Today I started by waking up at 9 AM so that we could go to church. The service started at 10:30 so we had some time to spare. After I got ready, I headed downstairs to eat breakfast. For breakfast, like we usually have, we ate bread with various spreads. I decided to have Nutella on mine, which interestingly enough, is manufactured partially in Germany. After eating breakfast we headed to the church service. Michael’s family usually goes once every two weeks he told me. While I myself don’t usually go to church, it was very interesting to hear everything the priest had to say, in German. Coupled with German songs, the experience was truly insightful, as different vocabulary was being used and songs in German are written rythmically instead of how we traditionally write in class. Following the ceremony, we headed back home and hung out for a few hours. I ended up talking with Michael’s father some about the Civil War and American history. He has a vast collection of books about history all around the world. (The photo above is just about a tenth of his collection). Soon after, we discovered that the location of the evening dinner would have to be changed. Originally, we we’re going to have a group garden party at one of the host families houses. However, due to questionable weather, it was moved to a restaurant near Saalburg. We decided that this would be a great opportunity to go to the Saalburg reconstructed Roman fort. This fort was originally on the border of the Roman controlled territory in Germany and had an entire village surrounding it. So, his dad showed me another book about Roman fort construction as a primer for the historical site. We then drove on the Autobahn to Saalburg and walked to the historical area. As we entered through the main gate of the fort, you could clearly tell how well constructed this recreation was. It looked amazing. Just inside the entrance, there was a museum where various Roman tools and weapons were displayed, with descriptions of how they were used. There was even a primitive lock and key latch made out of wood on display. We then moved on to find some paintings displaying typicaly Roman activities, and they we’re just begging to have photos made. As we explored the outer area of the fort, I found that Michael may know a bit of Latin (see photo)! After all of our sightseeing, it started raining a little bit. Good thing we changed plans! However the rain soon died down. We met up with the rest of the exchange group at the Landgasthof Saalburg Restaurant. The food there was excellent and offered many German specialties, including Schnitzel, Spaetzle, and Frankfurt’s green sauce. I decided to get a salmon filet in the green sauce with potatoes, it was amazing! After the meal, some of us found a nice climbing tree outside, and enjoyed some time there. It was a bit cloudy, but the weather was good from then on. Soon after, we said our goodbyes and headed home for the evening. Michael and I watched some German TV shows later that night. Funnily enough, while watching, I came across a surprising number of beer ads during the shows, sometimes back to back! After that, we headed to bed. ~Matthew M.