Happy New Year!!!

Lets just say that New Year's Eve in Vienna is...AMAZING! We did not hear English spoken one time the entire night, but no doubt that 90% of the music played was in fact American circa 1980-1995. We did get to hear a few waltz pieces similar to those we heard at the beautiful Imperial Orchestra we went to to start our evening off in true Austrian fashion. Then we went to an interesting dinner at a restaurant where Americans were not loved. We received tragic service and then understood why when I went to the WC (restroom) and read the rant on Americans that was hanging on the wall. Lovely bathroom reading to be sure! It was quite humbling to be the target of discrimination. That does not happen very often to blessed, white women. I think we all need a moment to recognize how much inequality hinders everyday activities. Food for thought.

The rest of the night was fantastic, we joined the other thousands of people in the streets of downtown Vienna drinking hot punch and bubbly and enjoying the fireworks. It was a seemingly lawless night though, everyone was drinking and walking in the streets while cars and buses managed to push there way through the crowds. I also had a least 3 firecrackers go off underneath my feet. Fireworks (I mean huge fireworks) were set off at every intersection, by whoever wanted to join in really. It was very different than anything we had ever experienced, but it was loads of fun. We met lots of people from all around the world. Such great memories. We laughed and danced all night long. It was a beautiful way to start off a year that we be full of memories and crossroads.