It was Saturday evening. It had been raining most of the day, so the kids and I spent our time indoors playing games and reading stories. Without our regular toys and books here, we have to get creative with what we have - which makes for some interesting games, but I think it's good for us to use our imaginations.

However, after a whole day of using our imaginations, our bodies were restless, the rain had mostly stopped, so it was time to get outside and do something. We didn't have anything in particular in mind, but we all put on our shoes and jackets and headed out onto the town.

We spent about an hour an a half exploring one neighborhood (or District) around where we think the kids will be attending school (stay tuned for the school update.) During our time out on the town, we experienced a lot of things that we usually wouldn't experience in the states - so I thought it would be fun to write about our average Saturday evening in Vienna...

First up, while we were walking down the street, an entire wedding party exited a beautiful cathedral and made their way down the road to recieve congratulations from the passers-by. The bride was simply glowing.

Further on down the road, an elderly man who had had a bit too much to drink stumbled and fell right into a busy street of oncoming traffic. Eric hurried over and helped him up, and sat him on a nearby bench safe from the road. A discussion with our kids about the effects of alcohol and the importance of the Word of Wisdom ensued.

Later, while on the Ubahn (subway), we were seranaded by a Spanish man and his guituar. He sang the Spanish lyrics to a well-known, up-beat love song, and Tyler and I danced in our seats. (If there is music, you can always count on Tyler to dance along.) Cooper dropped some coins in his cup on our way out.

Up on Mariahilfer Straße, a lively shopping area, we saw a group of young adults dancing in the street, making some kind of music video. There was no audible music, so Tyler looked confused as to why in the world they were dancing.

After passing by shop after shop and crowds of people, we ended up at Stephensplatz, an enormas cathedral with mind-boggling architechure. All around were horse-drawn carriages, and tour guides dressed in 18th century attire.

As we were walking through the crowds, the social side of Tucker came out and he began to hold his little hand out to everyone he was passing ready for high-fives. He got several high-fives and even more smiles.

Of the many wonderful things about Vienna, our kids like all the parks the very best. We found one that we hadn't been to before (there are probably a thousand more), and we stopped to play for awhile. This park was situated right next to a giant concrete tower that was used as for defense back in World War II. They have since turned it into a really cool aquarium inside. The outside appearance is rather unsightly - since it is just a really tall block of concrete - but what better use of 150 feet of flat wall, than to make it a giant rock climbing wall?!

After the park, we stopped for gelatto, and enjoyed the deliciousness of our new favorite ice cream. (No offense, Blue Bell... You will always hold a place in our hearts.) Each of us got a different flavor to top our cone, and there are still many more flavors to try. Yum!

Later, while waiting for the Ubahn, we noticed the approaching train car that was in front of us was way too croweded to fit our large family, so we moved quickly to the next car that seemed almost empty. Just after we stepped in and the doors closed behind us, we quickly realized just why that particular train car was deserted... becauase a passenger had lost their dessert (and probably their dinner too) all over the floor. Lesson learned: when in doubt, squeeze into the crowded train car.