Immersions with a friend

Prelude

When my friend announced she had booked the flight and would spend 2 weeks with me, I was so very excited. We know each other for years, having raised our girls together. I was part of her large family gatherings on many occasions. And as life often goes we did not always had time to just sit and talk.

So I was looking forward to this time together, and I wanted her vacation to be filled with impressions and sights too.

So I started planning ahead, thinking about itineraries and options. I love looking on pinterest for travel blogs and hidden gems, fully realizing very few things in this world are truly hidden gems anymore.

For each city we were going to be in I used google maps to save a walking tour of the sights we wanted to cover. With the added benefit of changing it on the fly if the weather or our feet disagreed with the planned route.

And a few weeks before my friend arrived, I booked a few tours ahead of time, just so we would not miss out due to things being sold out on our rather tight schedule.

I readily admit I am not the most spontaneous person when it comes to travel, I do not arrive somewhere and let my feet be my guid, even though now that I write this, I wonder if I should try that sometime. But there was plenty of room for the unexpected left and and nothing was really set in stone, more a rough outline, so to speak.

And the adventure began.

Frankfurt

My friend is here! I can't express my happiness seeing her walking towards me at the airport. Her flight went off without a problem and with jet lag still at bay I pampered her with an indulgent breakfast. Laugen croissant and a variety of Brötchen and all the topics one could want. One of the great pleasures in German cuisine is bread in all the shapes.

As the weather was nice we took Rags for a walk and chatted, slowly catching up from where we left of the last time. Once she reached the height of her jet lag, she took a rest and I prepped a light dinner, fish and salad with some accompanying wine.

The next day the only plan I had was to drop the dogs at the sitter. My dog sitter is British and so friendly. She invited us to stay for tea and we happily accepted enjoying the conversation and company. She also recommended the bakery across the street, after seeing all the variety of cakes on display we made our selection and headed back to my place. She was not wrong, the cakes were delish.

My friend felt fit enough to head into Frankfurt, just a relaxed stroll through the city, letting the hustle and bustle seep in and some German food and beer in an older part of town finished off the day.

Old Sachsenhausen is a lovely, albeit touristy quarter. At night this is where the young ones go party, but it also houses some traditional Biergarten, or better "Applewoi", style restaurants. This means Wine made from Apples and is typically server with sparking seltzer or sparkling lemonade. I am not too keen on the taste, but it is worth giving it a try.

The place we choose has outside seating in the square under trees. They had these picnic benches and the service is friendly and slow, which is just right. You do not get hassled to leave and so you can just be lost in time for a while.

Strasbourg

The next morning we got up early, took several trains. One was Swiss and definitely nicer than any of the others. We arrived in Strasbourg about midday. 

We stored the luggage right at the train station, which was practical and quite inexpensive and started to explore the city. 

The weather held, only a few drops of rain, and so we had all the time to walk from one area to the next. My favorite building in the city is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame, including the platform at the top. I convinced my friend that it would be worth the 330 steps to get a view of the city. It is quite and effort, she was afraid looking down the stairs, I get scared getting higher and higher, but we pushed each other through the moments of anxiety and 330 steps  up the cathedral tower were rewarded with a gorgeous . The platform is big and so it does not feel crowded either.

In most places in France you do not pay for entering a church, but you pay to go up the towers, which was the case here, but I think it is well worth it and I do marvel at the craftsmanship of these old buildings.

One thing I wanted to capture as I love to watch people, we did notice these two guys, One had a lime green rain jacket on and his friend was wearing this fluffy sky blue jacket adorned with daisies. The did stand out in the crowd.

Later that day we had Flammkuchen, which is known as a dish in this region of France. It is like an extremely thin pizza and very tasty. When we returned to see the inside of the church, there was a line. We decided to get our luggage and check into the AirBnb and then to return later. We should have used google maps, as we got lost and walked so much more steps than need, that we really needed a rest once we arrived at our place.

It was a cute tiny place, on the third floor with a staircase from a different time. IVery steep with very tight turns, thankfully we both travelled light and we made it up there.

The apartment had very nice beams and included all we needed for the night.

After we rested for a bit and we headed out once more. The line was gone, the crowds had left and so we had the best view and experience checking out the magnificent example of mechanics. The clock inside the cathedrale. You can find it all on Wikipedia, it is tall and intricate and still after all this time incredible precise. Everytime I visit I am in awe.

