Settling into Linz

JUL. 5

Hallo! This morning I woke up around 8:30am. Then, I had a wonderful breakfast with grandma. She made everything and then some! Tomorrow morning I will have breakfast there again, and so I will take a picture.

After breakfast Christa and I went downtown to go shopping. It is still all very much, so I didn't buy a lot. Plus, maybe I will have a chance to buy things at the camp too. Visiting the H&W store was very tempting; so many clothes and where to start? Christa got some tshirts. Then we got ice cream- I think I had mango and malaga. I can't remember the second flavor's name, but it was very odd. It had sort of cherries, but it tasted like faint dirt and perfume with sugar... I think. Haha in a good way.

^ The Wänke house from the rear (from the garden), and the porch and steps.

Then she asked what I'd like to do, so, being the adventurous tourist I am, I told her I'd like to go back and rest for a while. We ate dumplings for lunch. Manuel complains that every time Christa makes dumplings, they eat dumplings for days. I don't mind because they are very good. They have ham and bacon inside and are salty, on the outside they are like our dumplings. Also, we had sauerkraut.

I got a crash course in the home theater from Manuel this afternoon. We also sat in the garden and talked about University in Vienna and things like that. He was calling his friends sometimes, because tonight they are playing soccer but no one has a car. It is the opposite of home. Everyone can drive, but they have no need for cars. Manuel will drive his father's car with some people from nearby.

The Wänke garden, from the back porch step.

The stairs are four? levels, just a winding wooden staircase going up and up. On the walls along the way, there are beautiful pictures. Christa says they are her parents'. I really like them and look at them every time I go up the stairs.

Below is a table of water and juice-type-stuff. This was at the art exhibition, but it seems to be common everywhere. You will see club soda or plain water and then fruit syrup. You pour a little fruit syrup in the bottom of a glass and add the water or soda. It is kind of like pop, except when you have it with water it's not. We have two kinds of syrup at every meal.