If your heart is in your DREAM a Aug/Sept 2011, NEW - links to dining/trip report

[annmarieda]

Karin, all the pictures of Austria are amazing. Beautiful. And the food pics... yup... gotta go get me a snack now.

 

[KatMark]

HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY, TOM! Hope you have a most magical day.

Lunch looks so yummy!!!!

 

[Swalphin]

Karin,
I really enjoyed this last post. First, Happy Early Birthday to Tom
I am sorry he has to get a new car, that stinks. Keep us posted on what he chooses. Can you imagine having the car you had last August in Austria. With the price of gas and what it would cost to ship over I know it isn't possible. But, man that would turn some heads!

The pictures of Linz are great, Austria looks like a beautiul country. And thanks for the translation, bad means spa !

Your lunch looked delicious, you can tell the chefs take great pride in their work. The presentation of the desserts as well as the main course, beautiful.
Tom is starting his birthday off right! Have a good day at work and thanks again.
Brenda

 

[cbg1027]

Well, IF you decide to come over here to good old Europe, maybe you want to visit DLRP AND Austria!! It's beautiful here!
I have a few more pics I am going to share with you a little later!

We were discussing Remy for a long time, but it just doesn't "draw" me! We have also decided that we won't do Palo for dinner more than twice (we NEED to do Brunch twice - it's just too good) because we are more or less "though" with the menu and there are lots of goodies I want to try in the rotation restaurants.
Now we need to decide WHEN we can fit in the FF Wine Tasting dinner. That's something that really interests both of us!

Oh it's no question of IF I want to come to Europe, and Austria, but WHEN! I Loooove Europe. I've visited France, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, and Poland, and I lived in France while working as an au pair. I almost went to DLRP when I was living in France because I was quite close (The department of Yveslines in Ile-de-France). But I ended up deciding that I should see things that don't have similar cousins in the States while I was in France. I don't regret that decision, but I still wish I had gone to DLRP! Maybe on my next trip.

I love the photos of Linz and Austria. It's so gorgeous!

Don't miss that FF Wine Dinner - every review I've seen has been stellar. I can't wait to try it myself.

Here's another real life update!

First things first - Tom had his car checked last week and yes, he will need a new car.
He has had his for more than 10 years now, he doesn't drive much and the engine is still good, but the other parts are giving in.
We have looked at a lot of cars online so far and during my Easter Vacation we will go and check out the ones which will make it in the end. So far he has quite a few he wants to have a look at!

Sorry Tom's car needs replacing. But you have so many awesome car options in Europe that we can't get here! When I was living in France I drove the family's Renault Clio a lot. I liked it, but I have no idea what the longevity is like. If I were living in Europe and needed a car, I would totally get a Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion - big gas saver! I think it's like 60 mpg....don't know what that is in liters. What cars in Tom interested in?

 

[englishrose47]

Beautiful pix of Austria !! I remember how beautiful it was from 40 years ago!!The food looks devine !!! I honestly don't know which of the entres I would pick as they both looked superb!!
Happy Birthday Tom for Tuesday!!

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Karin,

Austria looks amazing. It's so beautiful!

Your lunch made my mouth water! It looked so good.

Happy early birthday to Tom!!!

 

[lovealldisney]

Where is this little villiage? This is so beautiful! Thanks for sharing pictures!

Ok I was drooling over your lunch! It look so good!!

Please wish Tom a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Bummer about his car though! Best thing is shop around and test drive them. I hope he finds something he likes! When we were in Austria we drove a little Ford Fiesta. We liked it, they just introduced this model in the US I think it will do really well.

 

[Kelliroo3]

Wow Austria is beautiful! What a lovely country.

I'd love to see photos of your schools. I'm a new teacher!

 

[jenseib]

There you go with al lthe fabulous food pictures again. Toms dessert looks to die for. I have a thing for chocolate and mousse! MMMMM!

Happy Birthday to Tom!

 

[MamaPotts]

It's past midnight in Austria, so ...

Happy birthday to Tom!​

Your pictures of Austria are just beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing them with us!

Maybe it's just me, but that reminds me of the Boardwalk.

 

[podsnel]

KARIN!!!!

What GORGEOUS photographs- your country is obviously filled with beauty both outside and inside the restaurants!! I LOVE your posts from your real life- it is so much fun to learn about your life in Austria- and so much fun to see the photos from there as well. And that meal looked incredible- great choice for a birthday!! Thanks for sharing!!

And Happy Birthday, Tom!!!

 

[Stefy]

Wow beautiful pictures Karin, looks so serene and peaceful

Lunch looked amazing, as always.

Happy Birthday Tom Hope you have a fantastic day today

 

[dizneeat]

Wow....Austria is beautiful. What amazing, breathtaking pictures. Photographs of Europe always amaze me. Everything is beautiful and different from here, yet familiar in a way. At least to the Northeast... Florida could be a different planet from where we live.

And both meals looked amazing! Your veal from today looked particularly tasty.

Happy early birthday, Tom! I cannot possibly hope to return the photo cake gift, though.

Um...Nicki...can't you see, like, dolphins out your windows and such? I didn't realize that south Florida was so unnattractive!

