Home Sweat Home! (Part I)

We are home!! Hot and sweaty, a far cry from the cool and dry Vienna. We spent a few days in Salzburg before heading back to Vienna to catch a plane back home. A long plane journey, due to the transit time in Dubai as well as Colombo. Actually thank goodness there were transits as I don't think Gabriel would have been able to take 14hrs of plane ride at one go. (Then neither would we!)

Salzburg was a really nice place. The birth place of Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (I just found out). Everywhere you go, you'll see the Mozart Head chocolate. We even went for the Sound of Music Tour. The movie was shot in Salzburg of course. Saw the house they lived in, the gazebo, the church, etc. And nothing would have been the same without the singing we did in the bus.

Everything was good until I had a stomach upset which lasted 2 days. Had to go with just water and a little bread. Fred and I were taking turns. He had a bad tummy too when we were in Vienna. Blamed it on the beer and the pig's knuckles at the Schwiezerhaus.

It was a great holiday despite the fatigue and tummy upset. Gabriel definitely had a great time. He got to run about without having to sweat! Had a few mosquito bites, a bruise on the cheek and ear (he fell off from our bed one morning) and a small cut on his forehead (he fell on the gravel while having a tug-of-war with his daddy). He definitely enjoyed the food that I let him experiment, more so when I was not well enough to cook for him as he got to eat what we ate.

Faces of Vienna (Off to Salzburg)

We are going to Salzburg for a few days, so we may not get internet connection there. So for the next few days, you can have a look at the various Faces of Vienna I've compiled.











Catch you all in a few days time!

Leopoldsberg

Today, we went up to Kahlenberg again, but this time, further up to Leopoldsberg. The view was amazing and we had a really good view of the whole of Vienna.



We had lunch up there and then later, tea. We had Apple Strudel and Ice Cream. Mummy had a cuppa Viennese coffee too!



After that, we went to the NaschMarkt and walked around a little.

I think Baby Antanas had a good time with us too! See him smiling?



See you all soon!

Gabriel on a swing in Vienna

I'm really having fun on this swing! Wheee!!

Running around Millenium Tower

Gabriel having fun running around

Gabriel and Antanas

Playing footsie.. Gabriel attempts to trick Antanas into looking away while he grabs Antanas' sock with his toe.

Shopping and High Towers

I tossed and turned the whole night and kept Mummy up most of the night. Daddy kinda snored through my entire ordeal. Mummy had a stiff neck and bad headache for the most of the day.

After meeting Aunty Shirley and Baby Antanas at Westbahnhof to get our tickets to Salzburg, we went to the shopping stretch at Mariahilferstrasse. I totally slept through all the shopping and only woke up for lunch. I think it's the cool weather outside. Hmmm.. maybe Mummy should let me sleep on the balcony. I'd probably sleep very well!


We had lunch in a park and when that was done, I had a cool ride on a swing and also on a sleepy swing with Antanas! I loved that so much! See my videos!


I slept soon after and Mummy and Daddy left me downstairs with Mama and Kong Kong and went up the Donauturm at the Donaupark. They took some nice pictures. I'll ask Daddy to upload them too.



And for dinner, we went to Prater to eat some famous Pig's Knuckles in Schweizerhaus and Daddy and Kong Kong drank beer! I got to try some bread and a little pork. Thank you Mummy!


The restaurant is situated in Volksprater, an amusement park, where there is bumpercars, rollercoasters, amusement rides and many many more rides. Since I couldn't pass the height minimum, Mummy didn't let me go for any. I had to just dance on the street for everyone to see instead.


We went up the Giant Ferris Wheel (Reisenrad) and had a really good view of Vienna at night. Kong Kong said that the ferris wheel is over 100 years old. Ooh..

Catch you all soon!

Mass in Stephanplatz

Today we went for mass in Stephanplatz. I slept through the whole of the mass. It was in German, but I heard Daddy singing quite loudly.. strange..


After that, we went to walk around the old town and did our own walking tour. I thoroughly enjoyed myself in my comfy Zooper. The cool weather really got to me and I easily fell asleep when I was sleepy.


We had lunch in a park called Volksgarten and I got to stretch my legs and run around a little after that.


