Austria

Jason was asked by his boss to present a paper at the ESCRS (European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons) in September. The conference just happened to be in Vienna, Austria. We left the kids with my mom and Theresa and flew to Europe. Vienna is a beautiful city with a lot of great classical music history and a lot of great food. We arrived on Friday afternoon and went straight to bed. A few hours later we woke up and went to a reception held in a historic palace downtown. While Jason was busy learning, I went on a walk around the city to see some sights. I ran into a great shopping mall and found our Christmas tree ornament (we collect one from every trip we take). Then, I joined Jason for a reception with the most amazing cheese and chocolate I've ever tasted (and trust me, I've had more than my fair share of both in my life). The next day we laced up our running shoes (this is the way Jason prefers to see a city...by running or walking around for hours) and went off to see the sights. We saw some beautiful churches, museums, palaces, and spent some time at the conference that night. So, instead of renting a room at a hotel in Vienna, we decided to check out a "home away from home" website where we found an apartment for rent, located right between the conference center and downtown Vienna. We saved a lot of money and it was interesting living with the locals...until Sunday morning at around 4 a.m. I hadn't slept well at all that night. I worry about our kids when we're gone and wasn't feeling well, when all of the sudden I heard gun shots. Yes, gun shots right outside our building. I was scared. I asked Jason if we should hide, but he said, oh we'll be fine. Trust my sweet Jason to just brush it aside. Needless to say, I now viewed our money-saving apartment as a death trap and wasn't thrilled to be staying there anymore. Anyway, we weren't shot and didn't hear any more gun fire while we were there (thank goodness). Sunday morning I accompanied Jason to the conference for his speech on the difference of two particular lenses used in surgeries. I thought he did a great job (and yes, I'm very biased). We also attended a Catholic mass that day to hear the organ played (Jason can't get enough of organs) and then we went to find our church and was greeted by a large sign on the door saying it was Stake Conference. Oh well, we tried. Monday we went to tour the Belvedere Palace. It was perhaps the most amazing display of artwork I've ever seen. We ate dinner at this beautiful little bistro adjacent to the palace and walked through the gardens. It was straight out of an old English movie. Then, Tuesday we started our long (just shy of 24 hours) trip home. I was so happy to be back in Kansas City and see Jackson and Kate. There is no place quite like home.