We ended our first day with nibbles from this nice patisserie and some tea. Feeling elated and enriched by all the impressions of the day.

Brussels

We needed to leave very early, as we had to make it across town to the bus stop. Uber's were not overly expensive and so we spared ourselfs dragging luggage through the town, even though my ambitious bone would have tried it.

But before we left we almost flooded the bathroom, or perhaps even the apartment, this shower head was really tricky. I could not figure out how to turn it off. Then we had to make the journey down that staircase, laughing about how it would have been impossible with large suitcases.

Unfortunately the bakery we had planned to grab breakfast from before meeting the Uber had nothing to go and so we resigned ourselves to skip breakfast. Worst was not having some hot coffee before heading off, but oh well.

The bus company was called "Blabla" and I thought it quite witty. The bus was clean and not crowded either, but the space was a bit tight, my knees touched the front seat and slouching was not an option. On the other hand, this was the cheapest part of our travel, by far.

After about 1.5 hours into our 6 hour journey a stop at a gas station. Yay! Coffee and food at last. It does taste so much better than it would ordinarily.

We made a few more stops to pick up or let of people off before we arrived in Brussels.

On the last stop I struck up a conversation with a guy that was seated a few rows ahead of us. I had seen him holding composition books. He told us he is a music teacher and was memorizing notes for his upcoming lessons. Then he asks me if I know King Arthur 😨😳🫣 I had to admit that I had no idea.

So, mee trying to get out of my comfort zone and being friendly ( and to be frank quite nosy too), ended up leaving me a bit embarrassed.

At the destination traffic was crazy and all around us, so we decided to take an Uber to the Atomium, instead of figuring out where to find the train. The driver was very nice and took a few pictures of us with the Atomium in the background. They were not the best pictures of us, but at least we had them. The storage for our luggage was free and we grabbed a bit more food, as my friend really felt she needed something before embarking on potentially more stairs.

After entering the museum though we realized everything was escalators. We took the first one up into one of the bubbles of the Atomium. The escalator tunnel had LED lights and music which gave you the impression to be in a spaceship. Marisol was really taken aback, she felt a big Dejavu and kept wondering what it means that she had seen this place in her dreams.

Up there it was a large room where you could sit down watched the changing LED and listen to the matching music. It warped your sense of time. Later I read that the intention was to give you a moment to slow down. It did not feel particularly peaceful to me, too much stimulation, but it was an interesting experience.  

There were also exhibition pieces from when the Atomium was first revealed as part of the world fair in 1958. Quite interesting to see the pictures of the assembling and also some of the other exhibits at that time.

We then headed further up with another escalator and got to view from lots of small windows. One could see all around with parts of the city and the nearby park.

We enjoyed our visit at the Atomium, bought a few knick-knacks and took a stroll in the nearby park, we had seen from above.

Funny side note, one should never try to show off. There were these exercise stations. On one you could do push-ups. So I told my friend what it was for and went on to demonstrate. She instructed me to lower my booty and to hold, so she could take a picture. Well, I could not hold my pushup that long and quite ungracefully made it back to standing. My gleeful friend documented this effort with a series of pictures and lots of laughter. Thankfully I got out of my own head enough to also laugh about myself. I consider this one of the wins of this journey, as I do not typically laugh about myself much.

Another very tight steep staircase up to the second level, and we had checked into our new place and put our feet up and relaxed. This one was particularly tiny and I really enjoyed that. Even though we did muse about how it would be to live in such small quarters permanently. I have been dreaming of tiny homes, but admit that a bit space in the bathroom is a wonderful luxury.

That evening we stepped out for some typical Belgian food and beer. The restaurant had very flirty and cute waiters but the food was just ok and a bit pricey.

The second day in Brussels we got to sleep in, I mean we were on vacation after all. The day started with the search for breakfast. On our the way to our first sight, that I had mapped out, we passed a few places, but none looked really inviting and so we kept on walking. We arrived at Egmont Park, the destination and unexpectedly the perfect cafe was just there. Small little tables outside under some trees. A lovely menu with scones and jam and great barista coffee. We enjoyed sitting outside in the perfect weather. We special ordered some scrambled eggs, which caused the waiter to give us strange looks, but he obliged and those were the best scrambled eggs we had.

