February 2012
5 posts
Reflections 2011: My First Job
In a country and a time where and when jobs were not easy to come by, even if you were a successful college graduate, I managed to get a good one. I graduated from the George Washington University in May 2008 without any job lined up. So, I took an internship with a humanitarian organization near my hometown. Although it was only a short 3 months, the internship was one of the greatest...
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Skiing Song
“Crunch Crunch Crunch Crunch Crunch”
Is the sound that I make,
while I walk through the snow.
My cheeks are red,
from the brutal cold.
This is the price I pay,
to ski these slopes.
I’m a ski bum slave!
I’m a ski bum slave!
From the moment I was born
until the mountain takes me away.
I’ve got corsets on my feet
that keep me strapped to my skis.
Weighing me...
January 2012
7 posts
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My London Top 5
I feel a bit like a traitor saying this, but, sometimes I wish I were British. Here’s a list of some reasons why:
The Men: British men dress like sexy professors and I dig that. Luckily for me, my husband is basically British because he fakes a great accent and buys his clothes from Paul Smith.
Double Decker Buses: London’s public transportation has some serious flare. Even though...
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Missing
While walking through Imperial Vienna,
I think of the Big Apple.
I think of what I miss:
Conversations through cubicles (in English, of course),
Laughter filled lunches,
Walking to and from work,
Movie nights with neighbors,
Blackswan or Pirhana 3D,
Commentary from the Peanut Gallery,
Making meals (always gluten-free) together,
Shimmying past eachother ,
With a glass of red wine in...
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Reflections on 2011: The Wedding
On New Year’s Eve, I was scrolling through Tweets of my sisters’ because it’s the most effective way to find out what’s going on with them back in the USA. Madeline tweeted something about it being a big year, with graduation, jobs, weddings, and I thought that my 2011 deserved some reflection as well. Because I suck at tweeting, I’m blogging about it instead.
In...
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Weihnachten, Silvester, and Visitors from the USA!
Liebe Familie und Freunde,
Merry Christmas! Happy Hannukah! Happy New Year!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I can’t believe it’s already January 2012 and we’ve been here for four months! We celebrated the holidays here in Vienna and then welcomed Jacob and Martha Nimmer to Austria and a had a great time showing them around our new city and also went skiing...
December 2011
6 posts
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Falling in Love with Paris
I mentioned, in the beginning of our trip, that I wanted to go to Paris for my birthday. It was a comment in passing and I didn’t think it would really happen since my birthday is Christmastime and is quite hectic. My amazing husband looked into hotels, and then flights and found that it wasn’t too expensive, and our trip was booked.
I have been to Paris once before, when I was...
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Christmastime in Vienna
Christmastime in Vienna is simply magical. The Inner City, the historical district, is especially breathtaking as every street is lit with beautiful light structures hanging from the center of the street. While daytime in Vienna at this time of year has a tendency to be gray and gloomy, once night falls, and the lights shine, the city truly becomes alive with Christmas spirit.
Because...
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I live in the best city in the world! →
According to Mercer, Vienna ranks #1 for the city with the best quality of life. But I still love New York.
November 2011
10 posts
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Gluten Free Article in the NYT Sunday Magazine →
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Eeek! Going to the Spa
Saturday morning, we recieved a last-minute invitation from Christine to join her in Semmering, a mountain town for the weekend. We would be staying in a nice hotel with dinner and breakfast included, plus a spa for relaxing after hiking. It sounded lovely and I jumped on the opportunity to get away from dreary Vienna for a bit.
We arrived in the afternoon and decided to skip out on the hike...
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What's in a name?
I am no longer Claire Twomey. My name is Claire Del Monte, according to my brand spanking new US Passport, issued on October 31, 2011. And, it feels weird.
For 25 years I have been Claire Althea Twomey. I love my initials, CAT. When I was little, I wanted to be called Cat, because I thought it was so cool that my initials spelled something, and that something was an animal, and an animal that...
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Suesses oder Saures?!: Halloween in Vienna
According to Alex, when he was 9, no one in Austria celebrated Halloween. When he attempted trick or treating, the neighbor asked him, “do your parents know you’re begging?”. A lot has changed in the years since, but Austrian Halloween is still a far cry from the American holiday.
Not only is there no real build up to Halloween, there isn’t a visual reminder at all....
October 2011
19 posts
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Settling into a Routine
Since returning from Italy, Alex and I have begun to settle into a daily routine here in Vienna. The end of the trip signaled not only the start of our day-to-day lives, but also a change in the weather. The gorgeous weather that we had up until the end of September is gone and Fall has settled in. I am reluctantly wearing my down winter jacket most days and for some reason I feel that it is...
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Going to the dry cleaners aka my first experience...
I went to the dry cleaners yesterday to pick up Alex’s clothes and realized I didn’t know how to say pick up. So after greeting the shop owner, I pointed to clothes and mimed taking them away. Blank stare. Then, I tried English. Blank stare. Then I saw the the ticket, and realizing I didn’t have it, I said in my best German, “I have no ticket, my husband has it.”...
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Roadtrip to Italy
Our first stop was Graz, Austria. Graz is in the Styrian Region (Der Steirermark) of Austria and is the second largest city, with the fifth highest stadard of living in Europe. We arrived in the evening and immediately sought out the restaurant that Lonely Planet recommends as an upscale heurige (wine tavern), Der Steirer (The Styrian). The atmosphere was cute, cozy and romantic,...
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September 2011
14 posts
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“Lederhosen aren’t just for special occasions here in Austria, people where...”
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