Laura Beth in Germany

Representin' Sullivan, MO in the Alps This past weekend Fabian and I traveled to Austria with his mother for our third annual Alpine hike. We take a different trail (or trails) each year. This year we began at the Lünersee - a lake in Vorarlberg, Austria - at an altitude of 6,463 feet above sea level. We took a gondola from the parking lot up to the lake itself. The lake was dammed in the 1950s, raising the water level significantly. It has been producing hydroelectric power for the valley below ever since. On Saturday morning, we first walked along the edge of the lake for about 45 minutes, then we took a right and headed over the tree level and into the rocky, windy valley up towards the Swiss border. It began to rain, then snow-rain, then flat out snow on us while we fought our way to the Verajoch - our first ridge to hike over. Suddenly on the other side, the fog cleared and the sun shone! We took a quick break and nibbled some bread and sausages before walking o...

After months of job hunting and applying for schools, Fabi finally got an acceptance letter to Heilbronn University for the fall semester! In celebration of his achievement, we took an afternoon trip to the town where he'll spend the next 1.5 years  becoming a "master of international business." We started at the Sontheim campus on the outskirts of town. This is where the administrative offices are housed, as well as student enrollment and the international office (of which I took note... just in case there are job openings there). We went to their equivalent of the Admissions Office, which was just 1 room with two women. Fabi turned in his remaining documents and officially became a student. Then we headed downtown to the campus Am Europaplatz and found the new building where Fabi will actually have his classes starting September 30th. The building is brand new, with touch screen information kiosks and a hip student lounge. It is surrounded by other higher education...