Merry Christmas!

Hi all!

We had a wonderful Christmas in Austria! We arrived at our hotel (The Rotspitz), and made reservations for the Christmas Eve dinner that night. We were seated in a smaller room with two other couples, and worried that two kids might ruin their dinner. We were completely wrong! One couple was from Nottingham, England, and the other from near Dusseldorf, Germany. We spoke both English and German (respectively) to the couples, and they all adored Will and Claire. The English couple even went as far as to tell us that our babies really made their Christmas :) On Christmas day, we opened the presents we brought with us - they were mostly opened by mom and dad with a little squeal once they saw what was inside. For some reason, they didn't squeal about the clothes I bought them though... :) Later that morning, we bundled everyone up for a walk around the lake (Achensee) and the town (Maurach), with a ride up the Rofanseilbahn cable car for lunch. On Friday, we went skiing in Achenkirch, a small town just around the lake from where we were staying. Once again, we took turns, but I got to nap and read a book while John skied (babies were also napping), and he got to take a nice walk around the stroller walking paths while I skied. Saturday was REALLY cold (about 19 degrees F), so we bundled everyone up again and took a walk around the cute resort town of Pertisau, also around the lake from where we stayed. We shopped, ate lunch, walked some more, and then got to explore the outside of an abandoned hotel near the town - you all know that sort of thing is my FAVORITE! :) I did some internet research on the hotel when we got back, and all I can find is that it used to be a luxury hotel, was built in 1913, and has been abandoned since the 70's. I stood on my toes and took a picture of the inside, so look for those soon (along with the other pictures from Austria). It also was apparently the inspiration to a British author for her books on the "Chalet School". They're now out of print, but my internet research revealed that there is still quite a British following :) We finished of our day in Pertisau with some sledding with the kids - cute pictures and video, so stay tuned for those too. On Sunday, we drove to Innsbruck on our way home, and toured the Christmas markets there. The highlight of Innsbruck though, was the Bergisel Schanze (ski jump hill). We went to the top to take in the view of a ski jumper, and had lunch at the cafe on top. It was used in the 1964 and 1976 winter olympics, and was currently preparing for a competition this Sunday.

We're now sitting in an almost empty temporary apartment (empty of our stuff, anyway). The movers came and collected the rest of our stuff this morning for the air shipment, and I think we're in good shape to get everything else home. WHEW!

Ok, I'll post pictures later, we're off to the Zoo! For now, enjoy the 12G of videos I just uploaded :)