Update in Photos

It has been a couple weeks since we left the Salzburg area but we still have a quite a few photos we want to share with you!

We met up with a friend of Dana's when she studied in Salzburg for tea after church one Sunday!

Enjoying the sights of Salzburg. They never get old!

We made a puzzle with our host brother!

Our Saturday morning breakfast.

This crazy castle looking thing in the town nearest the farm.

We learned how to make venison!

The path on one of our walks.

One of the cows, Ginger I think.

Our host built his own deer stand with wood from the surrounding forests.

We attended a concert at the son's school. We were amazed by the talent!

Dana and I biked to then and around the lake near the farm. It was a beautiful 15 mile bike ride!

We found a Deutz tractor on our ride.

Coolest public resting chair ever! 

Here fishy, fishy, fishy!

Everyday, Dana and I got to practice our fish calling skills. And our hill climbing skills. The first time we walked up to the trout pond on our host's farm, we had to stop to catch our breath. Please note, it was on top of a pretty big hill! By the end of our four week stay, climbing the hill was no problem at all. Once we made it to the pond, we pretended to be Bert and Ernie and called the fish. No, none actually jumped out at us but they did swim closer to us in order to jump at the fish food we threw into the pond. We loved watching them swim around and jump out of the water to get to the small pellets faster than the others. Once we finished feeding, the fish swam around in circles, maybe looking for more. We enjoyed the view from the top of the hill as well. You could see many of the surrounding villages and on a clear day part of the German Alps. Calling the fish was one of our favorite tasks on the farm!

One of the last days feeding the fish!

Relaxing in the pond with the trout! The water was very cold!

One of the first days feeding the fish!

Kindness and Generosity

The kindness and generosity that some people show to others fills my heart and makes me so glad to be a small part in this universe.

The kindness and generosity that is shown and given without expecting anything in return is a special gift. Those on the receiving end who are able to realize and appreciate these gifts are better people because of being shown such compassion and love.

It is during these first two and a half months of travel with my sister that we both have been recipients of such amazing gifts. We were hugged goodbye by our friends and family who have never faltered in their love and support for us. We have lived with multiple families who have accepted us as part of their family and culture. We have been so blessed.

Every family we stay with, we always hope to contribute as much as possible so that our host's lives are in any number of ways made less stressful and brought some humor. We want our help to allow our hosts to do more of what they want or need to do.

I am just so grateful for the amazing responses we've received from our current and past hosts. They showed us the utmost kindness by allowing us to stay with them and gave generously to help our stay be even more fulfilling.

I especially hope all of our hosts know how much they are appreciated for the experience and kindness we were shown. And I am ever so grateful again for our friends and family who show and help us to be the people we are today.

I hope I can pay forward even a little of all the love, kindness, and generosity I've been gifted in order that someone else can feel as amazing and fulfilled as I do right now.

******This post was initially written and posted to www.1000journeys.blogspot.com******

8 Weeks

We can hardly believe it! Exactly eight weeks ago we flew into Munich and took the train across the border to Austria and have been living and loving the Austrian life ever since!

We've been on two different farms, walked endlessly around the great city of Salzburg and have learned and grown so much already!

Starting Monday, Dana and I will head east to another host just north of Vienna.  We are so excited for what's next and everything new again!

Keep checking out our adventures on here! We hope everyone is enjoying reading and seeing what we are up to!

These June Days

After our first week of total non-stop rain at our current hosts farm, the last two weeks of sunshine and warmth have been ever so wonderful!

Every morning we get to wake up with the sun and go talk to the cows and milk them! Some mornings we also feed the calves their milk and grain while getting the cows through the parlor as well. We've become very proficient in the double-two Herringbone parlor and have quite the system down!

We've slowly been learning the cows names or giving them our own names for them! Number 2 is Dos-Elena. We call her Dos but her farm name is Elena! Number 21 we call Muggle because her teats are always dirty like any normal cow! And number 20, we call her Granny. She looks like an older and wiser cow than the rest! There are over 20 cows, and we call them all by one name or another!

Our host here works in the city some days, so we help out in the house by cooking lunch and vacuuming and other cleaning and house duties. Julie is getting really good at making a super simple oil and vinegar dressing for our salads each day. We love to put in different fruits and vegetables and sunflower seeds as well!

We've also cooked venison twice for lunch. I officially feel as though I can cook venison now! I've never cooked it before and have been thoroughly impressed with the results. I think both Julie and I will have to try it more at home as well! It's fun to cook in another country, we are able to learn all kinds of new ways to eat different foods.

With all the glorious sun and warmer temperatures, Julie and I have been taking daily walks around the area, and even started running! Where our host's farm is situated we can see the German mountains. We love walking east up the Haunsberg to see the beautiful Austrian alps on the other side!

We only have one more week with our current host. It's always sad to leave a family after making connections and settling into their way of life. But, there is so much more to see and do! We will relish in everything this last week in this beautiful area north of Salzburg! And continue to enjoy our day to day routine with this great host!

Julie and I in our milking gear! Maja is getting milked beside us. 

Mahlzeit! Bon Apetit! 

German mountains in the morning!

The view of the house from the beginning of our usual walking trail. 

Beautiful trees! 

So cool! A hot air balloon we saw while trekking up beside the meadow to the forest. 

Austrian mountains! 

A view of the farm from above. It's hay making time here. 

Sharing Sisters

Throughout our trip people have commented on how much Dana and I share. We do have an unusual habit of sharing almost everything. Starting on the first day of our trip, back in Canada, we shared a dish of ice cream. This was the start of a sharing movement!

Even now at supper, when Dana slices a piece of cheese, she cuts one for me or gives me half. When we are not sure if we want another full slice of bread at supper, we go half-sies. We even will split a small piece of toast bread if we aren't sure if we are full or not at breakfast.  I've now been told on multiple occasions that I CAN have my own slice of bread!

When there are different types of bread or meat, we always split them so we get to try more kinds! We share our water bottle and if we decide to purchase a drink, we share that too. If needed we can share clothes, though that doesn't happen much. We do share our comb and deodorant though!

We think our talent of sharing is a good thing. Even though we sometimes get funny looks, we usually make others laugh.  The other night at supper, our host broke his roll in half and offered it to Dana. We all started laughing. It was one of those hilarious moments we won't forget!

 Not only the humor side of sharing, it has been very practical for us in order to try new things and save money! It really is a huge benefit to traveling with someone you are close with. We want to say thanks to our parents and siblings for teaching us to be such good sharers!

However, we do want you all to know that we don't share our toothbrushes or our "unmentionables." Those we keep to ourselves!