Weinachten in Wien (Christmas in Vienna)

Last week, Levi and I traveled to Vienna to see Jake and Becca and help them get settled in their new German-speaking country. It was a too-short trip (we were only there about 12 hours longer than we were traveling), but we had a lot of fun catching up with the two of them and enjoying a city that's special to all of us.

It was nice that we have all been to Vienna together before since we had such a short time there and wanted to spend it hanging out with Jake and Becca instead of feeling obligated to cram in all the sight-seeing of a new place. We did visit some of the sights, though, including the spot where Levi proposed to me in 2008 (the Hofburg Palace) and several coffee shop haunts from Levi's time studying abroad there in 2007.

Something that was new to all of us (and a perk of visiting in December) were the weihnachtsmärkte, or Christmas markets. They were full of garland, lights, warm drinks, handmade gifts and more. The warmth and coziness of them was very welcome in the 20-degree weather. Also, there were beautiful Christmas lights hanging in the main shopping streets.

firetruck

where we got engaged (though we were in a carriage going through this archway at the time)

It was sad to leave Jake and Becca, but we're looking forward to seeing them again when they visit in March. Overall, it was a great but bittersweet trip, both because we had to say goodbye to Jake and Becca again and also because we realized it would probably be awhile until we get to travel abroad again. We plan to continue to make traveling a priority when we have kids, but I know it will be more difficult, and I imagine we won't be traveling too far with a tiny baby. I guess for now we should just look forward to the coming chapter of life as a new "adventure".