Austria and Prague

Jun 2019 · 4 min read

The five of us at a mountain railing, snow-dusted Alps and a deep valley stretching out behind

Before the driving started up again, we'd had a rare stretch of stillness. For a week our family settled into a cozy apartment at the foot of the Alps near Innsbruck, and after weeks of changing locations every few days and staying with other people, it was good to have some time alone together — to rest, to get some deeper work done, and to enjoy the views. We made it out a couple of times to hike in the Alps, and one day we drove across into Germany to see the famous Neuschwanstein castle, which was magnificent.

A girl writing at a table in a dim, wood-and-stone alpine apartment, with tall windows opening onto a green hillside — The apartment near Innsbruck, where we finally caught our breath and got some deeper work done.

A Tirolean village with a church steeple set against snow-streaked Alps under a blue sky

A double rainbow arching over the same green valley and village after an evening rain

Between the hikes and the quiet mornings, we wandered out to turquoise lakes and mountain overlooks, and let the girls run off some energy.

Jennifer and the two younger girls smiling by a wooden fence above a turquoise lake ringed with forest and peaks — A turquoise lake tucked into the mountains, on one of our drives.

The five of us standing at the foot of Neuschwanstein's towering white walls, flags flying beside the entrance — The five of us at the gates of Neuschwanstein.

Neuschwanstein is the storybook castle perched in the Bavarian Alps — the one that inspired so many of the fairy-tale castles we grew up with. We hiked up with the summer crowds and looked back down over the lakes and the older yellow castle of Hohenschwangau below.

An aerial view of Neuschwanstein castle, its white towers rising from a steep, forested mountainside — Neuschwanstein from above.

An aerial view of the yellow Hohenschwangau castle beside the Alpsee lake, ringed by forested Alps

Two of the girls leaning on a stone balustrade, looking out through columns to the lake and mountains far below

The five of us in front of the still, green Alpsee, with hazy mountains rising behind — Down by the Alpsee, below the castles.

This week began by leaving Innsbruck, passing through Munich to visit the German museum, where we enjoyed some interesting scientific exhibits (in English), from microbiology and nanotechnology to industrial machinery and aviation.

We drove to Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart, where we spent a couple nights on the outskirts of this charming city. From there, we toured some incredible ice caves. They were very high up in the mountains, requiring both hiking and a cable car ride, but the views were spectacular!

A high view down a broad green Alpine valley, a river winding past a town with a castle on a wooded bluff — The valley far below, from up near the cave entrance.

In the caves themselves, we carried oil lamps and saw the formations of ice that tend to shift a little each year. It was literally freezing in the cave, and two of our girls didn't have proper footwear, but we all made it out alive.

A lone figure in a red jacket, holding a lantern, standing deep inside a glowing blue-white ice cave — Inside the ice caves by lamplight.

From there, we drove to Prague. I must say, we are loving Prague. It's a city I could see myself coming back to many times, or even living in. It feels like a diverse and international city, with people from all over the world.

Golden evening light over the Vltava river, Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral on the hill above riverside cafés — Prague at golden hour, the castle above the Vltava.

Jennifer and the three girls striking a playful pose on the cobblestones below Prague's Old Town Hall clock tower — Clowning around in Old Town Square.

The food options are like nowhere else I've seen, with unique creations and delicious flavors I haven't had anywhere else, especially at these prices ($3-5/plate at the low end, and $8-20 at the high end). And the food is international as well. We've had as authentic Mexican and Vietnamese food as we've had anywhere, as well as some delicious local meals and treats. With over 5,000 restaurants, you'd never run out of options.

The architecture is an interesting mix of ornate old world buildings, as well as creative modern structures, and around most corners, there is something inspiring to look at, even outside of the more touristy (but romantic) Old Town. Many streets are lined with trees, and there are large parks dotting the city (10% of the city is forest, 20% is parkland, and there is abundant nature and hiking just outside the city). Everything is connected by a great public transit system of cable cars, metros, and ferries (that cost about $1 to get anywhere), taxis, Ubers, car sharing, electric scooter or bike rental, and more.

A layered view of the Vltava's many bridges lined up across the river, red-tiled rooftops in the foreground — The city's bridges stacked one behind the next across the Vltava.

We met up with some friends at a park who have lived here for about 4 years. We learned about the expat community here, the local and international schools, homeschooling groups, kids classes, and more. There are many mixed-nationality families here, and so far we haven't come across anyone in the city who doesn't speak English, though not everyone does. Before we arrived, we heard people in Prague weren't friendly, but we've found it to be quite the opposite in all our (admittedly limited) interactions.

Jennifer and the three girls hugging among beds of red and yellow roses in full bloom — In one of the city's rose gardens.

So, I guess you could say we love Prague. Maybe even more than Barcelona, which is another favorite of Jen and mine in Europe. However, as I mentioned in my last Weekly NOW, as our kids are getting older, their needs are changing, and they're wanting a different kind of experience than they've had before, which will be taking us to the USA for much of next year. With running 4 events and visiting 9 countries this year, it will be interesting to see how we do at slowing down.

Lesson: There is no shortage of awesome places and experiences in the world. After 45 countries, sometimes it feels like we're just seeing the same types of things in different forms, and it calls us to appreciate the mundane as well as the novel. But even after all this travel, it's good to know that the novel still exists! What have you found novel and interesting in your world this week? What mundane or routine aspects of life have you taken time to appreciate?