More New Additions!

Recently, on April 16, we went to the annual Raritätenbörse in the Botanical Garden next to Belvedere. The Botanical Garden themselves are quite nice. We've been there once before in the winter and there wasn't much to see, but this time, you could really see the trees coming back into bloom for Spring. There are also lots of different types of plants and flowers but they weren't quite in bloom yet when we were there.

The atmosphere was quite relaxed in the Botanical Garden itself but the Raritätenbörse (directly translates to "Rarities Exchange" was much more hectic. There were vendors selling all different sorts of plants from the really small to good-sized trees. It was kind of fun to walk around and see what was available.

I had come in thinking about getting some strawberry plants because I thought it would be nice to have something to cultivate through the Spring. In the end, we left with three plants, a strawberry plant (Erd), a habanero plant (Haba) and a ribisel or red currant plant (Ribi).

Ribi - our Red Ribisel Plant 

Erd, our cute strawberry plant

Haba, our Orange Habanero plant. 

So far its been about three weeks and I've still managed to keep them alive, which is better than I normally do with plants. Chris will tell you that I had a black thumb back in San Diego, but I think I like having the balcony here because I can see the plants and remind myself to check on them and make sure they're watered (but not over-watered). Also, we have more rain here (every week or so) so if I forget once, usually they still get some moisture.

Anyway, I'm hoping that Erd gives some strawberries soon and that Ribi actually makes berries this season. I think I need to get a bigger pot for Ribi to grow into but that is on the list of things to do. For now, I'll just show you how they look at this point.

Erd's growing some good sized strawberries. Hopefully they'll start ripening soon!

Anyway, another short and sweet post. I'd definitely go back to the Raritätenbörse for plants next year. :) What are you all growing in your gardens this year?

Vienna -- Months 10-12 (February - April)

This last quarter year just finished for us, and I'm finally just about caught up to present day on my documenting of our experiences moving and living here in Vienna. I think this quarter can be split into two parts: "the long, long tail of Winter", and "when Spring finally poked its head out."

The Long, Long Tail of Winter

Like I mentioned in the last quarterly post, January started off in a bit of a post-holiday/first true Winter slump. I was used to the Viennese Christmas cheer being all around to sort of alleviate the darkness and grayness of December but come January those things were all dismantled and the city was left in this dead, gray haze for most of the days from January until about the middle-end of March.

During these months, not only are the trees in hibernation, but it seemed like Vienna was too. The city which usually had so many festivals, events, and holidays suddenly went through a period in which it seemed like not much was happening. The Viennese population also seemed to experience this hibernation -- they were more grumpy and subdued and lackluster comparatively. This made these months even more sad and depressing.

I definitely think that emotionally this was the hardest few months for me, and yet maybe it wasn't. It's hard to explain but I felt the most emotionally dragged down during these months for no obvious reason. The previous months, I definitely felt emotional, especially those first 3-4 months but I feel like there was a good and valid reason for it then. For me, I knew by about February that I was adjusting and "getting there" but for some reason I was still in this low-energy, low-motivation zone with my emotions. I felt like during these months I had less of a valid reason for feeling so low, but yet I did, and I struggled with this a lot.

The only way to really lift me out of this was either a Snow Day (which as I mentioned in my previous post always seemed to hold a little bit of magic), or just forcing ourselves to go out into the City to do something -- anything -- despite the cold and the gray and the darkness. The first happened less than 5 times this winter, and the latter was often so hard to force myself to do, but once out there I usually enjoyed myself a lot.

Chris and I tried to go out on little outings at least once a week (usually Saturday) even if it was just to go to the Ströck to buy bread or into the city center to see Stephansdom. Chris quickly realized that once out and about, my mood could be lifted but I had trouble getting myself out there unprompted. I think this was largely because of how I felt about what Winter had done to the city. I wasn't used to living in a city, much less one that had suddenly been painted various shades of dull gray.

While going through these months, I did not have the outsider's view to see that this is how I was feeling. I think that now that I see how my mindset was and what actions could fix it, I will be more mindful of it the next go-around with Winter. Hopefully, I won't let Winter have such a strong hold over me in the future.

I think that as time went on I also felt better because the days were stretching longer and the weather was starting to let up a bit and I could finally see Spring was trying to make an appearance. Another thing I'll try and keep in mind in future Winters is that Spring will always come eventually.

