Austria, Dolomites, and Ajax

We have had a lot of fun since I wrote last. Now I will tell you about our trip to Austria. When we went to Austria we did not get a good first impression. When we were on the highway a police man stopped us and told us that everyone needs a special ticket to drive on the highway, and if you don’t have a ticket, it is a $120 fine. We could not argue our way out of this one like we probably could have done in Italy. The skiing was fantastic. The first couple of days we skied in gorgeous spring days. The day we were going to head over to the Dolomites there was 8 inches of fresh snow in Austria. We decided to stay and head over after we skied and that is exactly what we did. The day before we skied powder I was at home sick, but luckily I was well enough to ski powder, we thought. After that day of magical skiing, I felt terrible.

The day we got to the Dolomites, I did not have fun. I was at home sick with no English TV channels. The next day I did have a phenomenal time skiing the Stella Ronda. The Stella Ronda is where you ski around an immense mountain from valley to valley. I had so much fun. There were all sorts of unusual rock formations lit up by the sun. Every time you were around my mom you would here her say “this is so beautiful” or “this is spectacular”.

I have had a lot of fun in Gaeta since we went on this last trip. The most fun thing was going to a soccer game with my dad, brother, and the boys on the Dutch boat. The match featured their home team (Ajax) against one of Rome’s teams. As you know, almost everyone in Europe follows soccer, so the fans were crazy.

I have had a lot on my mind lately including the war that just started. It is a little different here when there is a war because we are in close contact with people on the navy base. I have made friends with kids whose dad are in the navy and out at sea, and they have all been a little bit depressed. There are peace signs everywhere here and anti war protests right and left. It is not a good time in the world right now.