tita Marissa, Grandma Diana and Mike), and by those we've talk to and see via Skype. We know that we are by no means the only ones excited about her. She has quite the fan club and it's only a matter of days now until we get to bring her home to be held and loved by the rest of the family and loved ones. Here in Vienna Amara enjoys going on walks, dancing, taking baths, going to Christmas markets, and cuddling with her mom and dad. She is such a sweet girl and is growing quickly. She's a good eater (much like her mom and dad) and is reaching almost 9 pounds now.  Soon we will pack her passport and she will take her first plane ride to Seattle. We are excited to spend Christmas at home and spread holiday cheer with our little bundle of joy.

We should now call this Ciara, Andrew & Amara's Adventures. We believe our most incredible journey has just begun.

Lil' Kraig and Uncle Kraig!

So we have to apologize for the hiatus of our blog. We have been a little preoccupied. But here is a start at trying to get you back up to date on what is going on in our world. Unfortunately, we are going to have to leap a little back in time as I would feel as though we left a big chunk of the year out if we didn't mention a couple of very important visitors and our exploits with them.

First our beloved cousin George who had been counseling this past summer in his motherland of Greece took us up on the offer of coming to visit and headed up from Athens, mid August. Shortly before his arrival to Vienna plans changed a little bit. I was invited by my brother Bradley Lynch, to come and spend a stint of time with him in Spain attending a reggae festival near Valencia as a pre-fatherhood celebration. As a result we had to get in touch with George in order to see if this escapade interested him at all. With the help of Katerine and Kristina we were able to track him down and get the situation sorted out. George would be taking the trip to Spain as well.

He arrived to Vienna during a great period of weather and events around town. So we tried our best to show him around town in the short period he now had here. We took him down to the Rathaus summer food festival and to our favorite tourist sights. We enjoyed having him here.

While Ciara was busy setting up her classroom and getting ready for the school year, George and I were off to Spain. After Bradley picked us up at the airport, we spent a little time out and about in Barcelona running errands picking up groceries and supplies for the trip. After eating a tasty sandwich we hunkered down at Brad and Janeth's. This is when I believe the nick name for George became Lil' Kraig. Brad and Kraig aka Greg Plumis are close friends and I feel he wanted to pay homage to the elder cousin, and George was honored by the nickname.

The next day after we packed up we took off for Rototom the Reggae festival near Valencia. The whole experience was very nice. We basically spent the day at the beach and the evening listening to music. The camp grounds were superb and the vibe was nice. The music was also very enjoyable and the food inside the concert was great! Our days at the beach were great as well, basking in the sun and dipping in the Sea. Making the heat seem like something enjoyable rather than something to bare. The experience was something to remember and I hope Lil' Kraig felt the same.

Now that August had passed us by and George had made his way back to Greece, it was time for Kraig to make his pilgrimage to Vienna!

Greg arrived in Wien a week into September. It was great to see him!  He nestled nicely into our guest corner. We spent the first week of his stay exploring the city and allowing him to get some nice shots of Vienna. We exposed him to some of our favorite local eateries. Made sure that he got a taste of Dr. Falafel, and enjoyed a Kasekriener.  Not to mention some Austrian bier!

Over his first weekend we ventured out to the Austrian countryside to try and catch a cow festival. The country folk celebrate the time when the cows are brought down from the mountains into the valleys for winter. We went to the small town of Abtenau a quaint little village with bundles of charm. We found a Guest house called Pension Swann. The keeper of the guesthouse was a sweet lady and the living quarters we nice. Ciara is an angel for sharing a room with two hefty snoring men at 9 months pregnant. Our first morning in town we set off to find the cow festival and come to learn that it was not much of a festival but more of a procession. We made our own little festival out of it though as a group of our friends came from Vienna and met us there. We watched the decorative cows make there way into town. We then decided to enjoy some of the eateries in town, we were able to sit outside as the weather was glorious. We watched a wedding procession and soaked up some sun.