From Egmont Park we walked on and stumbled up on the Art museum and at the spur of the moment decided to go in. We admired art of Marguerite and Fallon and also looked at a lot of old Masters. I decided that is not so much my taste, but still impressive.

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From there we went to the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. The stained glass windows had a color palette that I had not seen before. All these brown, yellow and gold hues. When the sunlight hit them, it gave this very warm and cozy feel. So very different then the typical red and blue. I felt peaceful sitting there taking it all in. The air was a bit cool and the quiet hush, typical for these buildings, made for a wonderful respite morning. As always I lit a candle for all the special beings that have moved on already.

On the way to the first booked experience, we crossed some dramatic squares with buildings that had gold inlays. We decided to return to there later in the day to take time to take it all in.

In Brussels there were many tours around chocolate, often combined with beer tasting too. I had settled for chocolate only, as I am not the biggest fan of beer. I booked 2.5-Hour Chocolate Museum Visit with Workshop via GetYourGuide. It was a great experience and I would book this again.

At the chocolate museum we created our own art with chocolate and had a lot of fun being creative. The best part was, that it was good quality chocolate and therefore really tasty too. The museum was informative but a bit long and towards the end of the exhibits, we decided we had enough and needed a break from being on our feet.  

We headed back to the main Square trying to find some food. The menu's in the restaurants lining the Square had all very similar items, but one featured "The vegetarian dish". There was no added description, which humored me to no end. I send a picture to my vegetarian kiddo too.

We settled for one of these restaurants after going back and forth for a bit. Right as we sat down tough, the smell of cigarettes wafter over. I am quite sensitive and really do not like that at all. We got up and left before ordering and after standing in the square irresolute I told my friend I was craving some Indian or Thai food rather than the offerings at these restaurants. Relieved she admitted feeling the same way.

After a quick Google search, we found a Indian restaurant nearby and it was a lucky find. A perfect pace, welcoming and plenty of food. We had great Beer, friendly waiters and enjoyed a scrumptious meal. There were lots of interesting decorative items and the restrooms where upstairs.

Which started the running joke between my friend and I. Stairs and stairs and then some more stairs, no matter what day or where we went. There was no escaping the stairs.

After the long lunch and some restoring conversation, we were ready to join the flow of tourists through the streets to find the Mannequin Pis. He is a tiny bronze statue of a boy and properly overrated. But we found a statue of a dog and a happy musician and took fun pictures at both.

From there we slowly walked all the way back to our perfect little apartment, we reviewed our pictures had a giggle or two and red wine.

Amsterdam

Departure morning woke me up with a lot of noise outside. We had left the window open for a nice breeze. Half awake I thought it funny that all of the sudden on a random weekday people were being so loud going to work. But a look outside the window revealed a flea market was busy setting up. We walked past the items to the meeting point for our Uber. The driver took our luggage in and out of the boot, something I appreciate as a very nice gesture.

We saw Dunkin' Donuts and decide to have breakfast there, but found that they do not serve breakfast items in Europe.

So we settled for the little nearby sandwich shop instead. Another round of baguettes with various toppings, no scrambled eggs though.

Next to us sat an older lady, she appeared to be a bit unkept and had a pretty awful smell, The most likely explanation was that she was homeless. But people let her be and in some way that is dignity too.

Then it was time to board our train, it was an older carriage but we found spacious seats.

The ticket inspector was very friendly. And after passing us the third time smiling big at my friend it became clear he was flirting shamelessly. It made us smile and giggle and feel young.

After arriving in Amsterdam, he went out of his way to extend his time with my friend. But in exchange helped us buy public transport tickets for 3 days. Once he had to catch the next train, we sat down right on the water side of Centraal and let this new city sink in.

Amsterdam Centraal, has 2 sides, city facing side and a sea side. IThe sea side was quite nice. There was lots of space to sit down and watch the barges pass by. We had sunny weather and so we sat a good while, watching people swing at the rooftop of the hotel across the canal.

We had requested and got granted an early check-in and so could travel to our new place as soon as we were ready.

A bus and tram ride later we walked along the water and some green space where the locals were sun bathing in their bikinis.

We arrived at the address and were greeted by the cat on the patio and then our host. She guided us to the back part of the buildings where we entered our small eclectic apartment. This was all located on an island, so it was very tranquil, but super close to all the things we wanted to do, 10 min bus ride close.

