Early this morning, Leandra went on a walk with me to show me a route I can run in Henau. So, next time I want to run I know where to go. When we came back, Claudia and Bruno said they knew of this group of young people who run two times a week in the afternoons in Henau. They said they knew the president and could ask if I could join in with the group. I would really love to do that because it’s not too much of a commitment, it would be a great way to meet people, and I can stay active. I also mentioned the lacrosse club thing, and they said they would look into that. After I took a shower, we had family breakfast with this delicious bread only for Sundays called zopf.  It might be my favorite bread here-delicious!! It was a delicious breakfast, and then we set up my Handy (cell phone). I’m an owner of a Swiss phone with a Swiss number-so cool! At noon, we (Claudia, Bruno, Rebecca, Leandra and I; Manuel couldn’t come because he had a soccer game) departed for Bodensee, the second largest lake in Switzerland, in the kanton Thurgau. The time in the car flew by because I was just captivated by Switzerland’s beauty. We drove up to this campsite type thing where several families come to these very nice tents for vacation. We met Bruno’s mother, some of his brothers (he has five) and their families at this place. It was so much fun to meet the Cozzio clan(s). We just hung out and talked/I listened to the conversations, but I didn’t understand much when it came to Swiss German… We went swimming a couple times. The water was a beautiful blue, but it was a little colder than what I’m used to. It was little painfully cold in the beginning (literally, when I hugged myself the pressure felt like needles stabbing me), but then you get used to it. When you look across the lake, you can see Germany and Austria. When we weren’t swimming, we were snacking, playing games (hide and go seek and 14,15), and playing cards (Arschloch-translates to Asshole). The cards in Switzerland are very different than an American deck. There are 36 cards in a deck and the lowest number is 6. They taught me how to play and it was a lot of fun once I caught on. I tried some sort of yogurt, oat, fruit Swiss dish that all kids love- and I must say for myself, it was delicious!! We also got gelato in there somewhere and I enjoyed walking around the surrounding town a bit. It was so cute and there were all these people on roller blades and bikes.

For dinner we had Raclette which I LOVED!!! Might be one of my favorite meals yet. We melted the cheese with all sorts of spice, pineapple, mushrooms, corn, etc. Once it looked melted and cooked enough, we poured it over mini Brotroast (not sure how to spell that sausage, very Swiss), bacon, and/or potatoes. It was delicious and I’m counting on having it again. SO YUMMY!! Then, we packed up, said our goodbyes, and left Bodensee.

I had so much fun at Bodensee; it was really great! When we got home, I showered and then Claudia ran through a lot of info with me (train schedule, work schedule, Rotary Events, school stuff, etc.) It was very good, and made me even more excited about the year! Tomorrow I start German camp.