Through our travels we learned of World Schooling Hubs, where other home/world schooling families pick a location to gather and tour a city together. Several families were planning to attend Vienna, Austria and we decided the kids would greatly benefit from connecting with other kids living a similar lifestyle. We arrived a couple weeks early to get ourselves settled so we could enjoy General Conference and Easter.

Spring had already sprung in Vienna, but it certainly maintained some very cold days. Because we left our winter gear in Italy, our first priority was to find coats and warmer clothes, but not until after we enjoyed a warm, French style breakfast of course!

We weren’t the only family from the world school hub to arrive early, we met up with a Jewish homeschooling family at a nearby park and toured Vienna’s waste incineration facility, which was actually quite fascinating.

Because the waste incinerator is situated in the middle of the city, they hired a famous Austrian artist, Friedensreich Hundertwasser. He’s known for his quirky, colorful, curved lined structures and incorporated these elements to help create, “a more beautiful, waste-free future”. The structure certainly stands out and makes for a more “fun” appeal to a dirty and stinky process.

We learned that instead of throwing the collected garbage into a large landfill, it’s brought to this facility where it’s burned down and transformed into energy for the city. Basically, a large crane transports the waste into the “incinerators”, similar to a very large and hot oven. The burning process creates hot fumes that turn water into steam, which powers a turbine to generate electricity. This process provides heat to more than 60,000 local households in Vienna, including the local hospital. It’s definitely an eco-friendlier way to make use of the over consumption of trash.

Even with the extra cold days, we had peaks of warmer spring weather, and it was great to get out and enjoy the nearby gardens, parks, and blooms!

One of the places we toured through is the Natural History Museum. This place was enormous as we spent half a day to get through it. The kids really loved the collection of rocks, stones, and jewels as well as all the various animals on display. It also helped that they were accompanied by their newly formed friendships, which also made it more enjoyable for mom and dad!

The kids really loved getting out with friends. Phil was able to take them to a nearby climbing place, trampoline park, and walking tours while I put in some hours for work.

We also took a day to ourselves and visited a technology museum which had some really cool interactive displays, giving the kids a great way to engage and learn how everyday things are engineered.

I really enjoyed visiting was the Hofburg Palace. Because Easter was right around the corner, the place was decorated with flowering gardens and little shops full of handmade trinkets on display. Windchimes, dream catchers, and intricate painted easter eggs, as well as gardens, mazes, sculptures, fountains, and delicious sweets with local bratwurst. There was so much to take in.

Vienna is known for its famous composers like Mozart and Beethoven, and many palaces. So Phil and I took advantage and enjoyed a few memorable dates. Often the musical concerts we would attend included several microphones, speakers, and a sound board, with the music so loud our ears are ringing by the end. It was definitely more enjoyable to indulge in the raw sound of instrumental music from the local artists.

Easter this year was simpler and more meaningful for our family. Coming from Isreal and being spiritually fed by the powerful and inspiring messages from our church leaders, our focus was on gratitude and love for all that we’ve been given and get to enjoy! April 2025 general conference.

Instead of our traditional Easter egg hunt, baskets, and egg dying, we made found ways to keep it simple and reflective. The girls and I made our favorite Italian “coffee free” tiramisu recipe, some Easter “egg rolls”, and deviled eggs using mayo and mustard from a squeezable tube (genius!).

Hallie, on her own, decided to put her artistic talents to use by creating the image of Christ. We started to notice how our kids were stepping more in to their talents and capabilities. Taking on tasks because they wanted to and doing them together. Our family is growing closer and creating a bond that will far outlast the temporary, tangible things this world likes to distract us with.