Not Dead & the Prom

So... wow! it has been 23 days since we posted... a little longer than we typically take between posts... we have just been so busy though! I (Allison) have been working on my final piece to completing Grad school... a paper (BOO!!!!) and Jeff has been super busy with lots of fun things at Kellogg... from working with the consulting club to getting ready for the GIM trip. You can check out the site for his crazy adventure here.

We did, however, get the chance a few weeks ago to get all dolled up and have a night out on the town for the Kellogg prom. We were able to hang out with our friends Simon & Stephanie who are soon to be relocating to Boston (BOO!!!). So, it was a nice time being able to chill with them and rekindle our shared love of Chinese Yo-Yos. Ahhh, memories

Skating in Graffiti World

After an almost four hour train ride from Vienna, we arrived in Budapest. Our expectations were admittedly sky-high, but the city itself didn't live up to much of the hype. The dominant choice of decor in the city is graffiti (which much like U.S. graffiti, is equally illegible) and unfortunately most of the buildings are in serious need of repair. However, this did not stop us from having a good time, seeing our sister Kelly compete in her skating competition, and soaking in a good bit of the city.

We saw most of the tourist stops, bathed in a famous Hungarian bath (The Gellert), drank way too much wine in a wine cellar, ate a lot of great food, drank champagne while cruising up and down the Danube, cheered for the Miami team at the ice rink, rode the subway (A LOT), drank coffee and ate dessert at a famous local Pastry shop, and enjoyed a wonderful four days in this interesting, but surprisingly expensive city.

Thank you Kelly for giving us the chance to make such an adventure and to see you perform on the world stage!

The Land of Hotdogs & Beef

It was amazing, but despite all of the beef & hot dogs that Vienna ships to the Chicagoland area, we didn't encounter any over there. However, we did encounter a land worthy of a bullet point recap of our journey!

• Vienna, unlike Chicago, likes to change road names every few blocks or so. Add in the fact that few roads actually go straight, and it makes for difficult navigating.
• Vienna loves pizza. Apparently the U.S. doesn't have the market cornered on this pseudo-Italian dish.
• Everyone speaks English here, but Allison got yelled at in French by an employee at Starbucks.
• Allison loved being mistaken as French.
• Viennese enjoy their coffee, and have dozens of ways to serve it. We enjoy it all, as long as it has caffeine.
• Allison found out that she really likes Austrian fashion. Jeff found out that he really hates the prices. Stupid depreciating dollar...
• St. Stephens, the dominant cathedral in the city, despite being under renovation, was impressive in scale and grandeur. Church services seemed to be lacking though.
• The best Italian food we have ever had we found in a little restaurant late on a Tuesday night. The worst hotel breakfast food we have ever had we found the next morning. All in all it balanced out.
• European-style bedding is AWFUL. Whoever decided it was a good idea to split sheets and comforters in two over there should be put in a barrel and kicked down a large hill.
• Austrian architecture puts the Windy City to shame (and pretty much every US City). But our baseball team can whoop theirs! (and my dad can beat up your dad)
  

Overall we loved our little taste of Vienna and would recommend spending a day or two to anyone in the area. Up next...Budapest!

Pivo & Zachod, all you need to know

We're back in the land of hand sausages and beer, known to most as Prague. It's been a little over a year since seeing our friends Craig and Sarah here, and since then we've added another friend, their six month old son, Isaiah. His Czech isn't so good yet (or his English for that matter), but he's cute.

The last three days we got to enjoy sushi, drink beer, shop for Czech eggs, drink beer, play Wii, drink beer, celebrate Easter with the Springers' local community, drink beer, meet one of Jeff's Kellogg classmates and his girlfriend for drinks (where we drank beer), visit Old Town Square, drink pivo, drink lots of coffee, and simply soak in a little slice of Prague...and drink beer.

Off to the train bound for Vienna in the morning. Thank you Springers, see you this summer on our side of the pond!

Ajoy!

Callie's Inaugural

I'm late getting this posted, but we got our first taste of a one-year-old's birthday party last Saturday celebrating Callie Swierzcek. The verdict? One-year-old's make off like bandits, but unfortunately for them, they don't remember any of it (the other 2-5 year-olds in the room sure do though).

Beer, Italian food, cake & icecream, good friends, good times, you know the drill.

Congrats Swierzceks!

One More Week

One more week until we head out of town... I know both of us need some good down time... and by down time, I mean traveling to Europe, including three individual cities over the course of a week… but that is how we do it… (at least while it is just the two of us!)

I am so excited to see Craig & Sarah and celebrate Easter with them… and I am looking forward to playing cards across from Jeff while we sit on a train watching the European landscape fly by. And I am so excited to bring a little “YUUU-ESSS-EHHH” to the World Cup in Budapest.

Ahh… one more week.

Three - Oh, Almost

Last Saturday night, the one and only Mike Riddle ALMOST turned thirty (his real birthday is Monday, but don't tell anyone). And while we don't doubt his ability to make it a few more hours to his third decade, we did enjoy celebrating him with friends and family. Mike was really able to kick back and celebrate life, and for many of us it was the first time we got to witness him dancing on the kitchen table swinging his shirt over his head while wearing a beer helmet and singing Cracker's infamous anthem, "Happy Birthday To Me".

Most of the preceding sentence is a blatant lie*.

To our dear friend Mike, we've been blessed to know you, it has been a honor and a lot of fun rolling through our twenties together. We look forward to celebrating the next thirty with you!




*it wasn't the first time**

**that's also a lie (sorry, I couldn't resist)

Vino!

We had a wonderful wine party with a few close friends and a few new ones last night. We blindly voted on the wines we all brought, and here's how it panned out:



1 - Klinker Brick 2005 - Zinfindel
2 - Dei 2004 - Sangiovese
3 - Talbot 2003 St. Julliene (mix)
4 - Shingleback 2004 Shiraz
5 - Catena 2005 Malbec
6 - Chimney Rock 2002 Cabernet
7 - Barbara D' Alba (Chianti?)

And the clear sign of a successful wine party:

Good Luck Kelly!

This is a message to Kelly from Wrigley & Gracie (our dogs). They wanted to tell her how much they love her with many kisses. Also, they wanted to wish her good luck at Nationals next weekend! Kelly, you have our support!

Coin Jar Dinner 2008

The annual practice of emptying Jeff's coin jar, taking it to the bank, and using the proceeds to enjoy a fine dinner in Chicago took place this past Friday night (goodbye little coins, we will miss you until next year). Beforehand, we took some time to walk around the new ice sculpture exhibit next to "The Bean" at Millenium Park, which turned out to be nothing more than a bunch of colored ice cut into chunks and frozen against a wall. Oh well, the night was beautiful, and not freeze-your-katoonkus off.

Yes, I made up katoonkus.

We later caught a cab over to Nacional 27, a lovely restaurant and dance club with a South American flair. It renewed our desire to sit and gaze over the Chilean wine country, sipping a bottle of fine red, with a big piece of Argentinian beef to accompany it. All for the Jeff-approved, 3rd-world, depleted-currency price of $8. Ahh, here's to the good life.

Thank you coins, you did well this year.