Because I’m writing this as an Weekend Coffee Share post, let me first tell you something about the Wiener Melange. Wiener Melange is a espresso with steamed milk and milk foam and yes, that sounds like an Italian cappuccino. The Austrians have more authentic foods that compete with Italian food, like the Wiener schnitzel versus cotoletta alla Milanese or knoedel versus gnocchi. Mostly, the choice of coffee (mild roast for melange, dark roast for cappuccino) makes the difference, I guess.

Anyway, wether you like an Viennese or an Italian cup a joe, I can tell you it has been a packed with happy things week. I felt like a princess living from highlight to highlight! On Monday, we traveled with our extended family to Vienna for a city trip slash family visit. Hence the Wiener Melange! After dinner and a first day of exploring, my parents took the kids to bed and the younger adults went for drinks with my cousin’s wife at the roof top bar of the hip 25 hours hotel. Being able to just go out for a few drinks is a luxury that you’ll only truly appreciate after having kids!

If we were having coffee, I would tell you how wonderful it is to spend your birthday on holiday with family. On Tuesday, I woke up to the singing of three kids and being sung to by the whole family at breakfast. My husband gave me this crazy beautiful pink pearl necklace with an matching bracelet as a birthday gift. This is the princess lifestyle, I thought!

At night, I went to the Wiener Staatsoper to see an opera with my husband and my parents as my sister and her boyfriend sitted the kids. Double princess lifestyle, I know! I loved to glam up with my hubby and my dad in tuxedos and my mom in me in prom style gowns. And yes, I did manage to finish my Age of Adeline gown in time for this occasion and I can’t begin to tell how happy I was that I did!

If I we were having coffee, I would tell you I weird it was to go out clubbing on a Wednesday and find myself on an after-party from a doctor’s networking event in the Palmenhaus (greenhouse). That’s the great part when visiting family abroad, having an up to date insider’s guide to the hip and happening places and events. Not only did I find myself between doctors and nurses looking to hook up with doctors, I felt the old odd man out between mostly twenty-something people. It got worse when my cousin started shouted at all his doctor friends: “This is my favorite cousin! You won’t believe it, but she turned 38 years this Tuesday!”

If we were having coffee, I would ask how you spent your Mother’s Day. I must confess the occasion stirs up mixed feelings in me. It feels so sexist on one hand, with retailers advertising for all kinds of home appliances for mom to gift and the standard flowers, chocolate, cosmetics and perfume. I not at all the house keeping and care giving mom that is to be celebrated at Mother’s Day, as I work 4 days in the week and honestly do the only bare necessities in the house. On the other hand, when the day is forgotten, I do feel neglected. How do you feel about the whole event?

For me, it felt really heartwarming when my youngest woke me up holding a big cellophane packet in front of me, which contained a teapot drawing. To my surprise my teenager himself bought me a gift as well, instead of depending on my husband to take care of the gifts. I like those personal attentions best, but the specialty teas from tea bar my husband gave me are to die for! My husband knows exactly what to give me and I always feel bad I can’t return the favor in the same way.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you how fun it was to take both my mom and my youngest son to my fitness class and work out with them. It wasn’t that much of a work out for myself, but I really want to show my mom what I do. Even as an adult, I’m still looking for parental confirmation, I guess. After the gym, we had lunch with my mother in-law. I was really happy for her, seeing her so happy that we were spending time with her. Attention is the best gift! Did you spend time with your mother (in law) on Mother’s Day?

It will be tough returning to work and school and living the princess lifestyle behind.

xoxo -Irene.

I wrote this post to a recurring prompt by Part-time Monster called Weekend Coffee Share. Each weekend, bloggers publish posts about what they’d say to their readers if they were sitting down together over a cup of coffee.