in which our children throw screaming fits in an Austrian cloister and we are serenaded by a Hungarian string trio {The Great European Road Trip Day 4: Heiligenkreuz, Austria to Budapest, Hungary}

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 5

Wednesday, October 31, found us in Vienna. of course, Halloween was being observed in the States and a few other countries, but certainly not by us this year! my poor deprived girls didn't even have costumes, but they had no idea of what they were missing back home. the other adults woke up early and walked to St. Stephen's Cathedral for 7:30 AM mass. the girls and i met up with them afterwards for a lovely breakfast at the Benediktushaus (including a vat of coffee! oh happy day!) and got all packed up. by this stage of the trip, unpacking and re-packing every morning was getting a bit old. but we were in good spirits as we hopped into the van. Angel and Rylee scored some delicious fresh apples and raspberries at a little produce stand across the street, which Greta and Cecilia devoured. our first stop was the Heiligenkreuz Abbey in the southern Vienna woods.

 originally, Father had wanted to take us to Wotruba Church, which has been called the ugliest church in the world, before visiting Heiligenkreuz so we could better appreciate the contrast. but we were running a little late, as per usual, and i suggested that we just look at pictures on line and drive straight to the abbey for our tour.

Wotruba Church in Vienna: woof.

we arrived at the abbey and met up with our tour guide, Brother Thaddeus, who spoke fluent English. i think Brother Thaddeus is well on his way to sainthood for the grace and patience with which he treated our girls, but more on that later. *pained sigh* 

Heiligenkreuz (meaning Holy Cross) was founded in 1133 by St. Leopold III of Austria. it is the second oldest Cistercian monastery in the world, and the oldest fully functioning one. in honor of its name, relic of the True Cross was given to the abbey in 1188. since its inception, the abbey has been a center for musical and liturgical excellence. currently, there are about ninety monks in residence. 

Brother Thaddeus took us inside the nave of the abbey church. the choir stalls are decorated with intricate wooden carvings depicting Biblical scenes. 

he then showed us the organ, and Nick got the opportunity to play. the girls even got to sit on the organ bench with Daddy for a minute, which was good because they both were starting to lose interest in the tour. 

there is another small organ in the loft on the opposite side as well

Nick working his magic

the stop names are in Latin

sitting at the organ with Daddy (it was turned off at this point!)

we then went upstairs to the other organ loft, which involved going through a small doorway and climbing up a very narrow set of steps. the view from the loft was incredible!

Greta was despondent that she wouldn't be able to play the organ

view from the loft

at this point, the girls really started to lose it. we resorted to giving my phone to Greta so she could take pictures, but every so often she would let out a loud groan, and Cece was alternately shouting in glee and shouting with anger but pretty much constantly shouting. not exactly cultivating the monastic attitude. Nick and i were getting progressively more frustrated, trying to pay attention to Brother Thaddeus' informative discussion while also trying to keep the girls from disrupting other groups (let alone our own). but Brother Thaddeus smiled at the girls as we continued on our tour and never blinked an eye. we apologized for their behavior a few times and he seemed genuinely startled that an apology would be necessary. "no need!" when he discovered that we are currently living in Rome, he even invited our entire family to come back to the monastery for a retreat at some point. i can think of a dozen reasons why the girls were acting up so much: exhaustion, overstimulation, and probably picking up on the fact that Nick and i were so stressed about their behavior (it's that paradoxical truth of parenting that the more you want your kids to behave perfectly, the more they sense your tension and the more they push back against it ... just like an animal sensing your fear). i was annoyed by the girls' behavior, but more than my own thoughts about it, i was self-conscious about what other people would think about it. to complicate matters, as much as i wished they would behave just as beautifully as Rylee and Carly, i knew that they were at the end of their emotional reserve and that in some ways this was appropriate behavior for their lack of sleep, lack of familiar routines, and lack of unstructured space in their day. so i kind of didn't blame them, but that didn't negate my frustration!

but, bless him, Brother Thaddeus assured us that children were welcome here. the moment he said that, i could feel myself relaxing. in the grace he extended to us, i found more grace to extend to my girls. and while his compassion doesn't excuse the girls from learning to behave appropriately or exempt us from teaching them how to do so, i was so grateful for his kindness.

