I know it's been awhile since I've written. This is a new home for them as well as me, and with that comes the little things that go wrong, such as the internet. For the past few days, it has been off and on, and I never know when I will be able to get on. At home, I could go on the internet whenever I wanted. Just another one of those things that is different in a new home. For the past two nights, that we luckily have had service, we watched Austria's version of American Idol: The Voice Of Germany. It's been very interesting, with German and English songs being sung, and all the comments in German. Sometimes, one of the judges says something really quickly, and everyone starts laughing. I chuckle along, although I have no idea what the joke was. Sometimes I ask, but others I just let it go. It is really hard to understand the judges. They all speak differently, and at varied speeds. I can catch a few words, and as I start getting used to their voices, I can understand more. It is like in America when people have very different accents. You can understand easily what people from the south are saying if you are from there, but if you are a northerner, it is like a completely different language. The longer you are around them, and hear them talk, you can understand the accent better.
     It is like this for me, with everyone I meet. Sophie I can understand almost all the time, and Patricia most of the time. Her younger brother Julian is not too hard, but Helmut, her stepfather, is very hard to understand. He's barely ever home because of his schedule at the hospital, and he talks so fast when he comes home. I have not had time get used to the way he speaks, and even though it is the same language and accent as Sophie, even the subtlest of changes in pronunciation throws me off. The other day I met one of Sophie's best friends from school. We went to a coffee shop and spent hours talking. At the beginning, I barely understood her, but by the time two hours had gone by, it was much easier, and I was even able to join in the conversation a bit more. It was fun.
      Okay, enough language stuff. Today we went to Karls Kirche (Church). It was so beautiful. They are in the middle of restoring the frescoes, as well as the outside sculptures, so there is an elevator and some stairs in the center of the church to reach the top. The inside is finished, and we were able to go up to the very top where there are windows so we could look out over Vienna. It was so amazing to be able to walk around right next to the paintings. So close in some places that I could see the little lines of the ceiling. Even though all of it was painted, some of the decorations seemed to pop out of the walls and seem solid. Art at its finest. Below are the pictures I took in the church, as well as a few of the outside. Sorry a lot of them are sideways. Uploading pictures on here is tricky. Enjoy!

                                                           View down the center aisle

                                                                    Organ in the back

                                                                    The front altar

                                                   This is the view from the very top

                                                                  A separate alcove

                                        The huge front doors. My head comes up to the handles.