Tales from the Vienna Woods

I have just got back from five days 'en famille' in Vienna. I don't usually blog about personal experiences but this one was such a huge event that it seems churlish not to give it my full attention today and who better to share with than the people who care enough to read my occasional jottings?

The context: this year is the 60th anniversary of my parents' marriage and they still hold hands and adore each other. It is also both their 80th birthdays. My dad, therefore, put it to us months ago that he would like us all to join them in a favourite place for a weekend. Gorgeous husband and I decided to make more of it and arrived early to spend three days in Vienna with them as well - the others all came out on Saturday by which time we were along the Danube in a beautiful 'Scloss Hotel' in a medieval village called Durnstein.

It has been one of the best holidays ever because:

Vienna is the most beautiful city - amazing architecture, fabulous boulevards, elegant and wonderful places to eat and all so easy to manage. Charming people everywhere and the best galleries and museums. Can you tell that I loved it? Best of all was being guided by my dad - Vienna is where he was born and although he left as a young boy, it has always remained a place he feels very close to. He knows every nook and cranny, tells wonderful stories about his childhood and took us to the best Hungarian restaurant in the world, outside Budapest.

On Saturday, we packed up and moved on to the beautiful village, beautiful hotel, beautiful spa and the others joined us for the weekend. It's been a while since we were all (eleven of us) together like this and, despite some serious concerns and anxieties beforehand, it worked a treat. We swam, played games, walked in the village, ate too much, drank too much and talked and talked and talked. We had prepared a presentation dvd for the parents, with a lifetime's photographs and Mozart soundtrack - they were knocked out.

Then, the icing on the cake - my beautiful, wonderful and brilliant daughter announced that the next generation is on the way! (I've known for weeks but have been sworn to secrecy until her 12-week scan )

So it has been an emotional and amazing time with a few tears (very hard to see my parents clearly saying goodbye to many of their old haunts)  but mostly laughs. My favourite moment?

Looking at a Rubens painting in the fine arts museum and my mother saying: "I must be the luckiest person in the world; twice over lucky because I get to see these fabulous paintings and I appreciate seeing them so much.

Ditto.

Bye for now.

Angie