Rebecca and Thomas Zillinger

Arriving in the states

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:00:00 +0000

And here we go, our first blog after we arrived in the States. For now, we will just quickly post this little slideshow from how we arrived in Vienna at mum Zillinger's home, then a little bit from our arrival in New York and meeting up with Rebecca Honts. Finally our flight and arrival in Kansas City, having real food with Dad and meeting up with Emily + kids.

Thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:38:00 +0000

Despite the fact that Austria doesn't officially recognize American Thanksgiving Day, and all of us had to work and pretend that November's 4th Thursday was just like any other day, a network of highly skilled North Americans (and even a few Austrians) were hard at work planning and preparing for a celebration. This celebration has been condensed into the following short-film. (this is a premier and the first of its kind produced by Zilli & Zilli movie productions...a VERY novice undertaking).

From My Videos

Rome

noreply@blogger.com (tomzi) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:54:00 +0000

Right after the English camp Rebecca and I took a trip to Rome for the weekend. Two of my friends from college were traveling through Europe and we got to meet up for the end of their trip. We stayed at this great B&B just within walking distance of the Colosseum and had a fabulous time seeing sights, eating food, eating ice cream, drinking coffee, drinking wine & of course running into the Trevi Fountain just about 10 times every day. Here are some pitures of our great weekend:

September School

noreply@blogger.com (tomzi) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:40:00 +0000

This September Rebecca Honts and I co-taught an English camp. It was in this small little town outside of Graz. We both had a great experience -- finally after all this time -- getting to teach together. Here are some pictures of that week:

time travel

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:19:00 +0000

Any time travel fans out there? Well, we've got a great travel tip for you...the town of Friesach, Austria.

This tiny town has some of the most intact and impressive sections of city walls left over from the 1200s. Not only that, but they've also started a project to build a fortress just like they did in the 1200s - meaning, they're only using tools and techniques from that time. We got to witness this and have some pictures documenting what we saw. (there's a similar but larger scale project underway in France, too: http://www.guedelon.fr/).

Freisach is super cute and we stayed in a nice "Gasthof" just off the main square. They people we talked with were quite friendly and surprisingly jolly/funny. Here are some pictures of our time travels!

Vienna

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:00:00 +0000

So, another great person I got to visit last week was my wonderful college roommate Iva! She's getting her PhD in Canada and b/c they decided to change visa policies for all Czech people TWO days before she left on her summer trip to Europe, she had to pop by the Canadian Embassy. Long story short, we met up at the embassy in Vienna and spent the day together - with her and her really great parents!

During and shortly after my undergrad I got to visit Iva and her family in Brno (totally great city in Czech Rep) and so I feel connected to them. Her parents are super funny, generous and just plain nice people! While we were waiting on her visa paperwork to process (which it successfully did - yea!) we went for some coffee, walked around some of the old city, had ice cream and basically tried to keep from getting too wet. As you'll see it was raining AND a bit chilly (yes, these pictures were really taken in August...even though it looks much more like typical Viennese fall weather). After picking up her visa we went to the Prater (the only place in all of Austria that I'm aware of which has anything close to roller coasters and the like.) We went on this really fun ride. The only one to get wet was Iva: her entire right leg was soaked. But I think she still thought it was worth it!

It was fun to take this day trip to Vienna and get re-connected with my friend Iva! I hope that the next time we see each other will be sooner than in 2 years time!

Visit from Northern Germany!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:56:00 +0000

Last week we had the honor of seeing some very special people for the first time in 10 years! Heidi & Ralph Kretzschmar were my host parents in northern Germany during my exchange year 1999-2000. They are really wonderful people and we've managed to keep in touch all these years (yes, it's true!)

This year's vacation led them to the far corners of Styria, Austria. On their way from Schladming to Vienna, they stopped by Graz for a few hours! It was great to see them again! They were excited to see where I live and how I live. We showed them a bit of Graz and they in turn treated us to some fabulous ice cream!

Hope you enjoy the pics!

:)

Trip to Schladming!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:13:00 +0000

Hi there! We've got a few updates. To get the ball rolling, we're posting a slide-show of our recent trip to Schladming! Our wonderful Canadian friend Alicia and her great Austrian fiance invited us to Schladming for a lovely hike!