The apartment had no kitchen, but that was fine by us. The waste on this island needed some extra step before entering the sewage pipes, so using the restroom made an unusual noise, but we got used to it quickly.

We chilled a bit enjoying the slower pace, then freshened up to find food before our grachten tour. We had picked an Iraqi restaurant, mostly because the name sounded good and it was something neither of us had before. Unfortunately despite it being tasty the portions were rather small and not really enough for dinner. But we had no time to find more food, so we walked to the starting point of our tour.

This is where for me the evening went down hill. My friend got so excited at the sight of the party boat, a bar filled with all kind of alcohol for mix drinks. And we made fun of the boring old people wine and cheese boat on the other side of the dock.

Well, I had alas bought tickets for the boring wine and cheese tour and had not booked the wine or the cheese. The wine looked cheap and so we decided to just enjoy the tour.

But if I am honest I was smarting at myself while taking in the sights, and through my moody lense did not really think the canals that nice. Also the skippers humor was lost on me, but again that might be attributed to my sinking mood.

I got a bit into a funk and was unable to work myself out of my head. After the tour we walked through the touristy small cobble streets, where all the trinket and "special offering" shops reside, In the windows you could see these lounge seats and people being high. Somehow I felt alien and judgemental, uncomfortable and hangry. My friend on the other hand, could look at it with curiosity and enjoyed herself, despite my moodiness.

The pubs in those streets seemed lifeless and in the end we had a drink in one of the empty bars. As I was unable to get out my head we headed back to Centraal. Which was our start and end point every day. As it was quite late at this point, you could not make it through the train station anymore, as the middle section required a ticket for a long distance train and the side the shopping row had closed already. We had to all around the building. I got in a real huff about having to walk extra far. Laughing about it now, but not that night.

As I mentioned my mood was just not pleasant. So my friend, sweet as she is, bought some wine and sweets, once we made it to the sea side, before we hoped on the bus back to our apt. The evening ended with lots of wine and a much better mood.

The next morning everything was better. The day started with sunshine. We ate breakfast at Centraal, realizing too, that dutch people do not eat eggs for breakfast.

We settled, once again, on baguettes and some coffee.

Then we queued up for our trip to Keukenhof, the tulip park.

The bus was huge, but more spacious per seat and our guide turned out to be very charming. With tidbits shared during the ride time passed by quickly. We took a little detour before entering the parking area for the park, but the tulips had already been beheaded.

We learned that farmer's do not care about the bloom. Once it appears they cut the blooming part off, then fertilize the plant, so the main bulb has baby bulbs. That is what the farmers are selling. They keep one bulb back to replant in the next season.

At the Keukenhof, though, the tulips are on display all season. You can not imagine how many buses, all huge like ours, parked there. It is a massive tourist attraction and with the limited time window of eight weeks, there was no avoiding the crowds. But it was a spacious park and and so very beautiful.

All the different shapes of petals and the colors. We ambled around all morning and enjoyed a warm summer day. Everywhere your eye went it got rewarded with colors and landscaped flower beds. Definitely worth the visit.

After lunch, our usual baguette (lol), we headed to the second attraction of our day trip, the windmill park.

We learned how wood shoes are made and what they were intended for long time ago. And after a quick presentation about cheese, we were free to walk around on our own. The park showcased several old timey windmills, and all the houses were quaint. We spend a great day out and about.

Back at Centraal we we headed back into the city to find our Indonesian restaurant. This was one of the tips from a travel blog. It stated to try Indonesian food, while in Amsterdam. We found a perfect restaurant, called Max. Here we were going to try what in dutch is called "Ristafel". This is a dish served for two, that includes a selection of a small items. You try and share each dish. After having stopped eating meat since the beginning of the year, I had decided to order the meat version, as my friend eats meat and would have had to miss out, otherwise. They do offer a vegetarian option too and next time I would love to try that. This was by far the best food on the whole trip and I highly recommend trying it yourself. So flavorful and delicate. Some are spicy and some mild but all distinct flavor profiles.

On the way back we did stop back at our little convenient market at Centraal to buy more wine and had another night of drinking and talking. So we did sleep in the next morning. 

The Sightseeing tour got reduced due to us wanting a break from it all and frankly the weather. This was one of those on and off rainy days.

