Königswiesen

After a brief layover in London, I made it to Vienna yesterday afternoon. If I could, I would like to fly internationally from now on (even on domestic flights). Not only was I able to eat this wonderful tandoori chicken like meal on the plane, I watched two movies and then a couple of TV shows. How wonderful!

Anyhow, Claudia (my host mom's sister) and Tobias and Moritz (2nd and 3rd child) picked me up from the airport. The first thing we did was hit up a restaurant (a family after my own heart) and then an hour later we ate gelato at Schörgi...a famous konditorei. The tiramisu flavor was to die for. We finally made it to Köngweisen at 6 pm. :)

The Karlinger family is amazing!! The boys (Simon, Tobias, and Moritz) are so fun to be around. They are so great and want to spend as much time with me as possible. Simon, oldest son (13) is brilliant at agricultural work and has two gardens that he manages. He is the quietest of the three, but he is astute and very courteous. Tobias (12) is a true sports junky. He loves football (soccer) and riding his bike..and swimming, and really anything that can be done outdoors. He is also the most devious...he has that certain sparkle in his eye. Moritz (6) is a cutie. He was super shy at the airport, but since has opened up and has asked me to play in the lake with him and put a puzzle together. He talks to me in German as if I understand, but it is very adorable and when I respond in English he gives me a shy smile. Moritz has the biggest sweet tooth and understands my love of chocolate. Franz (host dad) is super quiet, but very warm. I haven't seen him a whole lot, but it's because he is at his restaurant pretty much all the time. Ingrid (host mom) is terrific. She is the best at speaking English (she is a school teacher) and we talked about health care and respective education systems today. Her thirst for learning more English is inspirational and reminds me that it's important to continue to be curious.

Austria is so gorgeous...so lush and green. It is possibly the most beautiful country I've been to. The rolling hills and quaint houses are gorgeous...no wonder Julie Andrews twirled around in the Austrian mountains. Who wouldn't? I've been taking a lot of pictures and will post some soon!! (I'm pretty sure my host family thinks that I'm camera crazy).

Hugs,
Bo