Hope you enjoy the pictures and maybe you'll want to come and visit for a hike, too!

The Zillis :)

Trip to US - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (tomzi) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 13:41:00 +0000

Hi guys,

And here we come - a little diashow from our trip to New York and Idaho

And the fotos at picasa, in case you want to download some :)

First Day - Central Park

noreply@blogger.com (tomzi) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:43:00 +0000

The first day we spent a beautiful time in central park.

Here on top of the belvedere.

This is the view from the belvedere, above the belvedere lake, looking north towards the great lawn.

After that we have been to Redeemers to the 5pm service, which was about the stroy of david, saul and goliath. The paster this evening brought up a really interesting connection between the three of them, making it the topic of the evening - fear.

Then we needed a refreshment - we went to shake shack.

Lots of really good calories, packed in a lovely cheeseburger.

A yummy banana shake :)

New York, New York....

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:46:00 +0000

Hello Everyone!

So last night after about 20 hours of traveling from our flat in Graz, to Vienna, to London...we finally arrived safely in New York!! We were SOO glad to be picked up from the airport, brought to a home where we had our very own beds waiting for us! Not to mention the wonderful hosts we are staying with...thank you, Perreca family!

The plan for today (Saturday) is to have a great NYC breakfast (bagels & cream cheese with coffee!) and just relax by spending time with everyone here. We've already had loads of fun with Addie & Alden....AND their fabulous mother Lisa. :)

Ok, well it's time to head off to the park for some more fun!

More to come later.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (tomzi) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:03:00 +0000

Maybe you've been wondering what we Zillingers have been up to. Well, you're in the right place to find out.

Now is what I like to think of as the Most Wonderful Time of the Year here in Graz...namely 'Ice Cream Season.' As you walk down any of the major streets downtown, you will see any number of people eating ice cream...children, parents, students, business men...basically anyone with a mouth and €1 at their disposal. There are all types of flavors, anything from your basic stuff to more exotic ones. Our favs tend to be banana, yoghurt, and of course the chocolate at the Gelateria either in the Hans-Sachsgasse or at Luis' Gelateria near Südtirolerplatz.

May 8th we celebrated Tom's Birthday. He was off work that day, but had a physical therapy appointment which allowed me a chance to decorate our apparment with festive balloons and streamers (which were duely left up for well over the next week). We celebrated with a nice breakfast and of course presents. He was very excited about his gifts (as you can tell in the pictures) and thanks for all you who sent b-day greetings, cards and wishes. This was a full day b/c later we had to be at a weekend retreat with our Teenager Group from church. But shortly before that we got the news that my maternal Grandmother had suffered a severe stroke and was lying in the hospital in a so-called comfort room. So needless to say, this day was nothing short of an emotional rollercoster.

This Most Wonderful Time of Year also includes several Catholic Holidays, meaning long weekends, meaning opportunites to travel a bit.

The end of May took us on a short trip outside Austria to Italy. Some friends were going camping and invited us to join them. We were able to get an amazing amount of stuff for 5 people in one car. Our camping spot was fabulous...lots of trees, hedges seperating each site, clean bathrooms, private showers, and - possible the best feature - bug zappers lining the rows of sites! And all this was located 5 minutes from the beach. We got lots of sun, had amazing food (like only Italians can do), and plenty of sleep (thank to our newly purchased air mattresses curtosey of Hofer/Aldi). This was a first Italain beach vacation (and my first time in the Adriatic). All in all we had a wonderful time and are so grateful that our friends invited us to come along!

The beginning of June found us on the complete opposite side of Austria...in Innsbruck!! I hadn't been there since my study abroad year, so I was glad to be back. We were there with our teenagers who participated in a national conference called the Pfingstjugendtreffen, or Pfiju for short. Roughly translated that's the Pentacost Weekend Youth Retreat. That was a weekend full of fun, games, music, sports, sermons, workshops and all sorts of great stuff. I personally enjoyed the fake milking contest in which contestants from each Austrian Province had to compete against each other in milking a plastic-like utter full of water. It was highly entertaining. Some other highlights includd Thomas being on the winning volleyball team, and me visiting a local nursing home where we sang for and talked with some really old and really great Austrians. One man I spoke with was about 93 years old and kept reminding us that the lady sitting a few chairs over from him is not only his neighbor there in the home, but was also a neighbor of his for over 40 years in Innsbruck!

