Yesterday was a public holiday in Austria so we spent the day in the mountains of Steiermark visiting Kathi's grandparents. It was a good day for driving as there was very little traffic but the afternoon rain also made it an excellent day for napping. As usual the grandparents provided enough food to feed a small army, and I finally learned that the cookies I always enjoy so much are not store bought but in fact made by Kathi's grandfather. I need to get the recipe before next December as I think they would make an excellent addition to Christmas and be enjoyed by Santa very much.
I met Martin after work tonight for a Kentucky Fried Chicken dinner. The food was lacking in taste and quality but the company was nice. We both agreed that KFC in the U.S. prepares a better meal. I thought it might also be interesting to mention that KFC is one of the most popular foreign fast food restaurants in China. If I remember correctly, something like one new KFC opens every week in the country. This could come in handy for our upcoming trip if I become really desperate for a meal, but I believe I am well traveled enough to go local for the full three weeks. Also, I believe one of my mom's first jobs was at a Kentucky Fried Chicken (on 90th?) in Omaha while she was in high school. Want to provide us with a confirmation on that Christi?
For any of you South Park fans who are unaware, in 2008 the South Park Studios website was launched offering all episodes ever aired of the show. Most American television shows that are made available for online viewing block international traffic but South Park is open to all of the people of the world with only a few exceptions (luckily Austria is not one of them). So if anyone is bored and online, or looking to watch some South Park in English check the website out.
As I stated we would do in my Wachau Hike post, we went to the outlet mall at Parndorf and bought some hiking appropriate clothing a few weeks ago. Everything was on sale so we escaped well under budget and yesterday I had a chance to break my stuff in. I was surprised at the immediate comfort level and know that future hikes will be much more enjoyed. Also, I borrowed a picture from Sona of what seems is everyone listening to a story told by Mario during lunch.
Today we went for a walk in the Vienna Woods with Martin, Martina, Stefan, Sona, Sebastian and Mario. During such trips Martina and Martin act as our guides as they are frequent visitors to the woods. Our path involves about a 45 minute hike to a hütte where we eat lunch (I believe Martin has been sneaking off to the hütte since he was a teenager). Without our guides the hike could turn into an all day venture so thank god for people with a knowledge of the area.
Sebastian was pretty clingy to his mama all day. He was really sweet but I don't think he is a big fan of hiking. Mario on the other hand has no problem finding entertainment via the surrounding rocks and snakes. As always at a hütte, the lunch was good and the 45 mintue hike back to the car was a perfect excuse for some afternoon relaxation when we got home.
Kathi got me hooked on nice things. When we first moved into our apartment I bought cheap plates, silverware and kitchen knives because we did not have a garden with a money tree growing in it (Martina and Martin did however provide us with a nice kitchen knife that I still very much like). As time went by I gave into some of Kathi's wishes and we replaced our plates and silverware with high quality brands. More than a year has passed since those purchases and they still look new while the cheap brands mostly looked like crap by the time we threw them out. This fact got me sold on certain things of quality so yesterday I bought Kathi a new bread knife. Since I now only buy hand crafted blades the purchases have to come one at a time to spread out the cost. So which knife will be next?
One of IKEA's gimmicks is to sell cheap food in order to attract shopping families to the store, 
and about a year ago €0,50 hot dogs were added to the menu which I immediately took a liking to as they remind me of baseball games in America. Unfortunately they are not available in the little IKEA grocery store but on Saturday Kathi asked the ladies working the counter in the restaurant if we could buy some unprepared hot dogs and buns to take home with us. They were nice and went along with the idea (though probably thought we were weird) and now I have the perfect addition to a night of baseball on ESPN America. Hopefully when I run out the next workers will be just as nice.
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