From August 18th-23rd we went with Chad to Bratislava, Slovakia (he had work) and we spent the weekend in Vienna, Austria. The weather was quite warm when we were in Slovakia. In fact, they were the warmest days of the summer. Will and I spent time walking around the city of Bratislava and learning about the city which is like Chad's second home in Europe. :) The city center was full of statues, small shops, and cobblestone streets. Will and I tried to visit the Castle in Bratislava BUT I could only make it half way up the large hill to the entrance because we were turned away by the stairs that were required to go the rest of the way. There were more hills than I was prepared for with the pusher. The days were also warm and so we stopped at McDonalds and I got a vanilla shake. Little did I know how well Will can drink out of straws. He drank most of the shake and was very content holding the cold cup on such a warm day. I couldn't have gotten the cup out of his hands without him squeezing it an causing ice cream to go everywhere, so he enjoyed almost the entire shake.
Groceries in Slovakia
Another interesting story about our Slovakia experience. Will and I stopped at a grocery store and thankfully the country recently has switched to using the Euro. Well, as we were getting ready to check out I had ready a 10 Euro bill to pay. I had bought some fruit, milk, snacks, and water for our hotel room. The women said the amount and I handed her the 10 and she handed me a lot of change back. My bill, which I thought was going to be about 8Euro was only 2.50! Incredible how cheap food was!
Smiles can be Universal
We also stopped into a toy/paper supply store in Bratislava just to look around. Will decided to pet this toy rocking horse from his pusher and the woman came over from behind the counter. She didn't speak English or German, but was very excited to see Will. I got him out of his pusher so he could see the horse she moved closer for him. I quickly reminded him the horse would not fit in our suitcase. The woman helped him on the horse and he was so excited! She touched his ear and the horse would make noises. Will kept trying to find the button on the ear when it would stop and she would push it again for him. He rode that horse nearly 15 minutes and this woman just kept smiling and he kept laughing.
Will and getting his picture taken
As we walked around Bratislava on a beautiful, sunny day, I let Will walk around the fountains to burn off some of his energy. Not that it ever seems to work, but I did it anyway. One Italian man came up to him and he giggled. The man was taking pictures of the fountains and took a couple of pictures of "the beautiful child." Trying to climb into the fountain and on top of the ledge near the fountain. He was entertained by Will as I was trying to chase the giggling boy around while also pushing the pusher.
About 10 minutes later Will walked to another fountain (in this same park area) and decided to go up to this couple getting their picture taken by the girl's parents. They were so cute and in love by the fountain, and my little man decided to invade their picture so he could reach for the water. The nice young guy picked up Will and let him put his hand in the water (he looked at me to see if it was OK) and then Will had new friends! They thought he was cute, he thought they were clowns as much as he laughed at them, and then she asked if they could take a picture with him. I said no worries and kept thinking about what an extroverted child I have on my hands.
Off to Vienna
We spent the weekend in Vienna, Austria and I was reminded how much I enjoyed Austria when we were in Salzburg. On our 45 minute drive from Bratislava we saw fields of Sunflowers! Sunflower seeds have to come from somewhere I guess...
The city itself is beautiful and well maintained. There were also a lot of tourists, tour groups, and tour buses around the city. We were able to spend some time walking around Friday evening and enjoyed the parks in the area. They had beautiful parks with well manicured grass and lots of benches.
On Saturday, we walked to Belvedere Castle and enjoy the grounds. Later we went on a bus tour and see the city. Will fell asleep as his hair blew in the wind. He was pretty good and we commented on how much different this bus tour was than the one a year ago in Berlin when he just slept in your arms. :) The city has lots of history and you can tell that Austrians are proud of the composers and operas that have come from Vienna. They also had wonderful schnitzel and gelato!
Will's Ducks!
Will also added to his duck collection this past weekend. When we got to our hotel late Wednesday night, Will was greeted with a duck in his baby cot. He was SOOOO excited! It was like he had never received a toy before. He tried to sleep with it next to him, but it was a hard duck and he managed to roll over on him and woke up. He also received another Hilton duck in Vienna. The collection keeps growing...
Pictures from last week
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