Our most recent weekend excursion was to the neighboring province of Carinthia...or in German Kärnten. They have tons of lakes and lots of camping grounds. Since we are sans car, we had to choose something reachable with the public. We took a bus from Graz to Klagenfurt (Carinthian capital) and then 2 more short bus rides brought us to our campsite, right across from the Wörthersee. Although a bit pricy, we still enjoyed the sun, lake and just the whole idea of camping. That was definitely my first time camping somehwere without a car, but it worked out just fine. We really enjoyed taking this trip with our dear friend Rebecca Honts as we got to spend so much time together.

Other news...I have recently acquired a used bike from a good friend of ours. And by recent, I mean this past week. I have already used it around town and taken 2 bike rides beyond the city limits with friends. It's been so wonderful to bike outside of Graz a bit and start exploring the plethora of available bike paths. I look forward to many more biking excersions to come!

So, to finish up this entry, we are looking forward to our upcoming trip to America. We leave in exactly one week and won't be back until 3 weeks after that. We're looking forward to seeing friends and family and being at my little brother's wedding in July.

Birthday Visit to Lower Austria

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:38:00 +0000

The third weekend in April we took a trip to visit family in Lower Austria. Richi, Thomas' brother, was having his birthday. Even though the forecast called for rain the ENTIRE weekend, we didn't end up seeing even a drop! We arrived Friday evening and stayed til Sunday afternoon. We had a wonderful time with Richi and Sabine. Richi and Thomas' mom joined us on Saturday, and it was good to see her again, too. We had lots of great food, conversations and got to relax a lots outside in the yard. Saturday we went on an outing to a local castle (or the ruins thereof) and also to a wine tavern. It was so refreshing to travel a bit and see another part of Austria I don't know so well yet. We hope you enjoy the pictures from our trip!

April Besuch

Easter is here and so is Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:59:00 +0000

This year for Easter we marched up Mt. Schlossberg with our teenager group for our very own sunrise service! It was super cold (note the blankets) but our brave guitarists (Josh and Anne) prevailed (despite one guitar string fatality). There we read the Easter story in Matthew and after singing our hearts out we headed back to our church where an amazing breakfast spread was waiting for us.

At the end of our fancy slideshow, you will see two pictures of food. What Zillinger Photoalbum would be complete without that? But a little info for those who don't yet know...the bread is called "Osterpinze" and is made only at Easter time here in Austria. It's AMAZINGLY good and a necessity for the culinary aspect of celebrating Easter. It's customary to butter a slice of Osterpinze and eat it with ham and horseradish.

January 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:22:00 +0000

Hello! It's high time for a Zillinger update! I've put together a few pics of things we've been up to recently. So far 2009 has been a cold and snowy year for us here in Graz. But we've enjoyed spending some quality time with friends, celebrating birthdays and even learning a few new skills. Hope you enjoy the pictures! Let us know, so we'll be more encouraged to update more than once a year! ;)

Jan 2009

End of 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:08:00 +0000

As 2008 draws to a close, we'd like share a bit of what we've been up to recently. The past two months have been busy and packed with lots of great things for us! Some of our more interesting highlights follow...

Thanksgiving:

We hosted a Thanksgiving Dinner for 10 people! We had a nice mixture of Austrians (mostly first-time Thanksgiving-ers) and North Americans (who would have otherwise been Thanksgiving orphans, and we just couldn't let that happen!). In hindsight we should have noticed earlier (say for example, more than 1hr prior to arrival time) that we only had 5 chairs to offer out guests. Oops. This problem was quickly remedied by transporting extra chairs from the Hans-Riehlgasse apartment to ours - via tram. Yes, via tram. We made it despite incredulous stares and comments like (and I quote) "Look! Chairs!! Oh, MORE chairs!!" (We should have sold tickets!)

