Hello everyone, it's Sam here. Sorry that this has taken so long to post.  I have had a number of technical, (and human) difficulties, but here it is.

On the first day we were all tired but excited.  When we went through customs our host families were waiting for us.  We left the airport and went home.

On the first Sunday I went to a castle named Kufstein. It has a very good view and the town of Kufstein itself is very pretty.  Both Austria and Bavaria fought over the area of Kufstein over many years and it is now Austrian. 

On the Monday, it was the first day of school.  The German students do not wear a school uniform. After school we went to the Oktoberfest.  Even though it was a work day, there were so many people but not as busy as it would have been on a weekend.

On the Tuesday, we went to see the Mayor of Bad Aibling who told us about himself and the plans for Bad Aibling.

On Thursday we climbed a mountain to the Rotwandhaus where we stayed the night.

On Saturday my host family went to the Schloss Neuschwanstein and Linderhof.  Although it is a castle it looks like more like a mansion. It is very beautiful.

On the Wednesday we had the welcome brunch with host families and afterwars Matt, Bene, Michael and I went to the Oktoberfest. 

UPDATE as of October 23

On Tuesday October 9, we went on a Wandertag where the students go on an excursion that they choose.  We went to the Munich Zoo and we saw lots of animals. 

On Thursday we went to Munich to Rathaus or Town Hall, we toured the town to the markets and splendid churches.

On Tuesday, October 16, we went to Amerang to an old farm museum which houses various buildings dating back to 400 years ago. We then went to the Chiemsee which is a huge lake of 42km circumference. We first visited the Herrreninsel which houses a palace built by King Ludwig modelled on the Palace of Versailles. It was never completed because of a lack of finances.  We then visited the Fraueninsel, the woman's island which has a nunnery.

On Thursday October 18 we left by the I.C.E. fast train for Berlin. It took 6 hours and despite the train travelling at up to 230kmph, it took a long time and I was happy to get there.

On the Friday we went to the Story of Berlin museum which catalogues the entire history of Berlin. A highlight at the start was the tour of the nuclear bunker which was contained in a car park.

On the Saturday, we went to the Altes Museum which housed Egyptian, Roman, Celtic and Viking historical items with the Bust of Neferitit as a magnificent highlight. We also visited the Berliner Dom (Cathedral).

On Sunday we went to the Bundestag, Reichstag and Checkpoint Charlie, The Berlin Wall and the Brandenburger Tor.  All of these are significant cultural and historical icons.

We also visited the Holocaust Memorial and saw the place above Hitlers Bunker which is now a car park.