the altar in the sacristy

incredibly beautiful inlaid wooden cabinets in the sacristy

we then came outside to walk around the cloister. we were still trying to corral the girls, but at least they had a little more space to frolic. this place is absolutely beautiful. order, and beauty, and thoughtfulness permeate the atmosphere.

content for the time being with snapping pictures

in the chapter room, where the monks would gather to hear readings from the Benedictine Rule (the word "chapter" derives from their practice of listening to portions of the Rule every day). the tombs of Leopold IV, Leopold V, Friedrich I and Friedrich II are here. 

the gray windows at the bottom are original; the upper windows were purposefully designed
 with muted colors so as not to provide too much visual distraction

this fountain dates from the sixteenth century

our tour concluded, we thanked Brother Thaddeus and gave him a well-deserved tip (which he modestly said he would donate to the abbey! i'm telling you, this man is bound for sainthood). i let the girls play freely in the courtyard for at least fifteen minutes while the others made a beeline for the gift shop.

it was such a beautiful autumn day! 

then i discovered an actual playground across the parking lot. this was exactly what the doctor ordered and the girls were in heaven. i can't blame them!

they needed some completely unstructured time to decompress. after another ten minutes, we got them back into the car with the promise of snacks and Daniel Tiger. and Angel pulled out of her bag a beautiful sight: a bottle of rosé, made at the abbey! we were quite content to let the men handle the driving and navigation while we had ourselves some rowdy rosé in the middle seat. and within half an hour of driving, the girls were sound asleep.

and so we were off, to yet another country! we drove through the beautiful Hungarian countryside, stopping for more gas station grub along the way. the key to harmony among the 4-and-under crowd appears to be copious amounts of snacks. i think Cecilia ate an entire bag of bacon-flavored chips herself. i tried to make sure they got plenty of protein, fruit and at least some vegetables at our breakfast and dinner, and then it was pretty much Snackfest 2018 in between meals. #survivalmode

we arrived in Budapest in the late afternoon, smack in the middle of rush hour. hearing our GPS lady try to pronounce the Hungarian street names was pretty entertaining. at one point, we drove down Bartók Béla út (Bela Bartok Street)!

i bet this white-haired gentleman napping on the bus could tell us an interesting tale or two
(also, that advertisement!!)

we checked into our hotel, the luxurious but also budget-friendly Kalvin House, and walked down the street to the Great Market Hall ("Nagyvásárcsarnok"). amidst hanging rows of sausages and garlic braids, i spotted a display with the weekly ad for Aldi (which occupies the basement level). Aldi, my own true love. alas, we didn't have time to check out the wonders of Budapestian Aldi, but Greta did score a little doll wearing an embroidered folk dress, and Cecilia chose a rubber bracelet stamped with "Budapest" that constantly fell off her wrist and got lost somewhere within the next twenty-four hours. 

the outside of the great market hall

we had dinner reservations at Karpatia that night, a restaurant known for its traditional Hungarian food and unique ambiance -- they have live string music every night. this was certainly the classiest meal of our trip, with tuxedo-ed waiters swooshing in to set the table with about three wine glasses per person and crisp cloth napkins. they wheeled over a gilded cart to offer us drinks and most of the adults took the waiter's suggestion to have a local white wine as an apertif. as our appetizers came out, the band struck up into a lively Hungarian folk tune. 

we're not at Hoss's anymore

lamb in paprika sauce with polenta

as we were finishing our meals, the string players left the hammered dulcimer player behind and began making their way from table to table, giving each one their own serenade (and of course, implying that each one should give them a tip). they were all quite technically proficient, and i was especially impressed with the first violinist, who played for several measures using only perfectly voiced harmonics. 

Father generously took care of the tipping, and also bought one of the group's CDs, which made for an excellent soundtrack for our drive through Hungary the next day. then we were off to a Hungarian folk dance show! i knew Greta would love this, but wasn't sure how well Cecilia would do since the show started at 8 PM and Cece is usually in bed by then. well, they both were completely mesmerized. the music, the costumes, the dancing, the clapping, the stomping ... it was truly fantastic. 

inside the theater

on our way back, we spotted the Basilica of St. Stephen's, where we'd be attending mass in the morning for All Saints Day. 

Basilica of St. Stephen's

then it was back to our huge room at the Kalvin House, where the girls and i snuggled into bed (Cece refused to go into the pack-n-play, but once both girls had fallen asleep next to me, i transferred Greta into her little cot and let Cece sleep. and finally, i drifted off too!