The next day we headed back to Vienna with the hopes of catching some sights on the way back. Our friend Bridgett joined us for the voyage home. We drove through the picturesque Alps through valleys  with mountain lakes. Our first stop was in the beautiful town of Hallstatt. Notable for the oldest salt mine in Europe if not the world. It sits on a lake with breathtaking views of the mountains. After a tour through the town we continued to Vienna with a stop in Gmunden on Taunsee (See at the end meaning lake) for  lunch and then headed back home with enjoyable views of the countryside and a glimpse of the Melk Abby. We capped our day with a bit of a schnapps tasting at Bridget's house.

The remainder of Greg's stay was very enjoyable, we took a day trip to Bratislava and spent the rest of it enjoying Vienna and each others company. It was great to have Greg around we were sad to say goodbye, but we built a lasting memory of his trip to Vienna and with the help of Uncle Kraig's photography skills some amazing images to conjure said Memories.


It was such a blessing to have two Plumis men grace us with visits. Next, an exciting new arrival!!!

Baby Update

It's October....OCTOBER!!! You know what that means, a special baby delivery will be happening this month! 9 months (well, really 10) can both fly by and feel like it can last forever. It's crazy to think that I am now on maternity leave, me, on maternity leave. I guess this means I'm about to be a mom! The reaction of my maternity leave is two-sided here in Austria. On one hand, Austrians were wondering why I was working so close to my due date. Here, it's a law to stop working at least 8 weeks before your due date. Then you get at least a year maternity leave. They think I'm crazy for going back to work in January. On the other hand back home, I would be working up to the day I go into labor so that I could use my short time off as much as possible after the baby is born. In Seattle I would receive 6 weeks maternity leave (that is from my saved-up sick days) and here I get 13 paid weeks, but am taking 15 that includes the winter break. I also have banked sick days to use later in the year too.
Andrew and I find ourselves looking at each other with both excitement and disbelief. We keep wondering what the baby will look like, boy or girl, how is this possible? Things are becoming much more apparent in the mid-section of my body. The baby decided to really take-off and grow in the past month or so. I have been blessed with a smooth pregnacy and have enjoyed just about every bit of it. I've got to count my blessings now because I hear it's not always the case from one child to the next. I feel quite "normal" and don't have any real horror stories to share and honestly, I love my big belly. Our lives here consist of a lot of movement. Not having a car helps us walk a lot, and not having an elevator to our flat helps us climb 62 stairs everytime we come home. My school is a workout on it's own. I first start by walking a substantial hill to get there with my classroom of course being the top-most room in the entire place. There are no elevators at school either so it's a stair-master haven. I hope that this will all come in handy when I am ready to go! For now, I will be going back to school 2 afternoons per week to continue tutoring and checking in with my class.
We had 2 check-ups last week. One with our midwife and one with our doctor. Yes, I get a midwife too! We did a heart-rate and some final checks and things are looking good, "perfect" is what my doctor likes to say. The baby is engaged so his/her head is down in my pelvis. Crazy to think that even engaged, he/she could be moving and stretched out as much as it is. I swear sometimes that the baby is in the downward dog position and every other position that requires stretching all limbs out in opposite directions at once. I know they really can't tell, but they say the baby is anywhere from 3-3.5 kilos. That's a big difference. Everything is done by kilos and centimeters, I like it when it comes to taking my own weight. It doesn't seem so bad.
So for now, the next time I shall meet with my doctor and midwife is either on labor day or on my due date, whichever one comes first. If I don't deliver by October 16th, then we'll meet just to do a heart rate check and make sure everything is going ok. There are many great things about having a midwife, but during times when I think I may be starting labor, I call Ulli and she will come to my house and assess my situation before heading to the hospital. She is going to be great after the baby is born and comes to the house to make sure everything is going well then too.
Recently I have started to feel more pressure and can notice that things are starting to happen. Sleeping is much more challenging. Andrew has been a sweet dad and has been reading books to our little one, taking care of me, and yesterday I found him trying on the Mobywrap, trying to figure out how it works. Perhaps the next time we blog about a baby update, the baby will be the update. For now, we will be working on "projects," (Andrew makes fun of all the lists I make), getting out around town, and visiting with friends, oh, and napping.

We're excited for Baba and Grandpa to visit on the 13th, and my mom, Marissa, and Mike are coming on the 22nd. Until then...