We continued walking around and also went to check out the Spanish Riding School. Mummy wanted to try out the Chocolate Cake from Sacher Hotel, as it is supposed to be very very good (and expensive).



It was a really tiring day with all that sitting in my stroller. I got to run around after dinner too and terrorised everyone. I think I won't sleep much tonight as I'm really hyped-up!

See you all soon!

Hungry Giant

P9170075
Originally uploaded by fredchong.

Yum yum.. I'm hungry..
I feel like eating some small people..

Mama goes Line-dancing in Vienna

This morning, we went to Karlskirche (Church of St Charles Borromeo) to look around and saw a whole lot of Buddy Bears outside. The bears were so colourful and amazing! Sadly there wasn't a Singapore bear for me to take a picture with. So, I took a picture with a bear which matched my Zooper!



After that because it started raining, we decided to go shopping. So we went to Shopping City. There's also a large IKEA there. Daddy walked into a large babystore and saw something he liked. Now he is deciding whether to buy it for me. It's a nice Stokke chair.



We went to a place called Gasometer for dinner and for Mama to go line-dancing. We had Macdonald's for dinner and later went to watch Mama. I was so excited watching everyone dance that I wanted to join in too!



I found a car I liked there.. and I started my driving lessons right there and then!



See you all soon!

A-wandering in Vienna

On Saturday, we went to the Weekend Market at NaschtMarkt to shop for old and antique stuff. Later, we went up the mountains to Kahlenburg and Vienna Woods. We had a nice lunch at the top of Viennese food and then we walked down through the vineyards after lunch.

It was nice and cool up there in the mountains and I really loved the freshness of the air. Kong Kong was picking some grapes on the way down and wanted me to try them, but Mummy said it was better not..



On Sunday, we went to the Bundesgarten Schonbrunn. We have some wonderful pictures! Have a look at the Flickr site yah?





Today we are going with Aunty Shirley and Baby Antanas to walk around the churches and maybe do some shopping... hee hee.. for Mummy, of course!

See you all soon!

Walking around Vienna

Today we walked around Vienna without Kong Kong. He went for his IAEA meeting.


Can you see me? I'm in my new Zooper Twist stroller! I'm sleeping in there.. That's Stephansplatz behind.. see if you can spot the cathedral spire..


We met Aunty Shirley and Baby Antanas there at Stephansplatz and off we went a-wandering around Vienna!


Here we are at Stadtpark having lunch. Hmm.. what shall I have for lunch, Mummy?


The weather was beautiful! Here's Daddy, Mummy and I standing outside the Parlament building.


I love Vienna already!


See you all soon!

I love planes!

We took some pictures on the tarmac when we flew into Vienna yesterday. Actually, I think we were in Dubai then.

I would have gone up to touch the plane, but Mummy wouldn't let me.

Here's a picture of the engine..

Wee!!

Maybe I will be a pilot when I grow up!!
See you all soon!

Going to Vienna

Here's me in the bassinet on the plane.. (I think I'm too long for it already!)




and sitting on Mama's lap, cos I wanted to see where we were..

















At night, though jetlagged, we went for dinner.. I tried out some nice spare ribs and fries at Chatanooga at a good restaurant Kong Kong and Mama patronise often. Yummy!















Here's a shot of the food.
















Catch you soon!

Gabriel going round and round!

Gabriel can now go round and round the sofa like his cousins, pulling his toy snail. Look at his face and you'll know how much he is enjoying himself!

Vienna, here we come!!

We are flying off early tomorrow morning and have to be at the airport at about 12am. I am so excited and I can't sleep. In fact for the past two nights, I've been sleeping at 2.30am. Mama said that I was probably adjusting my clock to Vienna time. :)

Mummy has been so busy packing for me, herself and Daddy. Daddy is very busy getting all his stuff done before we leave, so he left the packing to Mummy. There are so many things to bring especially for me. She was told by Aunty Shirley that the weather can be quite unpredictable, so she has to pack clothes to suit the warm and cold for me. Our suitcases are packed quite to the brim already, mostly of my diapers. We are also bringing over some food stuff for Antanas.

Hopefully we are able to get some free internet connection in our rented apartment. Then I can continue to blog and let you know how we are doing there. If not, we'll be back in 2 weeks time and I will let you know everything about our travel. So, do check us out yah?




