Madeleine's Swiss Camp

From the 16th - the 20th of June, the classes of 2a and 2b went on a camp in the French part of Switzerland. It was a place called Monteux on the coast of Switzerland. Across the lake was France which was quite interesting to look at and was a great view. We'd been planning our trip away for sometime and I was very excited to be going. On Monday the 16th we had to meet at the train station at 7:45am ready to board to 8:05am train. During the train trip we changed trains two times, waiting for the next train for at least 30 minutes each time. The trip was quite enjoyable, it was good to talk with my friends and take heaps of photos. We also sang a few songs with another group of children going on a school camp.
As we were spending 3 full days there we had some excursions planned. On Monday we went on a guided tour of a castle which was boring for me as I couldn't understand anything but I enjoyed looking through the castle which was quite old and interesting.

On Tuesday, our second day away, we visited a Salt Mine in Bex. Bex is a small villiage quite close to Montreux which is famous for mining salt. The next day, Wednesday, we had to do school work in the morning! School work! After this though we headed to Vevey and visited the Alimentarioum. This was a museum all about food and we had a good time cooking and looking around.
On Thursday we went to the Aqua Parc. It was a giant park with many water slides and swimming pools. This day in my opinion was the best. It was a really good day and I enjoyed every minute of it. On Friday it was just packing up in the morning as every camp is on the last day. Once we were all packed up and ready to go we walked to the train station and headed to Lausanne for some shopping. We spent about 3 hours there and I bought a really pretty necklace which Nadine also bought. We then headed home on the train to arrive back in Dagmersellen at about 7pm.
After our showers there were many activities we could take part in. There was volleyball, swimming and walking. Some nights my friends and I sat on the skateboard ramp and talked, sometimes we ran around taking random photos and sometimes we just sat in our room and played solitaire on our iPods. The nights were really fun and most days the best part of the day.
I really enjoyed this camp and I feel I got closer to my friends while we were away together. I really think I've made some life long friends.

Matthew's Visit to Dagmersellen

On Saturday, 7th June, Mark and Terri-Lyn picked Matthew (Mark's father) up from the Luzern train station. We arrived back in Dagmersellen, but only had a short time for him to settle in as we had all been invited to a BBQ to celebrate the start of the European Championships (soccer). The party was held by The Penguins Ice Hockey team, at a pig farm, and a large TV screen was set up so we could watch the soccer.


On Sunday, Mark played for the Dagmersellen Tennis Club in his first Interclub match. Matthew, Terri-Lyn, Madeleine, Alexandra and Zoe all went along to watch Mark win both his singles and doubles games.


Matthew and Terri-Lyn were invited to visit Emma and Adolf in Luzern on Monday. After a cup of coffee they took us on a boat trip on Lake Luzern (Vierwaldstattersee) to Burgenstock. After a very steep rail trip we got out and had a wonderful view over Luzern. We had lunch, walked around, had afternoon tea (strawberries, blueberries and cream - yum) and then returned by ship to Luzern. It was a very enjoyable day, finishing with dinner at Emma and Adolf's home.
On Thursday the girls had a visitor to their classrooms, Matthew. He entertained each class with stories and songs.
In the afternoon, Matthew and Terri-Lyn drove to the Rheinfalls at Schaffhausen, as Matthew wished to see it again for the first time in 5o years. It was a lovely sunny day and after the steep trek down to the water's edge we took a boat ride to the base of the falls. The power of the water is amazing.
Christina invited us over for afternoon tea on Friday, where we had a great chat in German. In the evening, Matthew took our family out for a delicious meal at the Gasthof Lowen (the Lion Inn).
Mark played his second match for the Dagmersellen Tennis Team on Saturday, and the whole team won - this was wonderful as the team had previously been without a win for two years.
On Sunday, the family went on the 'Sheep Walk' towards Uffikon. This walk is up and over hills, giving lovely views over the countryside.
Each night we watched the soccer either on the television or out the front of our house. A tent has been erected for a large screen which shows the games and the whole Mattenweg community can come together to have a BBQ, a wine or beer, and to watch the games.
It was wonderful to share this time with Matthew and to show him our life here.