We were however determined to find proper breakfast. We took a walk in light drizzle of rain to a promising place. They had eggs, hurray!! It was not as good as we had hoped, even though the smoked salmon was quite nice, but the coffee was really good.

From there we took the tram back to Centraal, yet again. My friend wanted to see the red light district and so we walked to where google said it was. I still think we missed a good portion of it, but she was ok just seeing a few doors and I really had no interest in this if I am being honest.

The rain varied between lighter and stronger and so as we passed by the Church in the Attic Museum, I convinced my friend it would be nice to spend some time indoors. I had read about it in in a blog, and it did turn out time well spent. Such colors,, the pictures I had seen online seemed very pink, but in reality everything was more muted rose color. It is remarkable how all these things were transported to the attic of a house. And without giving away all the history, it made dutch people even more endearing.

We took our time and pictures and once we emerged there was a break in the rain, so we headed to the public library, another tip from a blog, for a free view of the city.

One thing I have not yet mentioned, the seriousness of people of Amsterdam and their riding bikes. Do not get in the way! I repeat, do not get in their way. They ride fast, purposeful and without heeding pedestrians. We encountered an older tourist getting run over, which caused both parties some pain and bruises. Seriously, pay attention and look all directions before crossing one of the many red pathways for bicycles.

Next we slowly walked back to those small streets of restaurants and shops, which now seemed a lot less bothersome, how your mood taints your perception!

We ate Thai food and on our way back stumbled onto the ‪Henri Willig Cheese Farm Store. We had seen this at the Windmill park, but got turned off by the tourist being quite pushy in that store. Here we got to sample in peace and ended up buying cheese as souvenirs. Lavender Gouda, just amazing, I am telling you, yes touristy, but good.  

Last stop in Amsterdam was the Van Gogh Museum. I had no expectations, as this was on my friends wishlist and I merely had obliged. This turned out to be one of those surprises that make travel special, First of all, the building itself was beautiful, modern and airy. I had booked the self guided headphones, that typically I scoff about as boring. It was a surprise to me, how I enjoyed hearing the story about the paintings and learning what kind of man Van Gogh was.

Then we moved to the temporary exhibition. It was paintings of Mathew Wong. The guide had you listen to a poet having a conversation with the painter. A bit like as if he was writing him letters, telling the painter what he is seeing in the pictures and even asking questions, that off course could not be answered in this one sided conversation. And as he took me from one to the next painting, I could tell that Mathew was no longer alive. I had not heard of him before and did not know he committed suicide. But his paintings and the description of the poet moved me to tears. His voice was so haunting and I could feel the emotions in those images.

We went to Micro brewery. Brouwerij De Prael afterwards. It is one of those places giving a job and purpose to people who will not get chances anywhere else. The service was very slow and the beer was not so great either, but we enjoyed the ambiance and a mellow ending of a long day.

One more stop at our favorite convenient store in Centraal, for snacks and off we went back to our tranquil place.

We were able to sleep in the next morning, and one last time took the bus to Centraal. As we had no more ticket we scanned our credit cards.

Quick side tangent: Both Belgium and the Netherlands are great for travelers when using public transport. You simply scan your card in the appropriate places and get charged the right amount. So simple, it just makes sense. I do wish Germany could get there and fast.

But with anything digital, sometimes it has a glitch. So my card would not scan, the bus driver told me to get in to not cause a delay. As I got off the bus I asked him how I can pay for the fare and he looked at me not comprehending. As I reminded him that my card did not scan, he said: "Oh, that is not your fault, the system is rotten". And that was it. I smiled about this as we boarded the train.

Hamburg

Travel fatigue is a thing, as we grabbed food once again at Centraal and boarded the train, both my friend and I needed to be lost in our own world for a bit. We ate silently, she enjoyed reading her book and I listened to one of my audio books. I love looking out the window and seeing the world pass by. And as we crossed the border into Germany the landscape started to look familiar. We arrived in Hamburg and it was cloudy, but dry. 

We walked to the hotel and decompressed and I took the opportunity to talked to my favorite person, my kiddo.

After a glorious shower in a spacious hotel bathroom we looked for a good place to have dinner. We found it in the Karolinen Quarter. The restaurant called St. Pauli, just like the famous area in Hamburg and the soccer club. We both had a fish sampler and some drinks. All very good. We would have liked to return the next day to explore all the little boutiques there, but as the next day was Sunday everything there would be closed. But I would return next time I end up in Hamburg.