Thank you, Tina!
It's fun what you take for granted. We are so used to see the beauty of the country here, that we don't really "see" it.
It is very often that I tell Tom, that if we were on vacation I would stop and take a photo, but since we live here ............

The restaurant we went to is a really good one, even though it is in a VERY tiny village. The food is outstanding there and their next special will be asperagus and I really hope they will bring back some of last year's offerings - they were out of this world good!

Karin, What incredible pictures!! Yes I agree with you sometimes it takes someone else to make you realize just how lucky you are! Happy early birthday to your brother Tom also. Sorry about Tom having to buy a new car in my opinion it is worse then having a tooth pulled! I don't know if you have to go through all the negotiations like we do here I just hate the haggeling!! For once I would love to go to a dealership pick out a car and know that I got the best price possible the first time out but that is not the way it is here!!! Sometimes I feel it is one big game you have to play with the salesman!! Good Luck Tom. Elaine

Thank you, Elaine.
It's seeing some things every day that don't let you "see" their real beauty.

As for Tom's car. I think it is the same in the US as it is here - it's the negotiating and the trying to "work out" a price that really gets to me! I hate doing that, but when buying a car, I think it is part of the deal.
We have decided to go to a few different dealers and have a look at some of the cars he is thinking about, during my Easter holiday.

Karin, all the pictures of Austria are amazing. Beautiful. And the food pics... yup... gotta go get me a snack now.

Thank you!
Hope your snack was as good as our lunch!

HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY, TOM! Hope you have a most magical day.

Lunch looks so yummy!!!!

Lunch was as yummy as it looked!

 

[dizneeat]

Karin,
I really enjoyed this last post. First, Happy Early Birthday to Tom
I am sorry he has to get a new car, that stinks. Keep us posted on what he chooses. Can you imagine having the car you had last August in Austria. With the price of gas and what it would cost to ship over I know it isn't possible. But, man that would turn some heads!

The pictures of Linz are great, Austria looks like a beautiul country. And thanks for the translation, bad means spa !

Your lunch looked delicious, you can tell the chefs take great pride in their work. The presentation of the desserts as well as the main course, beautiful.
Tom is starting his birthday off right! Have a good day at work and thanks again.
Brenda

I am glad you liked the photos! I was not sure if all of you would be interested in a few pics of Austria.

We would not be able to afford tax (we need to pay a monthly tax on our cars) and insurance on the car we had last year, let alone pay for the car itself! Even though it's a nice thought.
Cars are VERY expensive here. We are always amazed at what cars cost in the US compared to here!

We visit that restaurant for special occasions, like birthdays or celebrations. They are a bit expensive but it is so worth it, just not your everyday restaurant!

Oh it's no question of IF I want to come to Europe, and Austria, but WHEN! I Loooove Europe. I've visited France, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, and Poland, and I lived in France while working as an au pair. I almost went to DLRP when I was living in France because I was quite close (The department of Yveslines in Ile-de-France). But I ended up deciding that I should see things that don't have similar cousins in the States while I was in France. I don't regret that decision, but I still wish I had gone to DLRP! Maybe on my next trip.

I love the photos of Linz and Austria. It's so gorgeous!

Don't miss that FF Wine Dinner - every review I've seen has been stellar. I can't wait to try it myself.

Sorry Tom's car needs replacing. But you have so many awesome car options in Europe that we can't get here! When I was living in France I drove the family's Renault Clio a lot. I liked it, but I have no idea what the longevity is like. If I were living in Europe and needed a car, I would totally get a Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion - big gas saver! I think it's like 60 mpg....don't know what that is in liters. What cars in Tom interested in?

I remember you mentioned that you lived in Europe for a while. You have to come back and see what's changed!
And you have to come and see DLRP - they definitely have the most beautiful of all the Disney Castles. And things ARE a bit different in the parks as well.

Just this morning I saw a few photos of the FF Wine dinner on the Food Photo thread and it looks AMAZING!!! Now we need to decide WHEN we are going to do this! I really really want to try it.

As for the car - thanks for the recommendation of the VW, but if there is one car we no longer buy than it is a German one! FAR too expensive, you pay extra for everything and we both have had one and were NOT impressed - especially when it comes to service.
For the last few years we both have had a Nissan and that is what we are leaning towards. I like the new Chevy Cruize and Tom is interested in a Renault as well, we'll see what comes our way. We will go and have a look at different models during my Easter vacation in 3 weeks. Tom has until September to get his new car, so we are on the safe side, taking our time looking.

Beautiful pix of Austria !! I remember how beautiful it was from 40 years ago!!The food looks devine !!! I honestly don't know which of the entres I would pick as they both looked superb!!
Happy Birthday Tom for Tuesday!!

Thank you, Rosie! Many things have changed over the years and I am sure it would be interesting for you as well.
What about taking your "guys" on a trip to good ol' Europe? Now that would be a FUN free trip!

 

[dizneeat]

Karin,

Austria looks amazing. It's so beautiful!

Your lunch made my mouth water! It looked so good.

Happy early birthday to Tom!!!

