As I write this report I am bathed in sunshine and temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius and more in the picturesque country of Austria. I have been in Austria as part of the YFCU exchange programme for two weeks now and what an action-packed fortnight it has been.
When I first arrived in Vienna airport early on Monday morning I was greeted by Gerlinde Kraus, the Austrian Landjugend (their equivalent of the YFC) leader and then met with the other exchangees from all over the world. We stayed in Vienna for two days, sightseeing and sampling some of the local delights as well as getting to know each other. On Wednesday we went our separate ways to our first host families by train.
My first host family, the Spallers, live in the village of Ried in Upper Austria and have five daughters aged from twelve to twenty. They have five hundred pigs and 20 geese for slaughter. Their farm also produces maize and wheat as fodder for the animals. The family have been very good to me and have taken me to every local and not-so-local attraction there is. During my time here I have been to a mini adventure park, to the local Fire Brigade's Tug of War competition, the zoo and to various churches, chapels and castles all over Upper Austria.
I also got to see the production of honey at a family friend's house and was able to help out for a while. They told me about how the bees make the honey, the bee hives and what rules must be in place to be allowed to produce organic honey. They also informed me about the prices they receive for their product and the other types of products that can be produced such as wines and antiseptics.
One of my favourite activities during my stay here so far was my visit to the 'Ars Electronica', a technology museum in Linz, which was last year's European Capital of Culture, which covered everything from the invention of the Internet to the future of sales and demographic mapping.
The 'geocity' section was of particular interest having studying A-level geography and I was interested to hear that the centre had a sample of the Icelandic volcanic ash. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to see it.
I have also been fortunate to visit the oldest town in Austria, Enns, and climb the central clock tower which gave a beautiful view of the surrounding area. Another historical site I was able to see was the concentration camp in nearby Mauthausen. It was a chilling but highly fascinating experience and I was able to walk the 185 stairs of death down to the quarry where the prisoners had worked.
My host family's two eldest daughters are the leader and secretary of the local Landjugend club and so I have been able to meet many of the members of their club in Ried and attend a committee meeting about their up and coming Agricultural Show which is to be held in August on the farm of my host family. The local young people are also active members of the Schutplattler group, which perform the traditional Austrian folk dance. On my first weekend in Austria I was able to watch the performance by the local boys group and then the following week I was taught how to Schutplattler myself. I must admit it is much more difficult than it looks.
Tomorrow I will leave my current host family and travel to my second hosts who also live in the Upper Austria region. At this stage I would like to thank all those who made this trip possible and especially the efforts of Kerry Megrath at YFCU Headquarters, my family, the YFCU and YFA, Pizzarama, Campsie Vets, L W Surphlis, Mr Cathers, Mr R A Pollock, Strule Vets, RTJ Ross Accountants and the Spaller family in Austria.