A Christmas Visitor!

My dad came to visit me during Christmas Break and I had a great time showing him a bit of my life here in Austria. During his visit, we took a three day trip to Innsbruck, where we especially enjoyed seeing the mountains and the Olympic facilities.

This is the Bergisel Olympic ski jump. There is a cafe at the top of the jump where Dad and I warmed up over mugs of hot chocolate. The Olympics were held in Innsbruck in 1964 and 1976.

This is a view of Innsbruck in the foreground with the snow-covered Alps in the distance. It was great to see the sunshine each day we were there (Vienna can be pretty cloudy) and to take in such breathtaking glimpses of the mountains as we toured the town.

Christmas 2008

The weekend before Christmas, my roommate and I celebrated the arrival of Christmas Break with a trip to Hallstatt, near Salzburg. This quaint town is located on a lake with mountains all around. We enjoyed wandering through the town, visiting a few Christmas markets, driving a rental car, and staying at a guest house run by a friendly, elderly couple.

Another gorgeous view just outside Hallstatt.

This is me in front of the Christmas tree on Christmas morning. My roommate and I have enjoyed having a live tree this year. We now know that it's necessary to request a fresh cut on the end of your Christmas tree trunk if you want it to draw up water. Even though our tree hasn't taken up water since we brought it home, it's retained it's color and vitality beautifully, even lasting well past Christmas and New Year's!

This is the Rathaus (City Hall) in Vienna, with an elaborate Christmas market set up in front of the building. I enjoyed visiting the market on Christmas Eve, the day it closed for the season. The top row of lighted windows on the Rathaus are decorated like an advent calendar. All the windows were open on this day.

Christkindlmarkt Field-Trip

The 4th and 5th graders enjoyed our annual field-trip to the Rathaus (City Hall) Christmas Market on December 16. All students made a holiday craft inside the Rathaus and then browsed the booths at the outdoor market with parent chaperones. Many fifth graders chose to paint their own foot mats for their craft. Below, a student gives this project two thumbs up!

Beth is the fourth grade teacher at VCS this year and we have really enjoyed planning joint parties and activities for the 4th and 5th graders to do together. While our students shopped at the Christmas market, Beth and I had a few moments to look around on our own. We enjoyed some roasted potatoes and snapped a picture to prove that it wasn't only the kids who had fun on this field-trip!

Just before heading back to school, the fifth graders posed for a class photo. What a handsome bunch!

Baking Christmas Cookies

The fifth graders baked traditional Austrian Christmas cookies in their German class this month. Each student had a job to do: rolling and forming the dough, arranging the cookies on baking sheets or dusting cookies with powdered sugar. The students got to eat their cookies at our 4th and 5th Grade Christmas party just before winter break.

Fall Break Trip

For the extended Fall Break weekend, eight of us headed to Carinthia, in the south of Austria near the Austria-Italy border. We stayed in a guest house with beautiful mountain views. We hiked, read books, played games and watched movies.

This was one of the picturesque views around the guest house. The weather was gorgeous all weekend long and the fall colors were brilliant.

We enjoyed cooking meals together at the guest house and eating around the big dining table. It was great to have plenty of time to sit and talk after eating, to enjoy the leisurely pace of vacation.

We ventured into Italy, to Venice, one day. What a fabulous city! Around each corner we'd stumble across another quaint view. Here Sandi and I pose by one of the main canals. Our whole group had fun exploring the city. We ended the day with dinner together at an authentic Italian restaurant. What a wonderful weekend with good friends!

Indoor Recess

It's been a beautiful fall here, but we finally had a rainy day and were forced to stay indoors for recess. These two girls enjoyed a break from their studies over a game of checkers. The girl on the left came to VCS in third grade and the girl on the right is new this year. They have become very good friends and love to spend time together.

Fall Festival Fun

Students and families filled the school for Fall Festival, an evening of carnival games capped off with a choir concert. Here a second grader prepares to go fishing at the fish pond booth. What will she catch on her hook? A good sized...piece of candy!

These girls were former students of mine last year. The girl in the middle is Austrian and has transitioned into an Austrian middle school this year. She came back to visit her VCS friends and teachers and was proud to report that she is doing very well in her new school.

These are some of my current fifth grade students. They are full of energy and love being together and fun events like this!