Best of Vienna.

Vienna was kind to us, so kind in fact, that it is almost hard to talk about. Because what do you say when there is so much to say? Instead I will leave you with these pictures of some of the beautiful places and treasures of Vienna. But please know, that the real treasures are the friends we made in so short a time, that made it very difficult to leave, and made us want to extend our stay by a whole year.

These chandelier Christmas lights near Stephansplatz.

New Years Eve: waltzing at midnight and fireworks in all directions.

Sadly these pictures do no justice to the fear and excitement of it all.

The Belvedere in general and seeing Klimpt's Kiss there in particular.

Wittgenstein's house on our very last day. He built and designed it himself.

I had heard that it was boring, but it wasn't boring at all: only modern.

These were left in our fridge with milk for crepe making. My favorite reads: If I had to
choose between my friendship with you and one of my limbs, I'd be missing a member.

Apfel kuchen (apple pie/cake) made with love by
our favorite neurosurgeon/painter.

Farewell present for Spencer from other dear friends.

Farewell present for me from the same friends.

And for your pleasure: one of the funniest thing that happened in Vienna. It is tied to the talk I gave one Sunday. I finished writing it that morning around 3 am, sitting in a computer lab at Spencer's school. He was busy working on a project, and I was too scared to bike the hour home without him. I had a gigantic piece of paper covered with my scrawled notes, when Spencer's friend walks in. The boy, Luis, asked me what I was working on. And maybe because I didn't know very many people, and was in a different country, and it was 3 in the morning, I explained that I was going to be speaking at our church the following day and very enthusiastically asked him if he would like to come. (This isn't to say that I shouldn't, or couldn't have done that if I was in my own country, it is just that I hadn't in a long while.) He gave a "maybe" kind of answer and left it at that. Which was okay. Spencer sees this friend a day or so later, and the friend says, "Your wife's really religious, huh?" in that insider kind of way that makes you know he assumes Spencer isn't religious. Spencer already finds this funny. Probably because he is just as, or more religious than me. But it isn't until many, many days later that I am thinking about the exchange again, when it dawns on me: he thinks I am a preacher! Spencer's friend thinks I am a preacher!! What other church allows regular members of the congregation to speak?