Hello Friends and Family!
Last year at this time, I was laying in bed at home in Madison, New Jersey, trying to digest all of the food I had consumed on Easter Sunday with the family back east. I had dyed eggs with Talia, Jack, Chase and Tyler a couple days before, and we were all probably still grazing on the chocolate eggs that Grandma Cmaylo had supplied! Somehow I would roll myself out of bed within the next few hours, when Cath and the kids would drop Grandma and I off at the train to Penn Station, where she would head for Rome, NY and I would head to JFK airport on the way back to CA.
In the blink of an eye, it's been a year, and I find myself grazing on chocolate eggs once again! Now I know that New Years is usually the time to get sentimental about time passing, but for whatever reason, Easter is bringing on the coup de nostalgie... Maybe it's because that was the last time I got to spend a good amount of time with the fam on the east coast? Anyway, Easter this year was a little different, but awesome nonetheless!
Before I get to Easter funfest, I need to rewind to last Saturday, when we celebrated Marco's mom's birthday at a beautiful restaurant on the Worthersee. Dinner was entertaining as always, as the whole family tries to make up for my limited German skills and we play a fun game of lost in translation. The waiter wasn't in on this game, and when he spewed off the day's special menu and asked me what I wanted, I was left awkwardly sitting, mouth agape, waiting for some kind soul to step in and translate for me... One of my random reminders that I live in Austria, not the States!
Sunday brought an expedition to Salzburg with the awesome Fabris clan. Kristina's parents had been in Klagenfurt for several days earlier in the week, and then returned on Saturday evening after spending several days with the family in Italy. The Sunday morning train got us into Salzburg just before noon, and while we were greeted by threatening clouds and some sprinkles, it turned into a beautiful afternoon!
Kristina had been there several weeks before with some of the guys from the mens volley team, so she knew her way around well enough to serve as an awesome tour guide to the city's sights. After enjoying a McCafe warm beverage and walking through the downtown area, we climbed the mountain to the Hohensalzburg Castle. After acquainting ourselves with the workings of a medieval fortress (though we never found out what that shaft down the side of the mountain was for!?!?), we crossed town to find ourselves at the Augustiner Brewery, where we shared some delicious pretzels and beer to finish off the wonderful day as tourists in Mozart's hometown!
After navigating our way back to the train station, Kristina and saw her parents off on their way to the airport in Wien, then hopped on our train back to Klagenfurt. It was definitely a fun-filled day, and I think we both slept 90% of the way home, besides the time spent chatting with an energetic drama student from Vienna :)
This week was pretty standard, though I did get one surprise when I was CLEARED TO PLAY on Wednesday morning! That's right, folks.. After 5 weeks of being a lazy mono-infected bum, I'm off the DL, and ready to start volleying once again. My first practice was on Wednesday evening, and while I'm more than a little rusty ("come ON hand!!!"), it was exciting to get to play, and I'm looking forward to getting back in shape oh so much... (just kidding. getting back in shape is going to be rough!)
Heli gave us Thursday and Friday off in anticipation of Easter, and on Thursday evening Sophie, Matthias, Kristina and I went to watch our friend Flocki's soccer game. Despite having spring-esque weather earlier in the week, Thursday evening brought us back to mid-January, starting with cold rain and wind, and later followed by SNOW (on April 1st?). Needless to say, it's times like those that I'm kind of happy that I play a climate-controlled indoor sport.
Saturday was the Breithuber family Easter lunch, which began with some awesome gifts from the Osterhase (the Austrian Easter bunny who knows I only like nut-free candy!) and followed with a traditional Easter meal of sliced ham, sausage, and cow tongue. (yeah, cow tongue... no big deal!!!) We ate these yummy meats (I only tried one piece of tongue, then stuck to the ham and sausage) on delicious sweet bread, accompanied by the traditional Kaerntner Reindling, a cake made with sugar, cinnamon, rasins, butter, and sometimes walnuts. We also had krenn (horseradish) in many forms, included mixed in with chopped up eggs. Needless to say, I had a full stomach and clear nostrils by the end of the meal!
Marco and his brother had to leave the marathon lunch/dinner a little early to head to pre-game warmup for their basketball game that night. I spent the rest of the evening hanging out with the Breithuber clan, including an adorable little cousin Leonora, til we left to watch the game. It was definitely a different experience than the usual Easter brunch at Brix in Yountville or hanging out at Aunt Cathy's in Sparta, but an awesome experience in its own right!
Yesterday and today have been recovery-from-Easter days, and we start regular schedule again tomorrow. In other news, our team manager booked my flight back to the states, and I'm leaving from Vienna on May 14. Which brings me back to the beginning of this post, and how fast time has flown by! I'll be trying hard to make the most of my last couple weeks of the 2009-2010 season, and I'm sure there will be pictures to chronicle the adventures...
Love you guys, hope the Easter bunny was good to you too!
xoxo
Anna
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