Berlin

Check-Point Charlie

August 2010
After settling back in Vienna and taking some time to recover from jetlag, we decided to take a trip to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary, and to getaway once again before baby. We headed to Berlin, Germany's capital. We stayed in the center of the city in a flat-like hotel. Our "room" was bigger than our flat in Vienna with a nice sized living room, kitchen, and glorious king-sized bed. In a quilted robe, Ciara melted away in the big plush pillows and down bedding. Our hotel was close to Gendarmenmarkt, a historical square bounded by twin churches and a concert hall that hosts outdoor cafes. We ate lunch in a symmetrical surrounding and watched people as they hopped on-and-off tour busses and walked by snapping photos of the charming square.
In the days that followed we explored unique, fascinating, and disturbing sights, historical landmarks, museums, and neighborhoods. We walked down Unter den Linden which was one of Eastern Berlin's grand boulevards that was lined with a thousand linden trees of Prussian Berlin that lead up to the Brandenburg Door. The historic Brandenburg Gate, crowned by a 4-horse chariot and Goddness of Peace, has undergone years of survival. It is the center of old Berlin and the backdrop of the happy day in 1989 when the wall started to fall. Close to the Brandenberg Gate is the Reichstag, the German Parliament building with its huge glass dome. We checked out the Haupbahnhof, the main train station made of all glass, a known engineering feat.

Check-Point Charlie

In much of which is walking distance we made our way to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews-a Holocaust memorial consisting of 2,711 gravestone-like pillars. The Topograhpy of Terror, the site of Hitlter's Gestapo and S.S. The museum telling the cruel history and of its victims during Hitler's era. And to the Jewish Museum that portrays more celebration of Jewish life and some of the holocaust.

Brandenburg Gate

In other parts of the "cheery" city, we explored Potsdamer Platz, the "Times Square" of old Berlin, Alexander Platz, a commerical shopping area and square, Kaufhas des Westens (KaDeWe)  the biggest (and very swanky) department store in Europe, and went to a trendly and lively neighborhood called Prenzlauer Berg. From the Berlin Cathedral, the Rathaus, and to the stretches of the wall that are still standing, we made the most of our time and of course made sure to indulge along the way. We went out to a fun Cuban dinner, a nice anniversary dinner along the canal, and found our way into some of the chocolatier shops in the city.

Jewish Memorial

"Fallen Leaves" at the Jewish Museum

Part of the remaining Berlin Wall

This marked the end of an amazing summer before it was back to the grind! We are blessed to have had this much time off together, something that would not have happened if we didn't take this leap in our lives. Everyday we walked around together since the beginning of summer, we would stop and think how lucky we are to have this time.

Summer: Nice and a great month at home

Monaco

Granny & Baba at the baby shower

Allison, Ciara, Nikki, Vanessa, and Sarah at baby shower #1

Beautiful Shower for Baby Leckie!

Cupcakes after swimming. Thanks JoJo and aunt Alice!

In June after the final days of Ciara's first successful year at AIS, we took a few days to recoup and get our things situated for the summer. And an enjoyable summer loomed ahead.

In the first phase of our celebration of summer we hopped on a plane and headed to the Cote d'Azur, Nice specifically. We rented a flat near the old town in Nice and tried to enjoy some time on the beautiful French Riviera.We spent most of the days there waking up and heading across the street to the bakery we became regulars at and purchasing a croissant, quiche, some bread or all three. We then would let the sun shine on our faces as we sipped on some juice and enjoyed some fruit and french pastries on our balcony, a great start to the morning! Our days from there continued with a general theme of wandering through the old town of Nice and finding wonderful spots to enjoy food and shop for soaps and other items native to the Riviera and Provence. We also spent some time sunning ourselves on the packed, pebble filled beaches of Nice. The world cup was in full swing so we found a place called Wayne's where we watched most the games. We also spent quite a bit of time walking the water front and taking in the views, a climb to the top of the Chateau de Nice provide the a wonderful vantage point of town, the sea and the port. The views from there were beautiful.
We also took a stroll up the hill to the Henri Matisse museum. It turned out to be a little bit further that we anticipated from looking at the map. Over the course of our few days there we left town only once for a day jaunt to the Principality of Monaco. The Euro bus ride there was quite picturesque. Windy roads along the cliffside of the Riviera. Once there, we wandered the 2 kilometer country, passing the famous Monte Carlo and awing at the insane cars, yachts, homes, and fashion that filled the place. Monaco is big pimpin'!
The French Riviera was a great way to start our summer. Beautiful weather, beach living and great food!
Next we headed back to Vienna and got ready to head back home to Seattle for a month.

