Thursday August 9^th 22:30

Today I went down to the Schwarzach Rathaus and registered with the U.S. Government with my host mother Agnes Thurnher, and host brother Benedikt. Afterwards, we drove through the bordering towns Wolfurt and Lauterach, and arrived in Vorarlberg’s capital: Bregenz (only 10 minutes from the house by car). There, we looked into Benedikt’s passport (to come to the U.S.) and delivered most of my American documents to the Austrian Government to get me on my way to my Visa. I will arrive in Alt Muenster for my two week camp on Sunday, and I will get my Proof of Insurance and School Acceptance documents, which are the last papers I need to get my Visa. After this, Agnes and Benedikt showed me the Bodensee as well as the stage for a huge annual opera in Bregenz, I will be attending it this Saturday night. Each year they build a new stage. Then we stopped to have sausage and a drink in a restaurant by the lake. Next we got a bus pass for me to use for the rest of the summer, it runs all around the Bregenz and Dornbirn areas. Once we returned to Schwarzach, Agnes took me to meet the Heinzle family (Albert, Doris, Tobias and Martin). I greeted them, then stayed and visited for a while. That afternoon Tobias invited me to come with his family up to their Alpe (a Austrian cabin that use to be used for herding cattle, located in the Alps) up in the Bregenzer Wald. I accepted, and then Tobias and I biked back to the Thurnher house to get my stuff. Once I got my clothes and camera, Agnes accompanied us back into town where she helped me set up a bank account for my Rotary allowance. Then at about 4 we left for the Alps. When we arrived, it was amazing to see how beautiful the area around the Heinzle’s Alpe was. From the Alpe I could see the border of Germany and into Bayern, just across the creek on the opposite hill. Tobias, Martin and I hiked around the cabin for a while eating wild blue berries, then stopped to shoot pellet guns next to the house. Later, Dora, Tobias and I went searching for mushrooms (Eier Schwämmle). We returned for a dinner of sausage and bread, had some Milka chocolate for desert, and went to bed. I am lucky to have come to such good families like the Thurnher’s and the Heinzle’s, I also look forward to meeting my other family, the Hladik’s.