Summertime in Germany

Summertime in Germany has been lovely. Since early July it has been in the 80s, sunny, and low humidity. What a gift! I love spending time outside in the beautiful weather. Here are some things that I have been up to this summer.

My parents left on July 2nd to return to America. On my last blog post I shared some of our adventures from our first week of travels together. During our second week, we went and stayed in a town called Adelboden in Switzerland. It was a beautiful area! Each day we drove into the Interlaken area and traveled into the Lauterbrunnen valley to see beautiful sights and go on some spectacular hikes through the alps.

On our favorite hike through the mountains.

It was hard to believe, but during some of our hikes it was snowing up in the mountains! How strange for the end of June! The highlight of the trip there was taking the train through the mountains and up to the top of the Jungfrau, the third highest mountain in the Bernese Alps. We loved looking out over the glacier and up at the mountain peaks. What an experience!

At the Jungfraujoch- top of the Jungfrau mountain

After returning from the alps we returned to my home in Kandern and did some day trips to nearby places. We traveled into the Black Forest to the waterfall in Todtnau and did a day trip on my Birthday to Riquewihr in France. It was really special to have my family here in on my Birthday.


Mom and I on my birthday in Riquewihr, France



The parents by one of the smaller waterfalls in Todtnau.

It was hard to say goodbye to my parents and then to transition back to life here in Kandern. My summers are usually busy at camp, with friends at home, and time with my family. It felt as though I should be returning to America with my parents and then heading to camp! However, even though, I miss friends and family in America, I am really glad that I am in Germany for the summer. The Lord has provided some really cool opportunities for me while I stay here and I feel even more established in this new home. It's not just somewhere that I teach, it's also somewhere I live.

I was able to sign up for a German course to help improve my German. I have been so thankful for the chance to practice my grammar, writing, and speaking. Even after only 2 weeks, I feel like I have learned so much. So, I decided to sign up for next week as well!

My afternoons and evenings after German class have been filled with lots of different things each day that keep each week exciting and eventful! I have been able to get to know different people this summer that I haven't connected with throughout the school year. I have been able to help friends move into new homes and begin to prepare for my move as well. (Coming up in the next 8 days or so!) I have been able to go on some fun trips with different families. I have been able to help at the elementary school with different field trips and projects for the German students who finished school a week ago. I also practice my German at home and work on my heaps of homework from German class. Finally, I have enjoyed spending some time at the local community swimming pool. :)


Day trip to Heidelberg with some special friends :)



Last night I went to see the play, "Jedermann" that was being shown next to the castle. The play was all in German and I could understand a lot! It was an awesome presentation of the Gospel message in the city!

This next week, I will continue my German class as well as go into the elementary school to work on organizing our new curriculum and guided reading books. There is so much to do to get ready for next year! I know it will be a busy next month as we prepare for new students, new materials, new staff, and a new schedule. As the summer progresses I am getting more excited for what the Lord has in store for the next school year. It will be exciting for sure. I will post more of the details for the next school year in a future post.



The 600 pounds of books (I think its around 1500 books) that Amy and I will be organizing next week, and probably for the next month...!



I do miss connecting with many people and would love to hear from you if you are around. May God continue to bless your summer!