On the way home we had a long layover in Amsterdam so we headed into town for dinner and a stroll around the Dutch city in the evening. It was nice to take a little stroll through the narrow streets and canals. Then back to the airport for a nap in the airport and then the long flight.

We headed home for a wonderful month of time with family and friends. With the help of all of our family we felt like we had never left. Our parents had a car for us to drive, Destiny got our phones up and running, and we were able to have our own room where we slept in our own bed at the Hopkins home. We could not have felt more at home everyone was so amazing. It was a warm home coming. We had a wonderful 4th of July at the Plumis cabin on Stretch Island. Fun, family and fireworks. Such a great way to begin our time at home. A month always seems like a long time, but I will say the month of July seemed like a blink of an eye. We had an amazing time at home but it seemed as though there wasn't enough time in the day to catch up with all of our loved ones. We had two amazing showers one hosted at the Fosters house by Allison, Renae and Vanessa. The other one hosted by the sisters, Destiny, Marissa, and Alice at the Hopkins home. Unforgettable parties with moments with people that warmed our hearts. The outpouring of love and excitement for baby Leckie was overwhelming.  It was so great to be at home and share time with everyone we could. We truly appreciated all the effort everyone made. We only wish there was more time to connect with everyone. It was great to get to Safeco for an M's game and Quest for a Sounders game. The Udaho trip took place and a San Francisco jaunt to catch up with Sammy J. Some swimming with the nieces and quality time with Baba and Granny. All in all it made us feel extremely blessed that we have a home with such deep roots and share so much love.

But on August 3rd we had to say good bye and take the  long flight back to Vienna...

Innsbruck

After a wonderful stretch of visitors, we decided we wanted to get out of town for a weekend on our own. We headed to the region of Tirol the farthest region west bordering Switzerland. We hopped a train and headed all the was across the country to the city of Innsbruck.

Upon arrival, it is hard not to notice the amazing scenery of the region. Known for skiing, Innsbruck hosted the '67 and '76 winter Olympics and at first look it seemed like an ideal place to host the games. The Inn river runs through an impressive valley surrounded by mountains with a steep vertical accent. Once we got situated at our hotel, a place along the river, we wandered around the charming old town. A famous city center features a building adorned with a gold roof. We took the time to observe the quaint streets and cafes along them and enjoyed a meal at an Italian place where we could sit out side in the sunshine and people watch.

The following morning we awoke to a beautiful day allowing us to walk around town and do some window shopping. We then headed up to the Olympic site and took a gondola up to the top for some spectacular views. Then we headed into the small town of Igls where we had a lunch in the picturesque little village and then back into town. Once in town we hit a few tourist stops, most notably the Hofkirche, and inside is a mausoleum built for Maximilian I. It was quite amazing with 28 life-like bronze statues surround the ornate tomb. We found a wonderful place for dinner that evening and finished a wonderful day with a night cap in a man-made beach bar. Sand and palm trees with a backdrop of striking mountains. Our third day was the nicest of them all and we took great advantage of it by taking the Nordkettenbahn up to Seegrube where we had a breathtaking view of the entire valley. Several hang gliders and para gliders readied themselves as we began our decent down to town. A wonderful hike with vistas at every turn and the sun shining down from a bright blue sky. It could not have been more perfect. After a wonderful hike and a meal we headed to the train station to head back to Vienna. A wonderful first impression of the city of Innsbruck and the region of Tirol, one that definitely inspires other trips out there in the near future.                

