Austria - Dec. 27, 2018 - Jan. 6, 2019 - My 30th Anniversary of being an exchange student

Last August, I was day-dreaming of my 2016 trip to my Austrian host family's home. At the time, there were a few restaurants that were closed during that trip because of winter break. For kicks, I had looked each one of them up and saw a pattern—they all were open up to January 7th, after which they take their winter respite.  If I wanted to eat at any of these places during my next trip, I had to act fast.

I put in random dates on Kayak.com to see what flights would cost. That's odd, I thought. PRICEY! I went directly to Austrian Airlines' website. Same thing, expensive! Christmastime, apparently.  Hmmm... The same flights I had taken previously were over 1/3 more. Hmmmmmmm, I thought. Well, will my host brother, Wolfgang, even be available during these dates? He would be. I had a good sales year at work, so I booked 10 days through Liberty Travel with Austrian Airlines—they saved me a couple hundred bucks.

If you want a refresher on who the heck my host family is, click here.

2019 actually marks my 30th anniversary as an exchange student. Let's begin my very special trip. :)

Thursday, Dec. 27th:
I had a direct overnight flight with Austrian Airlines to Vienna in economy class (8 hours). I may have been squished in the middle, but my one meal on board was DELICIOUS.

Friday, Dec. 28th:

I had such a short layover in Vienna with only enough time to buy water and no time to browse shops. My flight to Klagenfurt was only 35 minutes. (By car it's 5 hours!)

I have a constant fear of my luggage not making it to my final destination! I was relieved to see my suitcase had made the journey with me!

It was around 10:45 am and after customs, Wolfgang & Sven greeted me. :) I hadn't seen Sven since I left as an exchange student in the summer of 1990. Sven's girlfriend Nicole and their 5 month old, Angelina, were waiting for me in the car. Time to drive to center city Klagenfurt for some shopping and lunch.

City center Klagenfurt:

Lindwurm Fountain with Hercules, who slayed the legendary beast. (1593 & 1636)

Porzellanhaus Sakotnik shop:

While Sven and Nicole tried to find parking, Wolfgang and I hit two shops that I knew carried Gmundner ceramics.

All of us in this selfie!

 

This was the tail end of the Christmas market.

 Wörthersee Mandl

The story goes that there was once a village in a valley renowned for the bad behavior of its residents. One day, the dwarf, Worthersee-Mandl, appeared and told them to clean up their act, but they continually ignored him until appeared with a small barrel. He released water from it until it completely flooded the village, forming Lake Worthersee. It is said that if you grasp his finger for 20 seconds and make a wish it will come true.

Gasthaus im Landhaushof for lunch:

Specials of the day:

Potato cream soup

Hake fillet over butternut squash risotto (or no fish)

Linguine with tomatoes and pesto

Prost!

Nicole and Angelina ♥

My favorite soup that I ate it every day on this trip! -- Frittatensuppe - sliced crepes in beef broth topped with fresh chives

 I picked a very popular restaurant loved by the locals. My entree was classic Wiener Schnitzel with parsley potatoes.

Rindsrolade - Rolled beef with cheese, arugula, and pesto filling.

Kärntner Käsnudeln 
Named after the region. The dumpling is filled with potatoes, cheese, onion and herbs such as mint, chervil, and parsley

Angelina with Uncle Wolfgang. He loves her SO MUCH.

Cat Cafe:

 My second time here with Wolfgang;  Sven, Nicole, & Angelina's first!

 

 This was a delicious apple cake. (Not to be confused with apple strudel.)

 Do you see the kitty in Wolfgang's coffee? I got mine with "schlag" -- whipped cream.

Sweet touch.

 This one didn't like me. :(

 

Two babies enjoyed lounging in Angelina's stroller!

 Nicole with a baby!

After the cat cafe, we drove home (about 1 hour).

Trebesing:

 My bedroom for the next 10 days. :)

 Nicole, Sven and, baby Angelina

 I came bearing gifts for everyone.

 Wolfgang's pic of me.

 Christmas present from Wolfgang and Vati. What's funny about this is that when Wolfgang and I were in a shop earlier that sold these Gmundner ceramics, Wolfgang said something about some pieces are in purple. I said, "No, there aren't any in purple!" Ooops! LOL.

Austrian schnapps :)

Austrian beer!

Dinner is their lighter meal. This was very nice of Wolfgang to organize. My host brother, Gustav, and his family joined, too. No photos of them. I have a feeling I was wiped out from the flights and the full day in Klagenfurt!

Stay tuned for more of this trip!