Here is a picture of me with Ah Meng at the Singapore Tourist Information booth. I was trying to tell Ah Meng that I was feeling very warm!











At the meantime, I will have lots of fun in Vienna. See you all soon!! Take care everyone!

I'm on STOMP again!

Mummy likes showing my smile off to the world. Here I am on the front page of STOMP again.


Here's a picture of the page. I'm right up front!













And here's a link to the actual picture on http://www.stomp.com.sg/gallery/smiles/slides/207.html.

See you all soon! SMILE!!

Time to start packing

This week the other Chongs (Leo and family) are holidaying in Krabi. The house is relatively quieter and has less toys on the floor :) Next week it will be our turn to leave the country. This time we are going to Vienna, Austria. I'm feeling rather excited, but slightly worried about Gabriel coping with the long flight. What if he wants to walk and walk all the time? What if he refuses to sleep? How am I to keep him occupied? And worse, what if he cries and cries non-stop?? Sigh.. I am being told not to plan or worry too much, and just go with the flow. Just too many "what ifs" to think about, so better not to, I guess.

Packing will be difficult this time. I will need to think of more things to bring to keep Gabriel entertained. His diapers will probably fill up half the suitcase. His snacks and biscuits to keep him quiet when he makes too much noise in the plane. Maybe a slow-cooker for me to cook his porridge there (Don't want him to start eating outside food as his meals. I am already giving him outside food, but he still takes his main course at home.) Will also need to bring clothes for the warm or cold climate which is unpredictable now. Hmmm... too many things to bring. Better start soon already, hopefully today.

A visit to Aunty Agnes' new home

I haven't had the time to blog much these few days. Mummy has been bringing me out to either shop or makan with her friends. We went to Aunty Agnes' new house at Punggol on Tuesday. I had so much fun there. First, she served some yummy cakes which Mummy let me try. Then, I got to jump on her big, new bed. I was having so much fun playing on the bed. Mummy and Aunty Agnes were so afraid that I might just jump off the bed that they forgot to take any picture of me. What a waste...





Enjoying myself in front of the mirror, again... "Peek-a-boo!!"














Hmmm... why is the keyhole so small??










It was a stylishly beautiful house, as Mummy said. Wished I could jump and play on the big, new bed again... Thank you, Aunty Agnes!!

I'm on STOMP!

Mummy put my picture up on Stomp last week and it's on the main page today!

This is the page I screen captured.













And this is the link to the stomp page I am on..
http://www.stomp.com.sg/gallery/smiles/slides/176.html

It's the same picture Daddy put on the Smile 2006 website some time back, but I haven't appeared in any newspapers though..

See you all soon!

Born To Read

I am a member of the National Library!! Mummy has been bringing me to the library for a while already and when Aunty Celest signed Keke Nigel and Shannon up as members, Mummy thought maybe I should be a member as well. Makes my trip to the library more worthwhile... that if I am not sleeping. Looking at all the books on the shelves does make one fall asleep. :)





As you can see, I am still trying to find my way around a book... (look at the book closely)

Happy Teachers' Day!!

Happy Happy Teachers' Day to all the teachers out there... especially to all my friends who are very much dedicated and committed to this profession.

I haven't stepped into a classroom for more than a year already. And it is really wonderful that my ex-pupils from the first few years of teaching still remember me. In fact I think they remember me more than those I taught in the recent years. Strange huh? I guess I've touched more lives back then when I was younger and was full of zest and vigour.

Anyhow, I am still a teacher now. Just to a different group of pupils. My son, my nephew and my niece. Different kind of teaching, and back to basics. Nursery rhymes, basic vocab and grammar, saying yes and no (corresponding them to nodding and shaking of heads), answering all the "whys" from Nigel, etc, etc. Fun and still challenging at times.

Different feeling now..

When I went to Spain in November last year, I was confined to the arms of my parents and grandparents, or the pram. I couldn't move around on my own. In fact, when everyone was having dinner, I lay on the floor watching them.

Later this month, when we go to Austria, it's a different feeling altogether! I will get to walk 30,000feet in the air, in the airport, in Austria.. wow! I can't wait..

I guess the only thing is having to clean my butt everytime I decide to take a rest and plonk my backside down. Poor mummy, chasing me around everywhere..