Matt & Kari's Visit

Just before our farewell to Edgar and Roheela (sniff, sniff) Matt and Kari arrived from Seattle as our second wave of visitors. They left their sweet boy Finn home with the grandparents. It was so good to see our friends and give them a glimpse into our life abroad.

On their first full day braving the weather, which has been pretty ghastly in Vienna this spring, we went out in Vienna to see the sights. We wandered around the first district and down into the Naschmarkt, checking out the market and making sure they got a chance to visit Dr. Falafel a favorite that has become a traditional place to take visitors for its wonderfully flavorful falafel sandwich. I think they liked it because they went and got it again later in the trip. We bought tickets to Salzburg and planned to go on a Friday of the Austrian holiday weekend. Unfortunately for us as we called several places to find a place to stay on Friday and Saturday nights it became utterly clear that we were not going to be able to get a place for Friday. Luckily for us Ciara took the initiative to call instead of just heading there and hoping to find a spot. So we decided to leave Saturday instead and come back Sunday. Once we secured a place to stay and got our tickets for Saturday the banter began about us going on the "Sound of Music" tour. Matt and I were dead set against against it and of course Ciara and Kari were all about it. We had a nice dinner and prepped for the trip and continued the tradition of intense card playing. We played spades and hearts and had tons of fun.

The next morning we gathered our bags and headed to the train station. On the tram ride down it became apparent that it was going to be close if we wanted to catch the train we wanted. So we quickly devised a plan where Kari and Ciara would secure seats and Matt and I would get pastries and coffee. The events that followed can only be truly appreciated if you lived them but I will do my best to describe them. Once at the train station we located the train then the boy and girls split up. Matt and I headed to a bakery in the train station. Once inside the bakery our urgency continued to grow as we waited in line and subsequently waited for our order to be carried out. As soon as we had our goods we headed intently to the train we picked up the pace as we were getting closer to departure time. In the process I managed to dump half of one of the coffees I was carrying all over the front of myself. We pressed on. We charged down the platform in search of our wives. After a call we reunite and begin to realize that though the girls fought the busy train crowd and had secured a couple of seats, the train was pretty full and that we wouldn't be able to sit together. So the quick group decision was to get off and catch the next train for Salzburg that left in 35 minutes. That's when things got crazy. As we are walking down the platform, the whistle blew as if to say "All Aboard" and we suddenly realized that none of us had the tickets. Needless to say panic set in. It was left on the train where the girls had secured a couple of seats. Frantically we all bolt toward the train that is moments away from departure. Ciara jumps on; I jump on Kari jumps on, all on different cars. Frantically we were charging through the crowded aisles looking for the ticket. I then decide to stand in the door of one of the train cars in an attempt to hold the train if they begin to close, Matt stood watch to let me know if the girls got off. Suddenly, Ciara burst off the train with the tickets. Relief began to set in until we realized Kari was still on the train. "Kari" we are all screaming "get off, we have it!" finally we see Kari hit the platform. That very next moment the train shoved off toward Salzburg. Catastrophe avoided! It took about 20 minutes for my heart to stop pounding though. We didn't really feel like paying for 4 train tickets a second time around. Once on the train we had a nice ride with beautiful scenery, great company and of course some cards.

Once we got to Salzburg we headed out on the town. Salzburg is incredibly scenic and we enjoyed it thoroughly. We walked all over and got some great views from the hills. We went to the Augustiner Brewery, the oldest brewery in Austria run by monks. Quite a place they serve big mugs and delicious beer since 1621. After the brewery we wandered around Salzburg and stopped to play at a "big kid" playground that had all types of obstacles for rock climbers. After that, Matt and I finally gave in and we booked the "Sound of Music" tour for the next day. After dinner we hit the hay with much anticipation of what the "tour" would be like considering that the Salzburg marathon was going on in town it ended up being a pretty good idea. It took us out to the Lakes district which is very pretty, and we all enjoyed singing songs on the bus that took us to all of the sites from the movie. Let's just say you can understand why they filmed it where they did. It was beautiful. I could tell that Ciara felt like a child again.

