First stop: Austria.

I gotta catch you guys up a little bit- I'm late in starting this blog... We're actually currently at WWOOFing farm #2. But let's start with the first farm we went to. And what the heck WWOOFing is if you don't already know.

We spent our first month at an amazing farm, learning about plants, flowers and herbs, packing up herbal teas and harvesting veggies. Working in the mornings. Exploring in the afternoon. Trying some hikes.

I say trying because our first hike we went on - which my husband had been dreaming about (hiking in the Austrian mountains with his family - a dream come true) did not go well. It was a hot day. Sometimes the trail was steep. And it was just a tad too long. Which means the kids were cranky and by the end our youngest didn't want to go any further. Like, just sat on the ground and refused to walk anymore. It was difficult on all of us, physically for the kids and mentally for us parents, so we were a bit discouraged from hikes after that. My husband even said he has given up hiking in the mountains with his family.

The hike of all hikes, where we almost didn't make it back (due to cranky kids).

We also got to sleep one night under the stars up on a mountain (don't worry, we didn't hike up, we drove most the way!). Another night in a log cabin up on an Austrian Alm (drove again). We went swimming, made ice cream, ate ice cream, cooked delicious meals with other WWOOFers and the home grown organic veggies from the farm.

View from the top of a beautiful mountain range

Turns out we started at one of the most famous WWOOFing farms in Austria. Needless to say, the bar is set high. Everything is as it should be as far as WWOOFing goes. Which reminds me-not sure what the heck this WWOOFing thing is we're doing?

The kids fed and collected eggs from the chicken coop every day.

Feeding the little cute bunnies!

WWOOF stands for WorldWide Opportunities on Organic Farms. I did it back in the day when I traveled around, right before meeting my husband. I had looked it up as we were realizing that we wouldn't be able to go stateside right away (still no new news on the Green Card/immigration process for my husband). Then I found quite a few Blogs, articles and You Tubers that WWOOFed as a family. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. We can travel, work and learn about organic farming, permaculture, caring for farm animals - and not completely break the bank. You work a set amount of time each day on the farm/out on the fields in exchange for room and board. After our travels are complete, we would love to start a permaculture garden and/or build our earthship - so the more experience we can get now and learn from established farmers, the better. You can check out https://wwoof.net/ for more info.

What a view to have every day at work!

On our first farm (www.amseebacherhof.at) we would work and learn on the farm in the mornings, eat a yummy meal together with other WWOOFers and the farmer/owners/workers on the farm, and then have one more short shift after lunch of helping out. Then we would have some family time to explore the area or relax or start homeschooling or whatever really. Weekends we explored the area or did some kind of day trip etc. It was really a good mix of learning/helping/working and also getting to know a new town/culture/region.

Made it to the top of a hill - with beautiful views.

A canue ride at a nearby lake/damm.

We were there for about a month and then headed to our next farm. Still in Austira. Not that far from the first farm actually. More on that one next time!