The next day started cloudy, after breakfast, we took the U-Bahn to the Nikolai church. Essentially just ruins with an Elevator. The view was nice and the museum underground was stirring up emotions. They have pictures and audio of the bombing and burning down of the city in World War II. Even though the responsibility of Germany in the war and what was leading up to it, can not be disputed and was explizit in this museum too. Hearing of people burned to death is very gruesome. War is awful. Both of us left there feeling somber. So we decided to walk down to the Landungsbrücken to allow us some fresh air to dispel the dread. 

The weather was kind to us and even showed a bit of sunshine through the clouds.

We bought tickets for a harbor tour, saw the rich people houses and the commercial port.

Also the narrator, in the typical Hamburg accent, shared her information and the wind blow quite strongly through my brain I felt a feeling of home. This still warrants some thinking about my future in more depth. Perhaps sea is as essential as trees, but what about mountains?

As it is normal for Northern Germany, the moment was short lived, as the rain started to come down, I retreated down into the ship, joining my friend who had left much earlier due to the cold.

We fled into a cafe right after leaving the boat, as the rain was still coming down. We had fish on bread rolls and Marisol tried Rote Grütze. We took public transport back to the hotel. Here we decided on the shortest possible walk for dinner. We were not really hungry and the rain was still coming down. But we felt we needed a little something and ended up at an Indian place. We shared the main dish and some nice wine.

The following day we hopped on a regional train to meet my mom in Lübeck.

Lübecker Bucht

My mom was soo excited to welcome us, and we had good weather yet again. My friend was convincing the Universe and I started to believe a bit more this positive thinking thing!

We walked to the Holsten Tor, and then discovered a few back ally tunnels and court yards. As Luebeck is a city surrounded by rivers, every square meter is used and second row houses existed here for a long time. Nowadays they are favorites by locals, as they are charming and unique. Some tranquility in the middle of the city.

Next we headed to the world famous marzipan shop and cafe Niederegger and had cake and coffee there. Perhaps not as fancy as Vienna, but still plenty fancy for us.

My mom took the scenic Bäderstrasse along the water back to her town. We made a pitstop to visit the Basilica in the village I grew up in, but it was closed. We swung by my childhood home and looked at it from the outside and then happily settled at my mom's place. 

Mama made potatoes, white asparagus and hollandaise sauce. This is a seasonal dish and and it was very yummy.  We spend the evening talking and looking at old pictures. My mom was so animated and happy, it made me smile. My friend enjoyed using her app to get my mom's words translated from German to english and they had such fun trying to talk to each other without me translating.

The next day we finally had wonderful breakfast, with scrambled eggs and jam and all the good stuff. We headed to the the beach. Ok, let me paint the picture, it is early May, we had sunshine and it was dry, but pretty windy. So to Marisol it felt quite cold. We walked the Promenade, like a board walk, in a town called Grömitz. I took in the sea breeze, I have loved the salty smell, as that truly smells like childhood to me.

My friend told me the beaches in Germany are beautiful to her, but it simply does not get warm enough, I mean the water never gets warmer than 71 Fahrenheit, and that only at the height of a good hot summer. 66 to 68 are far more common temperatures.

We had more fish, as we were at the coast, and skipped dinner in favor of beer in a local pub, letting the day slowly wind down.

The following day my mom was busy and my friend and me went to visit my grandma. She is 99 and lives in a nursing home near my mom. She was still asleep and so I had to wake her up, she does not drink enough fluids and spending all morning in bed is not good for her. But I got her to drink some water and juice and she became more alert and coherent after a bit. She told Marisol to come back anytime, which I thought was sweet. My grandma really does not like people much and has no regard for most of her fellow humans.

Once she got tired from the conversation my friend and I walked along the beach into town, had ice cream at my favorite spot and then spend the rest of the day doing nothing. Such luxury.

Rheinland Pfalz

Our last day together, we got up at the crack of dawn and my mom drove us all the way back to Frankfurt. We rested and freshened up and then headed to my aunt's restaurant. She is retiring this year, so any chance I get I want to go and eat there. Plus I had promised my friend the best German food, and so this was were we would have it.

We met up with my mom, brother and family and it turned out to be a good evening in amiable company. And off course the best wine, made by my uncle.

The next day my friend left mid morning and I felt almost bereft being alone in my apartment once more.