It was nice to have Matt & Kari in town to get us out on some runs, enjoy meals, and out to the Western part of Austria. I loved having this time to get to know the both of them better. Being excited about parenthood, they were a great couple to talk with as it's a fresh experience for them, we cannot believe that Finn is turning 1 this month! Thanks for the running shoes!

Now that it's June, the school year is wrapping up, and that summer is just around the corner, we are anxious to go home. We don't have any more visitors lined up until August, so missing home will start settling in. At the end of this month we're going to the French Riviera-to Nice, Monaco, and Cannes. A little sunshine and beach action is something we're really looking forward to!

Eddie & Roheela

London Bound! Originally we were going to meet Ted & Kim in London, then they were going to come visit us in Vienna. Then coincidentally Eddie & Roheela had similar plans at the same time. How fun, the more, the merrier. Sadly, the Icelandic volcano put a halt on Ted & Kim's flight and they weren't able to fly over (we will have take-2 next spring!). Luckily, Eddie & Roheela's flight the following day was successful and was the 2nd flight to land in Heathrow since the start of all the volcano and traveling madness.

Once in London it felt almost like home. Having studied abroad there in college, Andrew came along with me to some old stomping grounds. I felt like it was so easy- English everywhere to be heard and read, and we had a blast. It was so good to be with E & R and meet their English and Irish friends and paint the town. We spent all day & night making the best of our 3 days there.

Back in Vienna, Eddie & Roh made for some fun roommates. The mornings were spent making breakfast-including Eddie's famous french toast and pancakes and nights of playing intense card games into the wee hours. Being the sleeper-inners they are, it was almost comical to witness the infamous church bells outside our living room (AKA guest bedroom) window piously wake the angels. Eddie learned quickly and started wearing earplugs to bed-but nothing can really escape you from the heavenly sound right outside the window, especially on Sundays and holidays.

Eddie & Roh really explored the city with & without us. When I wasn't at school and when Andrew wasn't working, we loved getting out together. They even joined us in a double-header softball game. Aside from Vienna sightseeing, we rented a car and took a little venture. The first day we drove to Bratislava, Slovakia and then to Sopron, Hungary and back to Vienna. Along the way, we saw such things that looked like a hobbit village (a street lined with short houses with small doors), stumbled upon the European Kiteboarding tournament at Lake Neusiedlersee in Austria, and ended the night with our navigation system taking us down some crazy scary back roads in Hungary where we thought for a moment was "the end."

The next day we went on the most fantastic road trip. Passing through the gorgeous Austrian countryside, we headed northwest to a small town called St. Oswald bei Freistadt. E & R met a co-worker of Eddie's mom who is Austrian. Although he has lived in Seattle for 19 years, he told us that his parents would love to have us visit. Rudolph and Martha were the sweetest couple and most gracious hosts. The little country town they live in is straight from the movies. From the beginning they spoiled us-bought us dinner, cooked us breakfast, and fed us unlimited food, beer, schnapps, and bole (a spiked punch drink). The best part about this place is that we got to stay in their country cabin that was a few kilometers up the mountain from their house. The charming cabin was quaint, had no electricity, was equipped with the nicest outhouse we'd ever seen, and had 2 stocked fishing ponds on the property. We got to take our turns catching our fish. There was minimal screaming done by the girls as we reeled them in and Rudy conked them out. It was hard enough watching him filet the fish in front of us but at least we didn't have to do it ourselves. If catching our fish wasn't fun enough, the adorable couple smoked and prepared our catch of the day and we had ourselves a lovely lunch. The evening was spent sitting by the outdoor fire and gazing at the night sky that was splattered with stars. Sitting by candlelight, we talked and played games until the AM hours. That night, the four of us slept surprising well in the 2 twin-beds in our little cabin.

We spent the weekend walking the small town, drinking and filling up our water bottles with the local healing water, and visiting the brewery. Like everyday, we stopped to get ice cream. Gotta appreciate friends who made it a priority to have at least one stop for ice cream each day.

