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!!!