Das Leben ist Schön!!: August 2013

When it's hot, there's nothing else for him to do!

Hello!

It's August and Klagenfurt is HOT. Like 40C/104F hot. Like Anna melts in this weather hot. It's insane! People are telling me that it's a heat wave originating in the Sahara. Are we really that close to the Sahara that the heat can make it all the way here? Don't those Alps act like some sort of barrier to melt-your-face-off heatwaves? Either the people I talk to know nothing, or those Alps need to step it up!

We all like to sing in the car

School got out in early June, which meant I had to say goodbye to almost all of my new friends from school who headed home to their respective back countries. I miss them already, and Hank misses his pal Linus, who got dragged back to Germany with his hooman Linda. WE WANT LINUS BACK! Hank might stage a protest.

Hank and Linus, best buds!

Other than those goodbyes, I'm loving summer life. My beach partner and I have played in as many tournaments as our schedules allowed, and were happy to get 4th at the Carinthian state champions this past Sunday. We'll play in one more B-Cup (yeah, the Austrian Beach Volleyball Association thought it would be a good idea to name the tournament levels A-Cups, B-Cups and C-Cups. I don't know if anyone has pointed out that those are the common names for bra sizes, or if they know and just think it's funny!? True to beach volleyball, there are no D-Cups... :) later this month, and then beach season will be over for the year and we'll head back into the gym. It's been such a blast, while I'm bummed it took me 'til age 26 to get into it, I'm SO happy I had the chance to play so much this summer!

We celebrated 4th of July at our house, complete with a full American menu and an America-themed iTunes playlist. The national anthem came on at various times throughout the evening, and our Austrian and German guests attempted to learn the words. We all agreed that America has the best national anthem out there. Or did only I agree? I can't remember. USA!!!!!

4th of July chocolate cake

4th of July on Spatwiesenweg!

More of the cake

We got a visit from Tesha several weeks ago, and I loved having her here for a week. Despite her general uncertainty about dogs (I think she has an issue with the dirt/slobber/bodily functions that dogs bring along with them), she and Hank became best buds. Hank got used to her staying in what usually is his room, and sat outside her door every morning waiting for her to get up. When she left, he continued to sleep outside the door, hoping that Tesha would show up again! It was pretty darn cute.

Besides bonding with the Poo, Tesha and I spent the week enjoying things that we can only do in Klagenfurt. We went to the beautiful lake Wörthersee twice, and were thoroughly irked by the amount of nakedness that's so common on beaches here. We also went on a hike in Tscheppaschlucht, a beautiful river canyon located right before the border with Slovenia. We were there with Marco's mom and 88-year-old grandpa, who went all Indiana Jones on us by essentially deciding he would lead the pack for the duration of the 3-hour hike. Hank also came along and turned out to be a total canyoneering pro! Finaly, we got to bring Tesha along for smoked trout at the Breithuber pond, a meal I absolutely adore. Before taking off for Dresden, we got crêpes at one of my favorite restaurants in Klagenfurt, Île de France on Karfreitstrasse. Mmmmm. Definitely a successful trip, but as soon as she left I was ready for her to come back!

The gore of roasted trout

Gisela, Hank, Grandpa and I on the hike

Tesha, Hank, Grandpa and I at Tscheppaschlucht

At Tscheppaschlucht with Tesha, Hank and Gisela

Flower girls hiking

Silly teddy bear dog, wearing his muzzle for the bus ride back to the car from Bodenthal

Since Tesha's visit things have quieted down a bit. We celebrated Marco's grandpa's 89th birthday with a meal of Italian jause (so delicious), and we've set up a tent in the backyard to help make the space more usable in the unbearable heat. If we've learned anything from this heat wave, it's that no matter how uncomfortble it is for us, the poor pup is feeling exponentially worse. So we've been taking advantage of the sparkling clean Sattnitz river near our house, taking Hank swimming at least once a day. He's a total water baby! He especially enjoys chasing the ducks that are at home amongst the cattails, and swimming against the current to retreive a tennis/volley/soccer/anykindof-ball.

This week we're seeing some excitement because the European Championships for beach volleyball are in town, and it's taken over the place! It's the first year that I've been here for the tournament, since usually I'm at home in the states at this time. But this year I got the chance to watch some of the Austrian teams play on center court, which was a blast.