Having nearly 3 weeks to spend with Eddie & Roheela was incredible. When else do you get to spend day-in and day-out with such fun people? Sunrise, sunset. Although we didn't request anything from home (except pen pal letters from my past classroom that my class in Vienna is writing with), E & R came bearing gifts. They got us new ski goggles (they noticed how I borrowed Andrew's huge ones), Tillamook cheese (cheese is good here, but not the cheddar so much), a big box of chocolate for the prego lady, and some booze for the dad-to-be. Before they departed they got us some new place mats (we had service for 2), a salad bowl (again, ours served 2), an electric tea kettle (our stove kettle can take a little time), and a BBQ! We've got to hand it to them, they are observant to our needs/wants and know how to take care of us.

We are very happy that our world traveling friends put us on their vacationing map. Promise me that we can get back on the daily ice cream diet when we come home this summer!

Baby on Board

So, we've been a little busy since our last post. We had a good stretch of visitors that we will write about in the next post and many, many things have happened. As you may know by now, we are having a BABY!! After we popped the news to Destiny & Eric (it was so nice to tell them in person), we spread the word to all of you. We are due October 16th. Now that I'm 5 months along, my belly recently decided to pop, and we are getting more and more excited. I have had an easy pregnancy and haven't had an obvious prego signs, just some fatigue (but who isn't tired). If it weren't for the monthly ultrasounds, I would still be in disbelief. I found an excellent doctor and the health care in Austria is amazing. We are planning on delivering at a reputable hospital across the street from our house (http://www.rudolfinerhaus.at/en/the-rudolfinerhaus.html). No taxi or public transportation necessary. It makes me laugh and ponder when I think of going into labor and walking down the 63 steps from our flat and crossing the street to deliver our child.

I am planning on starting off the school year in August then taking October-December off. I get 3 months maternity leave. We plan to bring our new bundle of joy home to Seattle all of December. I will return to work in January and Andrew will be Mr. stay-at-home dad. He is so excited and we are really lucky to have this opportunity for our baby to be at home with dad. Andrew (along with everyone else except Marko), thinks we're having a girl. We're keeping it a surprise. Of course we won't know for sure until the baby is born and I find it peculiar that so far there has been an overall GIRL response. Our baby is ALREADY loved by so many. He/she is already blessed by having amazing family and friends. Thank you for all the love and joy you've already shared with us. As time is getting closer to coming home for the month of July, I can hardly wait to see you and give lots and lots of hugs. And I cannot wait to squeeze my nieces!

Greece and Easter Break

Our most recent adventure started Friday, April 2nd. We left after work and headed to Athens where we met Eric and Destiny-we were so excited! Our flight to Athens was 1 hour and 45 minutes. After our reunion with Eric and Destiny, and though they had been up for what seemed like forever, we went to a little street side cafe near our apartment. We sat and enjoyed the night spring air-in Athens! After that, and most nights from there on out, we stayed up chatting-sometimes until 5 in the morning! I don't think that helps with jet lag.

The weekend brought some great meals, weather and sights. Being Easter weekend, the usual busy streets of Athens were quite. Most Greeks were spending the holiday in surrounding villages. Our apartment was situated about a 15 minute walk from the Acropolis. We explored that area extensively and ate in the Plaka a couple of times. Walking up the Acropolis and to the Parthenon was amazing, we had clear blue skies, sun over head, and few crowds!

We cooked our own little Easter dinner. At midnight went to a nearby church for part of Easter services. It was very festive- at midnight the clock bells rang, firecrackers went off endlessly, and we lit our candles at the church. It had a much different feel than the services at home.

After an enjoyable stay in Athens we decided to head to the islands. We got up early in the morning and headed for the metro down to the port to catch the boat we had booked earlier that weekend. The ferry was huge and much nicer than we were expecting. It was a high speed boat but still took 5 hours. After stopping at a few islands along the way, we made it to Santorini. We spent a couple of nights and got a feel for life in the Cyclades Islands.

Once we reached the island of Santorini, hotels were eager to advertise their accommodations. The first guy we talked to drove quite a bargain so we headed up the hill with a couple of options. The place we ended up staying at had an epic view in a town called Fira. Fira itself is perched on the cliff side and we had panoramic view of the crater and a view into downtown Fira. Quite extraordinary. We ended up with two rooms next to each other with a "private" (patio) in between that had the view of which I just spoke. It was hard to beat. It didn't take long for us to settle in and soak up some much needed vitamin D. With the sun and smiles draped on all of our faces we took a deep breath of life on the the Aegean Sea.

