I think I've fallen into the trap of only talking about the "upside" in this blog. I generally believe that you can't go wrong on the internet if you only say positive things, but I'm only doing this so that you know what's going on and I don't want you to end up thinking that a rainbow leaps across the sky every time we step out of the front door. It doesn't.

The last couple of weeks have been tough. We've been struggling make a firm decision on an apartment (how do you know where you want to live when you have no frame of reference?); we've found it really hard to resolve the issue of having had a first COVID vaccination in another country (despite still feeling really lucky about it); our inability to speak German has been a frustration; and, we've started to feel a little more detached from friends and family (especially as travelling will be difficult for some time) but at the same time we've not really able to meet people because of COVID restrictions. And as I have said before, Anna is doing this on top of starting a new job with all the highs and lows that come with that.

And the weather is still pants...apparently. Weather is of course a subjective topic. By Cumbrian standards, I'd say the weather have been pretty good, but everyone here is really fed-up with the lack of wall-to-wall sunshine.

The question "What have we done?" may have been creeping around in the back of our minds, but we have clung tightly to some advice we saw about moving to another country before we left, which was to try and avoid any thoughts over whether you've made the right decision until you're at least six months in.

So it was a great relief when we received a message from Mark and Louise, who've done this moving country stuff before, proposing a call with a glass of wine. Sharing what was going on, talking through experiences past and present, a little bit of encouragement and promises of a visit in the not too distant future did a world of good. It set us on an upward trajectory for the following week, with a bias to action... Oh goodness me! I have clearly been imprinted by management consultants in the last few years...

Add to this other calls with family and friends; Anna making some really positive progress at work (of course!); a surprising and uplifting response to my post on LinkedIn; mindfully making a start on the Wainwrights jigsaw that Peter very kindly sent to us; and, the appearance of our spirit guide... and things are looking up! I was walking back from Anna's office along the river and a hare jumped out of the trees in front of me! Many of you will know how fond I am of positing photos of the hares at Mereghyll. What one is doing in the centre of Vienna I'm really not sure, but it also chose to make an appearance when I was walking with Anna later in the day. Not seen before, not seen since and so I took it as a good sign.

Of course there has been plenty upside too (🌈), mostly relating to food with the opening of restaurants and cafes. We've finally had Viennese Kaffee and Kuchen, we've eaten Persian and twice visited a beach bar that even has sand! And we found a breakfast that will be very hard to beat; we will, of course, continue research in this area, entirely in the interest of future visitors... 😋

The list at the end:

• Thanks to one of Anna's German speaking colleagues we now have appointments for a second COVID vaccination

• I have a 15 day streak on Duo-Lingo (but got a bit carried away by dabbling with some Turkish in parallel with German, which probably won't help)

• Decision made on an apartment...! Just entering negotiations...

• We've been enjoying some signage! Apparently, Anglo-Deutsch puns are very popular - will post on this topic at a later date.

• Trips to mountains imminent, although the forecasted thunder and lightning this weekend could put pay to that for a couple more weeks...

• What a star!

https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/19242773.wainwrights-cumbrian-fells-depicted-new-jigsaw/