Vienna in July

A couple of weeks ago we headed over to Vienna to visit Alex's parents.  It had been wet and gloomy in Edinburgh for most of the summer so I was looking forward to some warmer weather.  Be careful what you wish for......you might just get it!  Warm is an understatement, it was HOT!  I think it ranged from 32-38C for most of our time there, a bit of a shock to the system.  In Edinburgh anything above 25C for a couple of days in a row and we'd be calling it a heat wave, but this was the real deal.  Needless to say I was very thankful I had bought some maternity dresses from Gap a few days before cause jeans were a definite no-go.  Babywearing was also mostly a no-go, much to my disappointment.  I'm all too aware that my growing bump will shortly prevent me wearing her on my front, and she seems to have taken a dislike to being carried on my back so we may have to call it quits for a little while.  Then of course she will be older and wanting to walk even more than she does now, and there will be the new baby to carry.  I wonder how much more carrying I will do with Chloe and it makes me very sad to think that it may be coming to an end.  I did get one lovely carrying morning when we walked to the Blumengarten (flowergarden) not far from the house.  

Blumengarten

I put Chloe up in a sling to get there a bit faster so she'd have more time to play, and typically, she fell asleep just as we arrived also just as we and interrupted a wedding ceremony.  We walked through the entrance which is next to an outdoor wedding chapel and all the guests turned to stare at us.  Not wanting to intrude we stopped, and decided to walk around to a different entrance rather than walk down the path right beside the ceremony.  We turned to leave and only then did we notice the bride right behind us waiting to make her big entrance!  No wonder everyone turned to stare.  We quickly slunk away.  At least we didn't wander in with a running, screaming toddler though!

The Blumengarten was definitely one of Chloe's favourite places, and we really liked it too.  Not just a beautiful garden, but also a place to visit some animals......

Chloe signing that the goats were "happy" 

Chloe looking very happy after a visit to the turkey who lived there - a very ugly thing and for some reason, one of Chloe's favourites!

.... have an ice cream....

....play in some sprinklers and build (then destroy) some sand-castles. Hours of toddler-worthy occupation all in one place!

Another favourite was the Badesee, basically a "swimming lake" about a 15 min walk away.  We initially thought Chloe would be all about the swimming, but she was surprisingly reluctant.  Granted, she has only been swimming once in her life but she took to that in a flash and loved it, yet she was definitely nervous about the water this time around.  

Suited-up, suncreamed-up and ready to go!

Despite her floaties there was no flinging herself in the water this time around and even getting her to dip her feet in the shallows took some coaxing.  Eventually she was happy enough to do some bouncing in the water in our arms but that was about the extent of it.  Giver her a paddling pool in the back garden and she won't stay out of it, but I guess this was a little bit scarier. 

Luckily everything seems better with ice-cream.

They were setting up a little fun fair the day we were there and had dropped off some equipment but left it turned off and un-manned.  Needless to say all the kids took an interest and Chloe was straight in there too.

"Bbbbrrrrroooooooommmmmmm"..... and then she peed in the car and we made a swift exit!

Another day saw us taking Chloe for her first trip to a Zoo.  We went to the Tiergarten at Schönbrunn.  It's a beautiful zoo, and actually quite large - I don't think we ever really saw half of what there was to see but Chloe can only take so much excitement in one day. 

"Now let me see, what shall we go look at next?"

It was a bit touch-and-go for a little while as the tired cranky girl fought sleep but she eventually pushed through and got a second wind and really seemed interested in the animals and what they were doing. 

The "monkey swing rope tree" was fun to watch and she particularly liked the "purple snakes" a.k.a the eels in the aquarium.  She was also somewhat transfixed by the jellyfish floating in their pool of darkness.

Alas we didn't see any actual elephants but Chloe seemed happy enough with some miniature statues instead.

We all had a great time, I'm glad we waited until she was a bit older for her first trip because I think she wouldn't have appreciated it as much 6 months ago.  The day was punctuated with a trip to the gift shop where Chloe picked herself a monkey like the one we'd seen in the Zoo, as well as the obligatory ice cream.  

Right now I'm asking Chloe "What are we going to have now?"

Chloe answered "Ice Cream!" with a look of pure joy.

And the end result of a fun-filled day at the Zoo?

So Chloe had a blast and loved every day with her Grandparents, Vienna was certainly a hit and she didn't seem to mind the heat even if us adults were sweltering.  And really, what elses does a toddler have to do but have fun and chill out?