For the next couple of days we took walks along the ridge into town, enjoyed the amazing scenery and continued to have amazing meals-we LOVE Greek food! Tiropita, spanakopita, dolmades, tzatziki, moussaka, gyros, greek salad, pastitsio, saganaki, and baklava-YUM! Each night we enjoyed the sunset, and we even caught a morning sunrise. We took a trip out to the beach town of Kamari and walked on the black sand. What an amazing time of relaxation and sight seeing we had with our family.

Unfortunately the time came that we had to leave the beautiful island. Two flights later and a bit of time in the Athens airport and we were home in Vienna.

We got the opportunity to show Dest and Eric a bit of the city before the poor weather crept in. We did our best tour guide impersonations. While together, we loved having morning coffee, eating bowls of cornflakes, Skping with the girls, walking around town-oh and of course, introducing Eric to Kaser Krainers and taking them to have falalfel sandwiches at Dr. Falalfel. It was nice just to show them what life is like where we are living. Eventually Eric and Destiny had to leave us (luckily they made it a day before the Icelandic volcano eruption). We had an unbelievable time together, one we will remember forever and ever! We are already planning our itinerary for next spring.

Jack & Renae's Visit

For the latest of what is going on in Ciara and Andrew's world we had some esteemed guests visit in the last few weeks. Jack and Renae Foster showed up in Vienna on the 15th of March, much to the excitement and pleasure of the Leckie family (Europe Post). They immediately brought a smiling attitude to our home. They came bearing gifts, we felt like it was Christmas all over again. Two of which being some of the most missed things from home, Emergen-C and a half loaf of Tillamook Medium Cheddar. What a delight. They also made us a personalized calendar with pictures of family and friends. Those Fosters always take care of us! Where would we be without them?

Once they got settled we immediately got them out on the town. We headed out for drinks and dinner and got them exploring the splendid public transportation we've come to love. We kept them up the best we could in an attempt to avoid jetlag.

The next day we ventured out in Vienna. We stopped in a local Biergarten style restaurant in the center of town and had a good meal. I introduced Jack to some Austrian Bier's-which he welcomed whole-heatedly the entire trip. Coming in at a close 2nd-the Kaiser Krainer (sausages filled with cheese) was also a favorite.

While here, they got a chance to see Ciara's school, shop for produce and eat fallafel sandwiches at the Naschmarkt, shop on Maria Hilfer, roam around the 1st district and visit Schonbrunn Palace with its Easter Market and delicious food. Being the best of running friends that they are, Ciara and Renae got to go on a few runs together like old times. Through the course of their 10-day stay, we started with snow, a day of rain, and then sunny 70 degree weather.

Thursday we went to Semmering to go skiing, and enjoyed a wonderful spring ski day. From the scenic restaurant on the top of the mountain, we of course got our fill of Kaise Krainers and Biers! It was great to get in a good day on the slopes in mid-March.

For the weekend we got out of town and went to Prague. We packed up the necessities-cards, nose cups (courtesy of Alice), assorted cheeses, snacks, chocolate, and of course a few beverages. Well equipped for the trip we ended up having to run for the train! Miscalculation in the time of departure. Barely making it on before the doors closed, we made it in the nick-of-time. Always an adventure. If we counted the rounds of cards we played on the train and throughout their entire stay, I'm sure it would be well over 100. With sore losing and heated contests aside, it was a fabulous time. Once in Prague, we checked-in to our suite in the Castle District. During our time there, we had a traditional Czech dinner, roamed the picturesque city, checked out some new restaurants and visited the Easter market in Old Town Square. That Sunday, Jack & Renae walked along side Prince Charles and snapped a great photo of him.

Back in Vienna, we spent time having pajama parties, making meals, going to dinner, playing games, roaming the city, and just spending time together before they left. It is so nice to have a little piece of home in our new home abroad. Thanks for visiting Jack & Renae-we had a wonderful time! Next on the books.....Destiny & Eric meet us in Greece. Only 3 days away now...