Dinosaurs, Wild Boars, and Stuffed Dogs: The Components of Any Good Family Trip to Vienna

The past couple of weeks have been hectic as we prepare to return to the US.  Suitcases and rucksacks need to be packed, our money needs to magically turn from Euros to USDs across the Atlantic, our little apartment needs to be cleaned, etc.  We'll be accomplishing most of these tasks within the next couple of days, but let's talk about some adventures we've had, shall we?

Earlier this month, we met our cousins in Vienna for a day of dinosaur exhibits, Vietnamese food, laughter, and complaining about the Viennese weather.  (Does the precipitation ever stop?)  It happened to be International Museum Day and Mother's Day too. 

My cousin Haakon is a dinosaur-enthusiast.  When we visited Budapest, he showed us his favorite dinosaur book, and laughed at me when I guessed "Stegosaurus" for every picture he pointed at.  This time, his arsenal included a backpack filled with mini-dinosaurs, a dinosaur T-shirt, and a wild distrust of my dinosaur knowledge.  Basically, he was well-prepared.

So off we went to the Naturhistorische Museum Wien (the Vienna Natural History Museum).  But first, some tourists posing, full-on photo-shoot style!

Interesting things abound in every direction, yes? :)

       
Once we arrived at the museum, we decided to opt out of seeing the featured Body exhibit, figuring that it might be too scary for the children.  Instead, we proceeded to the normal exhibits, the first of which was this little, not-creepy-at-all dog. 

Did we make a good choice?  Natalie didn't seem scared; maybe the doggie was just sitting really still.

While she was very brave, I was less so.  Exhibit A: The Wild Boar

My father is a bit obsessed with wild boars/feral pigs for some reason, and he was overjoyed when Ben sent him this article about wild boars in Berlin.  Of course, I had to see what all the fuss was about.  I didn't like it very much.

Exhibit B: The Whale

  
Weird Fact: I'm terrified of whales.  My weird phobias could be a blog post in itself, but suffice it to say, my expression of discontent is real.

 Here's Ben being brave

 

and excited.  The museum itself is beautiful, as you can see in this picture.

Next, patriotism and two surprises:  

Even the baby gorilla had to use its Mom to protect itself. 

Finally, the Dinosaur Hall!

 
Out of nowhere, this dinosaur roared and swung his tail!  Haakon was a little scared of his dino-pal, but Mom protected him. 

Besides feeding Natalie to the disembodied dino skull, we also touched a dinosaur bone and dino-poo.  What more could you want in a dino exhibit?

We finished up the museum by checking out the Meteorite Hall, which had an impressive selection of meteorites of all sizes and compositions.  Ben, being a space-enthusiast, loved it, and he could have been content roaming amidst the display cases all afternoon, however, we needed food.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the delicious Vietnamese food that we had at Saigon.  Check out the online menu for the number of dishes you could try - how do they stock their kitchen!?  I never had Vietnamese food before that week, and I somehow ended up having it twice.  Trending? 
      
It truly has been so nice having family a train ride away and being able to meet up several times since we came to Austria.  It's something that I'm going to miss.  Dear cousins, thank you for a wonderful day in Vienna, and we hope to see you soon in the States!