Ben found a job that really intrigued him that was advertised in Willhaben (a market place job, sale platform) as a carbon fibre technician making moulds for formula race cars. It was something very different and they were asking for skilled carpenters so he applied. He completed a half day induction and was then offered the job. He has now completed a week of work and they are making the car parts for Aston Martin Valhalla (only 1,000) to be in production. Ben explained they do a lot of standing around and waiting for moulds to be set and resin to be completed and this is completely normal and is the only thing he is truly trying to adjust to as Ben just goes and goes and goes when he works. It is a slower pace of working and I’ve noticed when he gets home he is not exhausted and spent as he used to be and he is excited when he talks about his job and the work mates. Most of the employees that he works with are German but there are a few that speak English (not super well) but enough to have a conversation. His supervisor does not speak any English and gives Ben all the instructions in German so he is learning very quickly the lingo and understanding German.

Another thing that we did last week was buy some new push bikes! I am absolutely loving my new wheels and we ride everywhere now. There are dedicated bike paths along all the roads and the city is designed for bikes. It is so safe and so well structured that most of the time you are in your own path or assigned bike lane on the road, and the cars are very thoughtful of bikes when you are on the road. We have 3 bikes at the moment and Ben is wanting to ship his over from Australia. I think we should just buy another one here but he loves his mountain bike that we have at home and his friend Kane is going to ship it over so hopefully we have his bike soon and then we will all have a bike.

We also moved apartments! Our 45 days was up in our Schollmooser apartment and we packed everything back into our suitcases and moved around the corner to our top floor apartment in Paracelssustrabe.

I absolutely adore our new place, particularly because we are on the top floor and have 2 x balconies, one is off the front of the apartment with city views and the other off the back of the apartment which has a view of the mountains. There is a large glass door that opens onto the back balcony and it is nice and sunny with a table and chairs. It makes the kitchen so warm and inviting with the sun streaming in.

One little basil plant to start our herb garden soon to come.

It wasn’t an easy feat to move everything like I thought. For one, Ben was working so it was myself and the kids moving everything around and I was also working (until 1pm) and I also had to meet the new landlady and get the keys.

The new landlady is absolutely lovely and she speaks English. She mentioned that she has a ‘sofa’ but we would need to carry it into the apartment from the storage space up the stairs in a loft attic. Jess and I decided to look at the sofa and it was in great condition, a cream sofa that was a flat sized double bed that had cushions for the back rest and we deemed we could carry it. The lady kept saying no we need a man, so unfortunately would not let us try, however as soon as she left and we had the keys Jess and I were running up the stairs and had our hot little hands on the sofa bed ready to move it.

What a nightmare that was! This sofa not only was heavy but it had a storage space under the sofa and the mechanical mechanism kept popping open every time we moved. We looked and looked for a way that would keep it shut but there was not button or rope or anything so our technique was having to push this closed with our upper arms and lift with our arms squished holding it together, and it needed extreme pressure to hold it together otherwise it wanted to be open. It felt like I was bench pressing a spring loaded beast with a mind of its own because as soon as you took the pressure off it just sprung back open! It made me mad, oh so mad.

We needed to lift and carry this monstrosity while constantly opening on us down the stairs, we also had to balance it around the stair case.

Jess was actually finding the whole thing hilarious and was just laughing the whole time and I was having a rage war in my head of what a stupid idea this was for us to try and do and we should have waited for Ben to come home - so we were both in very different states.

But we were getting there until we got to the corner and it reminded me of the episode of Friends where Ross and Rachel were on the staircase moving a sofa and it got stuck and all Ross kept saying was ‘Pivot, Pivot’ …….P..I…V..O..T and that is what I kept saying to Jessy (however of course she did not get the reference at all) but then I found it hilariously funny and started laughing and yelling pivot pivot (what must our new neighbours be thinking) and then we changed roles and Jessy went into Rage mode and I went into silly laugher and one way or another we got that bloomin sofa down the stairs and into the lounge room and then we both flopped onto it and decided that we were glad we moved the sofa and what a marvellous job we did. Welcome to the neighbourhood us. We were not quiet and a few colourful words were certainly coming out of my mouth.

We then re arranged most of the furniture in the apartment to suit our taste including getting rid of some artwork of ‘preserved Beatles - ewwwwww’. And a huge artwork of a head made up of flies….flies of all things and it is in the master bedroom.

When Ben came home from work we grabbed dinner and then went back to the old apartment to clean for the key hand over the next day. Needless to say we were both exhausted at the end of the day very happy with our new place.

We have also worked out the bus to school is number 12 and it has a stop right out the front of our new apartment and then only 8 stops away is the school, they can also ride their bikes along the river which is a 15 minute ride.

As for me there have been some developments in my Visa journey. I called a legal councillor this week to ask for advice and they told me to put in my visa application now as ours is a very unusual case and this would start the process. The embassy would then tell me what I needed to submit and my application would be started. They also gave me the phone number of the police department I would need to call to confirm I could stay under the “Bilateral Agreement’. The police confirmed I could stay for a total of 6 months but to note that after my first 90 days (3 months) I could not leave Austria and return that I would need to stay in Salzburg for the full 90 days or until my Family Re Unification Visa was granted. That was so lucky that I investigated this as Ben and I were planning a trip to Germany and Prague in October to watch the bike race and if I had of gone I wouldn’t have been able to come back. So Ben may have to go on his own or we may need to cancel this event but I can’t go now.

The authorities also told me that I would need to get Austrian Health Insurance before I submitted for my Visa as everyone requires this. The catch 22 is that everyone who works gets health insurance but I work for an Australian Company which makes it complicated. (of course). And I would also need to get a police check, which I will do next week.

Work for me otherwise is going great and my computer is all set up again in my new place working in the hallway. This is actually going to be much better than working in the kitchen not fabulous but not so bad either.

Another thing that is great about the apartment as it is close to a delicious little Chinese Restaurant called “Yi Ya Mi Asia Restaurant” . It’s going to be a regular go to as its one flavour or the world that I cannot go without.

Chinese Restaurant - no fortune cookies though.

Jessy needs to sit her exam next week on the 3rd September to see if she can pass her maths and if the school will give her a place and then Daniel officially starts school on the 8th September. I’m really hoping that they will accept Jessy to school regardless of her results but we will just need to wait and see.

New Move to Paracelsusstrabe Apartment and Bens job as a carbon fibre technician

Gaisberg Mountain and Watching the Paragliders Launch

Lehner’s-Beeren Farm Day: Corn Maze Exploration & Fresh Fruit Picking