When Spring Finally Poked Its Head Out

I feel like many people experience this each year, but I haven't experienced it for a long, long time because I lived in San Diego for almost 10 years before moving to Vienna. San Diego has eternal Spring/Summer weather and it is glorious, however, I say that with hindsight because I lived there for so long, I started to get bored (?!) of it... Now I wish for that weather a lot of the time. 

Coming in short spurts, Spring started to show up in early March but only for a day here and a day there interspersed with a week of winter weather. It gave glimpses of partially sunny and lighter days, but then was abruptly pulled away with the return of heavy gray skies and sometimes rain. But by the end of March, Spring had definitely started to win against Winter and my mood lifted with it. Since it has been a long time since I experienced a Winter to Spring transition (and this one is probably more severe than any I've ever experienced before) I was so surprised by this fact. I thought that I was just in an emotional rut and hadn't really correlates it with the weather, but it definitely made a difference. 

First sign of Spring! This tree is in the Sigmund Freud Park near Votivkirsche. 

As soon as the weather started to warm up, the trees started to grow leaves and flowers started to bloom around the city. Something about seeing plants blooming was so mood-lifting. In addition, the festivals and events started happening again. We went to the Botanical Garden where they were having a sale on plants (Raritätenbörse), there was a Little Styria festival in the city center, and we just started doing things outside again. We purchased bike helmets and started making use of the Citybikes -- taking rides up the Donau Canal and through the Prater park.

We were so excited about getting these helmets and being able to go cycling any time. :)

With the warmer weather and the increase in events and festivals, it seemed like the vibe of the city started to pick up again too! People were more cheerful and out-and-about. There was just more activity and a sense of happening all around the city. It seems like we weren't the only ones that went through the Winter slump and Spring shook a good portion of the population back into doing things again. 

A big milestone that we hit at the end of April was our One Year Vienna-versary! This felt like such a hard-earned victory, even bigger than our first wedding anniversary back in January. Somehow, that seemed like a given, but making it one year in Vienna was a hard-fought battle. But we made it! Honestly, I feel like we're still "getting there" but we're so much closer. I don't feel so terribly homesick all the time and that feeling of everyone staring at me all the time is subsiding. I feel more comfortable being here and I think that is a great accomplishment. 

Another thing that we started doing in March is taking an A1 level German course offered through our work. I think that while I haven't learned a massive amount, this has made a big difference in my feeling more comfortable. I now can understand basic replies and requests whereas before it as all just German. Now that I know what they say back, it makes me feel a bit more in control of the social situations that I am in and its a great feeling to start to get back that capability to complete basic social interactions without problems. 

Anyway, the overarching feelings on the year, I'll describe in my Year 1 Review, but as for these last three months, I think it was a learning experience. I'm also happy that I'm writing this post on the tail end of those three months, because I feel so much happier and more settled at the end of these three months. I still find it shocking how much a little change in weather, light, and warmth can make in my mood and also in the mood of those around me. It's a bit crazy but also something to take note of because, in Vienna, as with most places in the world (not so much California, or San Diego), this Winter to Spring transition is an annual thing and likely my feelings will be perpetuated each cycle. Knowing how I react to these seasons and ways to alleviate the worst of it will be good for me in future years to make this transition not so abrupt and the Winter slump not so terrible. 

All I can say is, "Welcome, Spring. I'm sorry that I ever got bored of you while living in the paradisal place that is San Diego." While I'm still not ready to call Vienna home, I no longer have such bad homesickness and I'd call that "getting there." :)

And finally, I'll show you a tour of the beautiful blooms around Vienna during the last couple of months! I think I've nearly squealed (or actually squealed) each time I've seen a patch of flowers around the city. I love love love flowers but I can't stand to have cut flowers in my house because they're essentially dead. I love that Vienna's city planners plant all of these little patches of living flowers around the city so that Spring really comes into its own in blooming, beautiful, bright colors!

These tulips literally made me squeal with happiness! They are sooo beautiful and the colors truly pop.

They were planted in large patches near the Belvedere Palace. 

They were actually planted at the four corners near the Soviet War Memorial and Fountain.

Can you tell I LOVED these tulips? :P 

There were also flowers in the gardens of the Belvedere. We were happy to have sun and flowers on this Saturday stroll. 

Flowers in front of the Belvedere. So pretty! I like the mix of yellows, whites, and pops of red. 

I love these dark purple tulips. They are in my favorite color and they look beautiful among the white and yellow daffodils. 

