May 17th
Laughter prolongs life… unless you laugh yourself to death!
Today, life has been extended by several days. The company of Cristopher, Ulli, and River has brought joy all day long. We’ve had lunch together, wandered around the city of Bregenz, and even climbed to higher levels. Bregenz and Fußach are quite the historical treat.
In the evening, Eva and I took a walk in the Rhine delta. The river flows nearby into Lake Constance, whose shores span three countries: Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. Christopher told us about the life of the river – including the lake’s water level fluctuations, winter storms, ice masses on the shores during northwest storms, and the endangered whitefish population in the lake. I need to learn more about the lake. It seems it used to have crayfish too. I haven’t yet figured out why the whitefish population has declined. The crayfish population was apparently wiped out by disease. Some well-meaning individual introduced mussels into the lake, which have proliferated wildly and taken over the entire lake.
We spent the evening enjoying warm and heartfelt company. We reminisced about the past, marveled at the present, and all agreed that children should climb trees, carve things with a knife, and learn to use an axe as soon as they can hold a spoon correctly. We also concluded that sleeping in the snow is part of a well-rounded education, as is the skill of making a fire.
During the evening, we even had time to watch old videos (including those from Eva’s parents’ wedding…). Great fun. More of this tomorrow.
I also promised to cook for the whole crew tomorrow. I’ll need to make a pilgrimage to the local shopping center first thing in the morning.
Good night everyone!