All of our lovely guests brought a dish while Rebecca Honts and I did the turkey, for the first time, I might add. This included (warning / plot spoiler to all our vegetarian friends) calling a butcher in advance to order said bird (I've never felt so intentionally carnivorous in my life) and picking up the bird which weighed exactly 3 tons (again, trasport via tram) . *Phew* Our turkey turned out well. Thank you, Food Network. Turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, bread, pumpkin parfait, chocolate cake and wine. All in all the dinner was a smashing success.

Snow:
The First Snow in Graz was the last weekend of November. As you can see the roofs were sprinkled white. Although it didn't last much more than 24 hrs, we totally enjoyed it!

View from our apartment: St. Leonhard Church

Advent!

During the month of December we enjoyed our advent calenders. One word: Chocolate. :)

APC in Vienna:

The first weekend in December Thomas and I led a group of 15 teenagers from our church to a national prayer conference in Vienna (APC). APC stands for Autrian Prayer Conference. Guess I don't have to translate that one for you. :) We stayed in a place called the "Schulschiff" (school ship). It's just what it sounds like - a ship converted into a school. It's in the Danube and yes, that's where we stayed. We had a fabulous time and even got to lead some of the teenagers around parts of downtown Vienna (espeically Leopoldstadt - a primarily Jewish area pre WWII) where we learned some of the area's history including certain individuals or businesses and we even cleaned the plaques placed there to recall and honor the Jewish people and heritage. It was a very moving and significant time. We and our teens were changed by this entire weekend.

Bri:

Next came a visit from our dear friend Bri! She was on her way back to the States from Thailand where she had worked for over a year teaching German and English, working with Step Ahead. Though her time was sprinkled by a few needed doctors visits, we had a good time catching up and even hosted a Thai dinner for 6. Bri cooked 2 delicious curry dishes for us all. Yum!

Christmas #1:

Shortly after seeing Bri off at the train station, we had a trip to take ourselves. We visited Tom's family. His brother, Richie, and Sabine live outside of Melk, (you may have heard of the pretty famous Abby there) where we celebrated Christmas along with Tom and Richie's mother. We tried to lend some helping hands in putting together a new furniture piece they'd bought. But since a couple of parts were defective, we weren't able to finish the job. But that didn't keep up from enjoying all the wonderful meals and cookies and treats!! We also enjoyed their Christmas tree and exchanging gifts!

Christmas #2:

Tom celebrated Christmas with his company inside the moutain Schlossberg.

Christmases #3 &4 OR The Best for Last:
Our first Christmas! We celebrated in Graz first on the evening of the 24th in true Austrian style and then on the morning of the 25th in true American style! For those new to the ways of Austrian Christmases: This meant waiting until evening for things to get going: such as gathering around the tree, lighting some type of (to me scary) flamables directly ON the tree, singing AND then opening presents. All this happened after attending our church's Christmas service. This was nice, quite, comfy and cosy. Then on the morning of the 25th we did it the American way...a great big breakfast complete with an egg-sausage casserole and monkey bread (thanks to Rebecca Honts who was also celebrating with us!) Then - while still in our PJ's - we dove into opening the rest of our presents!

Next big shindig is New Year's!!! Let the countdown begin!! :)

Alphorn Concert:

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:23:00 +0000

At the end of October I had the opportunity to go to a concert featuring one of the world's oldest instruments: the alp horn (or alpenhorn), as seen below, is what you might easily recognize from Ricola ads. We listened to French horn music (ranging from classical to the Beatles) and also a reconstruction to an instrument which Pythagoras supposedly invented. All this provided a fabulous time for our ears AND at the end, our eyes got a treat as well. We viewed a selection of wildlife photographs taken by 3 professional Austrian photographers.

Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:06:00 +0000

October-November! Time for a quick update from the Zillingers! We've been enjoying Fall here. The weather's been great and we've been up to some great things!

In October there was a big lunch after the church service! Thomas and I brought an apple cake (that's what's behind the aluminum foil) and we really enjoyed connecting with some good friends of ours at church.

We enjoyed cake and coffee after the meal! These Austrians sure know how to make good food! Yum!

This is Anne, (former roomate, bridesmaid and good friend) me and Damaris (wonderful woman and pre-marital counselor!).