Thank you, Sophia!
Maybe you and Joe should consider visiting the old world for a change. We would love to see you here!

Where is this little villiage? This is so beautiful! Thanks for sharing pictures!

Ok I was drooling over your lunch! It look so good!!

Please wish Tom a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Bummer about his car though! Best thing is shop around and test drive them. I hope he finds something he likes! When we were in Austria we drove a little Ford Fiesta. We liked it, they just introduced this model in the US I think it will do really well.

The little village in the photo is Hallstatt. It is a really beautiful little village nestled along the shores of the Lake Hallstatt.

Lunch was yummy! No complaints there!

We knew that he would have to get a new car. We were just not sure if it would be this year or next year - well, now we know!
We usually take into consideration how much free service you get for a new car - all the different "makes" have different conditions and we were lucky with the Nissan so far and their service is pretty good - only thing is, they got incredibly expensive lately.
I am driving a Nissan Micra (smaller than your Versa!), the smallest car they make here and the price for the model I would like to get (in a year or so ...... ) has gone up to about 22 000$ to start out with! And that's A LOT of money for a small car.

Wow Austria is beautiful! What a lovely country.

I'd love to see photos of your schools. I'm a new teacher!

Thank you!
I'll try to get a few photos of the "inside" of our school for you - just need to take my camera to school.

Here are some photos of the outside!

 

[lovealldisney]

Karin,

What a lovely school you work at! I love all the bright art work on the outside! What grade do you teach?

Have you ever heard of Youth for Understanding? My lovely German friends are encouraging my DD to apply and come and study in Germany for a year. They are both involved with the orginization. My DD is in her 3rd year of taking German language and I think she is doing really well she has mantained an A in the class throughout the 3 years. Anyway she really wants to apply she's thinking her 3rd year in high school. We are hoping for a scholarship as that is the only way we could afford it.

And WOW for a little car that is really expensive! Good luck in finding something you like.

 

[dizneeat]

There you go with al lthe fabulous food pictures again. Toms dessert looks to die for. I have a thing for chocolate and mousse! MMMMM!

Happy Birthday to Tom!

I am looking forward to ALL the yummy photos of food you are going to take on the DREAM!!
Have a magical trip, Jen and Claire and mum and dad!

It's past midnight in Austria, so ...

Happy birthday to Tom!​

Your pictures of Austria are just beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing them with us!



Maybe it's just me, but that reminds me of the Boardwalk.

I am glad you like the photos! The large square building on top of the "hill" in the "Boardwalk photo" is our castle!

KARIN!!!!

What GORGEOUS photographs- your country is obviously filled with beauty both outside and inside the restaurants!! I LOVE your posts from your real life- it is so much fun to learn about your life in Austria- and so much fun to see the photos from there as well. And that meal looked incredible- great choice for a birthday!! Thanks for sharing!!

And Happy Birthday, Tom!!!

Thank you, Ellen!
Can I talk you into visiting Austria? We have yummy drinks too!

Wow beautiful pictures Karin, looks so serene and peaceful

Lunch looked amazing, as always.

Happy Birthday Tom Hope you have a fantastic day today

Maybe I should have put those photos up earlier - you might have changed your wedding venue!

 

[dizneeat]

Karin,

What a lovely school you work at! I love all the bright art work on the outside! What grade do you teach?

Have you ever heard of Youth for Understanding? My lovely German friends are encouraging my DD to apply and come and study in Germany for a year. They are both involved with the orginization. My DD is in her 3rd year of taking German language and I think she is doing really well she has mantained an A in the class throughout the 3 years. Anyway she really wants to apply she's thinking her 3rd year in high school. We are hoping for a scholarship as that is the only way we could afford it.

And WOW for a little car that is really expensive! Good luck in finding something you like.

Thank you!
The artwork was done by pupils. We have a "project week" the last week of school and pupils sign up for all sorts of projects (I usually do silk painting). One year one of the projects was to "decorate the outside of our school" They even did the "netting" (sunsails) in the inner courtyard!

Pupils at our school are between 10 and 14 and we teach all of them. You usually will start with the 10 year olds and stick with them until they leave.

No I have not heard of the organization you talked about. But I will definitely look it up! Learning and practicing a language in the "original country" is such a wonderful thing. I hope your daughter gets to do it! I am sure she would LOVE studying in Germany or maybe she could even make it to Austria! Wouldn't you have to visit her if she went to Europe?

 

[Swalphin]

Happy Birthday Tom
Hope you had a great day today sending lots of Pixie your way we already know you are going to have a fantastic year.

 

[dizneeat]

Okay, so what is new today?

I think it is someone's birthday today!

Happy Birthday, Tom!!!!!!!!!​

So, where are the presents?













Now this one was a bit too big to wrap!

A cruise on the Disney DREAM!!

And another cruise on the Disney DREAM!!

Hey and why not throw in a third cruise for good measure!

But wait, we are not done yet!

Here's to 8 nights at OKW before the cruises!

........ and another 9 nights after the cruise!

Well, actually these are the presents for both of us for birthday, Christmas, Easter, whatever day might require a present!

And YES, there is cake!