Driving to Wolfgangsee

Every year, the international school hosts a camp week at Wolfgangsee, a lake resort near Salzburg, Austria. It seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime week for Micaela and James, so just two days after school ended for them, we sent them off to overnight camp. David suggested we pick them up on the last morning and do some touring around the Salzburg area.

A few weeks before camp, James came to me with a piece of paper. "Mom," he asked, "Could you please sign this paper giving me permission to visit St. Gilgen Village while we're at Wolfgangsee?" "James, you sounded just like Harry Potter asking for permission to go to Hogsmeade Village!" was my response.

Our first view of the foothills of the Alps

Pretty view from the highway

We arrived at St. Gilgen, the village on Lake Wolfgang, and strolled around a bit. Emilie was sad when David informed her of these fishes fate.

Watching the ducks on the lake

During our stroll around town, we ran into a group from the school. A teacher told us we were welcome to pay the kids a visit at the youth hostel, though we weren't due to pick them up until the following morning.

Following the path to the hostel

Becca always adjusts her pants to sit low on her hips and as a result, her bum is always on display.

The symbol of the hostel

The view the kids had from camp headquarters

A rather aloof Micaela chatting with David and James nowhere to be found

Another camper told us that James was one of the kids out on a kayak on his way back from cliff jumping. And just a minute later we heard it: the sound of James belting out his favorite songs, totally unaware how voices carry over water, even from clear across the other side of the lake. For 30 minutes, we listened as James, occasionally accompanied by his fellow kayaker, ran through his repertoire: We Will Rock You, When September Ends, Gives You Hell, as well as a medley from Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog. And I caught it all on video.

When the kayak was close enough for James to realize who those grown-ups were on the dock, he went strangely silent. He paddled ashore and gave me a half-hearted hug. We chatted briefly about camp and then took our leave.

David and I have never seen children less happy about seeing their parents after having been away from home for a week. We realized they must have thought when they saw us that we would make them leave at that moment and they would have to miss their last night of camp. They were very relieved to see us go.