For the last few days of the program we went to the cutest town, Dorfgastein. I love this place!!! It is surrounded by mountains and everyone is so sweet. We were there for the Dorffest where everyone is dressed in traditional clothing and there is lots of dancing and singing, it was so much fun! On Sunday, we attended mass at a charming church in town and then watched the parade. Even the younger boys are extremely talented with a horse whip, it was cool to see. Many of the local farmers put together tractors and things to show off in the parade. We had some of the best seats to watch it as well, on the couch outside! There are lots of hikes to do in town but the real hiking came on Monday when some of us went to Sportgastein. We had the most amazing day doing about a 12 mile hike in the Alps complete with wilds cows and horses that were super friendly. We didn't always know exactly where we were going and weren't always on the trail. We also may or may not have gotten separated from each other a little bit and had to crawl under some electric fences and run for a while to catch the last bus back to Dorfgastein but that's what made it a fun and memorable adventure. The sun definitely left it's mark on us. On Tuesday we went to the Eisriesenwelt which is a huge ice cave with 1400 steps after you get to it. It was one of the coolest tours I've ever done and it was fun to be so cold inside with the temperature around 6 degrees Celsius. Afterwards, we went to Hohenserfen Castle which was really interesting and saw a falcon show. Our last day in Dorfgastein was spent hiking up to an Alm where we were showed how a family up there makes cheese! It was so fun and the family is delightful. I especially loved their dog who had a purple stained face from getting into the blueberry bushes. After we walked down and went back to our Pension house, my parents and some family friends of ours came to pick me up. It was so sad to say goodbye to the incredible group of people that I've been blessed to spend the last 3 months with here but it was wonderful to see my parents. We got in the car and made our way to Bad Aussee where our friends have a home. On our way we stopped at a Sommerrodelbahn (Summer slide) which was a blast! I'm excited for the last week and a half I have to travel with my parents and especially excited for the organ recital I will be giving this Sunday.