These a couple of pictures outside of our apartment, where we generally wait for the tram to take us into town.

Back in Austria

noreply@blogger.com (tomzi) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:59:00 +0000

After a 3 week trip around the States, visiting family and friends, we've made it safely back to our home sweet home in Graz, Austria.

Jet lag almost got the better of us. Saturday evening we rolled into Graz. Sunday we were able to sleep in until 11ish and somehow managed it through the day without napping. Then Monday came...the moment of truth. We both had to get up for work that morning. My alarm was set for 6:15. Thomas' for 7. We woke up...sorry to say, bright-eyed and bushy tailed, at the ungodly hour of 3 am. In denial, we managed to pretend we were asleep/resting until 5 am. Then we simply caved in. Breakfast it was and an earlier than normal start for the work day.

Besides that, it's been great to be back in Graz. We've enjoyed meeting up with our friends and getting into the swing of things. Thomas is back to work and I have started up a few additional classes this semester. I now teach 2 adult evening courses, both conversational English, in addition to my company courses. It has been really great thus far and I truly enjoy my job!

This semester Thomas and I have also started working with the teenagers at our church. We've already participated in a weekend retreat and also the regular weekly Saturday meetings so far. I am confident that we will have more to report as the year continues!

It is FALL here. And that means PUMPKIN time!!!! Just a little FYI: 'Kürbis' is German for pumpkin. If you go to one of the local farmer's markets you can have your choice of any number of pumpkins and their fixin's. You can get shredded pumpkin, chopped pumpkin...and in any color from orange to green it seems. The list goes on and on, but you get the point. Last week I stopped by one such farmer's market and picked up a small portion of chopped orange pumpkin. I was going to make some Kürbiscremesuppe!!!! (Pumpkin + ...yes, you did just learn that word and now you just recognized it, too! You're a natural!' + cream + soup = pumpkin cream soup!) Together with Thomas and Rebecca Honts we enjoyed a lovely Kürbiscremsuppe, complete with all the toppings: a bit more cream (for good measure), pumpkin seed oil AND pumpkin seeds (did you catch the theme??). It was delicious!!!!

The big day!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:16:00 +0000

March 15th was the big day! We had lots of friends AND family come into Graz for the wedding. It was so great to see so many familiar faces! We only wish we had somehow mangaged to spend more time with everyone.

The ceremony started at 2pm and afterwards everyone moved outside for the "Sekt Empfang" - receiving line with champagne where all the guests were able to greet and congratulate the bride and groom. It was a bit chilly outside; despite the forbodeing gray clouds, we didn't get a single raindrop! Then the real evening got under way.

We started off with a much deserved meal - for guests, bridal party and the happy couple alike - with all sorts of really great Austrian food. We had a selection of soups (my favourite being the pumpkin cream soup!), entreés (Schnitzel, Mostbraten - roast in an apple wine sauce - and a few more good tasting dishes) and lots of salads on the side.

The evening program was next on the list. There was fun for everyone. We enjoyed a funny slide show about the happy couple, watched a personal video from a good friend in Canada wishing us all the best, enjoyed a live performance of a song for the couple. There was even a competitive part of the evening as members of Rebecca's family and Thomas' family competed to answer the most questions correctly about the happy couple and their respective cultures. It was great fun and the prize was a coupon for a romantic evening for Rebecca and Thomas! After a heartfelt speech from the father of the bride, the dance floor was opened. There was all kinds of dancing to follow - everything from the couple's first waltz, to cha-cha-chas, the twist and even a traditional Austrian "Schuhplattler" dance and an American "do-si-do!"

The wedding cakes made a grand entry with sparklers and everyone seemed to be thoroughly impressed! Not only were the cakes good to look at from the outside, but they tasted fabulous on the inside! There were several flavors to choose from - a Styrian inspired cake with apple and pumpkin seed oil (it was amazing!), a tangy orange and a black forest cherry!

Finally, as it came time for the new Mr. and Mrs. Zillinger to leave, the guests formed a long line and on both sides they held candles to light the way to the get-away car!

All in all it was a fabulous day and one we will never forget!

Video Transmission of the wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 22:39:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca and Thomas) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 21:09:00 +0000

Rebecca and Thomas!