The Belvedere is beautiful year round but in Spring it is at its best, I think. 

We found Liechtenstein Park on a recent Vienna Wandering.  

We had such a nice day walking around the 9th district that Saturday. 

Vienna -- Months 7-9 (November 2015 - January 2016) ... Winter.

** This post will be more a reflection of my experiences in those months. As I was not consistently taking notes during those months, these blog entries will be tinged with hindsight as I can see better my progress of adjusting looking back much better than I can whilst in those months and experiences.**

WINTER IS COMING! (I write this as someone who has never watched or read the Game of Thrones series, but that reference is so ubiquitous now and it has a dire feeling, doesn't it?)

The months of November through January were a major change for us, as we'd both lived most of our adult lives in California where winters are mild by the standards of most of the world. On top of that, we'd both spent the last half decade in San Diego, where winter just doesn't really seem to exist (though I've heard that this winter they got lots more rain due to it being an El Niño year).

These months were not actually that bad, in my opinion, at least for this first year because it was all so novel to have seasons. I found the chill and briskness of Autumn refreshing and novel, and really enjoyed being able to pull out and wear thicker, wool jackets that I'd always felt silly owning in San Diego. I really think that for the first month or so, I quite enjoyed the change of the seasons.

By early December, things had started to get a lot colder than I was used to (close to or below freezing -5 to +5 C/ 23-41F) and the shorter, darker days got even shorter and even darker. These negative effects of winter, however, were tempered by the fact that December in Vienna is filled with Christmas Cheer and Merriment. All around the city, Christmas lights were strung up above the streets, Christmas trees were dotted all around, and there were Christmas Markets all over the city. I think what made this month bearable was the novelty of living in a city that so openly celebrated Christmas by decking out all of the major parks and historical buildings. I also really enjoyed strolling around the various Christmas markets and seeing what trinkets were on display. We actually had a great time finding little presents for everyone.

Christmas Market at the Rathaus (City Hall) --> This one in particular was PACKED. 

I think December this year was also easier because we had a 16-day Christmas trip planned during which we would visit both East and West Coasts of the United States to touch base with almost all of our family members. This was our first visit home since we moved and we were excited to go home. This meant that we only spent about two weeks in December in Austria and spent the rest in the United States, so the increasingly dark and shorter days weren't so noticeable to us, because there was so much to be done before we left. We arrived back in Austria on New Year's Eve and rang in 2016 in our little apartment in Vienna.

January was where we started to feel the effects of the short, dark days and the cold weather. I think that a lot of people actually feel this way in January, due to the post-Holiday slump. To be honest, I kind of loved the cooler weather, but Chris' poor circulation in his limbs meant that he suffered more. The cold also exacerbated his eczema so that it flared up almost constantly during the winter. The part that I hated about winter was the darkness, I felt like we were in this impenetrable world of gray, with gray skies and gray concrete sidewalks and gray-tinged buildings. Without the green of trees to break up the streets, it felt so flat and dark. I really struggled to get out of bed and get started in the mornings during the first few months of 2016.

People who have lived here for a long time tell us that this winter was a relatively mild one but it dragged on for much longer than usual. I tend to believe them because I think we only got around 5 total days that it snowed and not more than a months worth of days where it was raining. But the darkness really was the worst and it seemed to stretch from mid-November and didn't seem to let up until at least the middle or end of March. I'm hoping that next winter will be easier, either by being more "winter-like" with more snow days or by being or seeming shorter. We'll see if that happens.

The days I loved the most this winter were the days with snow. There's something magical about a city that is blanketed in snow. It would instantly lift my mood because it made it seem like we were in a fairy tale with the snow-covered trees and streets. The lightness of sound on a snowy morning is something that I haven't experienced a lot in my life but I really love it. Its like this dampening of all sounds around where everything seems muffled and muted and peaceful.

Tango was mesmerized. Our little San Diego kitty experiencing weather for the first time. :)

In the end, for our first true winter, I think it went as expected for a couple of Southern Californian beach-dwellers. We definitely had a lot of adjusting to do and that will probably continue for the next few years. I really enjoyed the cooler weather, especially in contrast to the oppressive heat of the summer, but the darkness was terrible. I think next year we might look into some solutions to try and alleviate the low emotions that result from the winter season. I'm hoping for more snow next year and hopefully nicer weather earlier than the end of March, but I think I know what to expect so hopefully it won't seem so bad next year.