Day 5

Lotta

Sunday, May 26, Day 5

Nellie had to wake me at 8:30 so I could get up and dressed for breakfast at Jenny’s by 9:15. I even got a coffee before we left. I’m beginning to recognize the streets we take. Nellie is lucky to have both of her kids living so close by. At Jenny’s house, there was a definite Sunday-morning-after-a-big-Saturday vibe. Kids and parents had been out at a party till midnight, after working so hard at their garage sale all day. Lotta was still asleep when we got there, and Phil was slow to appear.

Oma and Lotta



We had eggs, cheeses, fruit, lots of nice bread, more coffee for some of us, in general a nice spread. Then Jenny went off to a fitness class, while her husband, Burge, supervised the robot lawnmower from his hammock on the deck, and Nellie and I moved on.

We went to Karl’s place, just up the road, and looked at the group of Nellie’s paintings residing there. He has a nice little apartment with a pleasant garden and a view of the hills on the other side of Aachen (to the Dreilander Punkt, in fact, where three countries meet). When we left and turned the corner, I knew exactly how far it was to Nellie’s. We admired everyone’s front gardens and listened to songbirds. On arrival, Nellie showed me the large papier-maché horse she had made, which is currently stabled in the garage. It was made some years ago, and needs some repairs and a fresh coat of waterproofing.

My leg was painful and I had to lie down, eventually having a short nap. Nellie was making a salad when I woke, so we had a light lunch. She promised me cake and coffee in a downtown café, so off we went to catch the bus.

Close to the city hall and cathedral area, we walked through an area of new housing that was just a calm as her neighbourhood, and even prettier. Nellie took me to her favorite café and we had delicious homemade rhubarb cake. That reminded me that my rhubarb back home will be ready for picking when we get back. From our seats outside the café, we could see the cathedral and one of the squares where a big flea market was taking place. 




As the weather was turning grey, and it was close to closing time, many vendors were packing up. We did a bit of aimless wandering and looking, then sat with to city hall behind us and the cathedral in front of us, watching the flea marketers packing up, as we discussed the history of Charlemagne and his city.




Another short walk brought us to the bus stop, and after the bus ride, yet another short walk brought us home. These short walks added up to another overachieving day for my Fitbit, and the beginnings of a blister on my foot. I have worn my new sandals ever since I got them!

We sat by the fire for a while, reading and looking things up, as we both do! We needed to find the story of the elephant I had noticed in town, while taking a picture of a window. 
The elephant is on the right!


Answer: Charlemagne was given an elephant (possibly white) by an Eastern caliph (see Wikipedia for more).

Nellie made us some homemade cream of mushroom soup for supper. After a little while by the fire, we watched the BBC News coverage of the European Parliament elections. That left me a bit confused, so here I am, writing in bed. Note: at 10 p.m. here, it is after sunset but still quite bright outside.

Comments

  1. MMHarrison27 May 2019 at 03:02

    Lovely shots of Aachen! Hope your leg feels better soon. XXX Mary

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 10, the end

Image
Friday, May 31, Day 10 ... Also World No Tobacco Day We woke before 6 a.m. and were on our way well before 7. We caught a TGV for the shortest trip ever. The trains sometime start from Lyon-Perrache (where we were) and make their way in 8 minutes to the Part-Dieu station (where we’d catch the shuttle for the airport).  The shuttle, which is a tram in the city and a train at the airport, ran smoothly over its grassy tracks. We saw lots of construction, too. Lyon has some interesting architecture and will soon have more. We were in plenty of time for our plane, and because I was getting the wheelchair treatment, we got on first. Our seats were 2 in a central row of 3, and we were hoping not to have a third person. One turned up, though, with odd luggage. It wasn’t until he was moved up to a seat near his wife that I realized he had a kitten in a carrier!  I moved to the empty seat.  The flight was long but we napped, read, watched some movies, etc...
Read more

Day 8

Image
Wednesday, May 29, Day 8 A colourful train in Strasbourg station I got up a little earlier than planned, and Kevin and Kat arrived a little earlier, too, so, after breakfast, we left in good time to catch my train. The first train went from Stuttgart to Strasbourg, and in Strasbourg I had time to find the bathroom and buy lunch. On both of today’s trains I managed not to have a long walk to the opposite end of the platform. The first train was a Deutsche Bahn train, and though it was a few minutes late leaving and arriving, it was comfortable and the wifi worked. On the French train, the comfort is about the same, but the wifi had no internet connection. My train coming in. I've been on trains called InOui and OuiGo In contrast to my Lyon to Paris, Paris to Aachen and Aachen to Stuttgart trains, the view was quite good. The previous trains run in deep cuts and tunnels, and the view is narrow. But this train runs much closer to ground level, and so...
Read more

Day 6

Image
Monday, May 27, Day 6 We woke in good time, had breakfast and had a few last-minute looks at things around the house. Then our taxi arrived and we were off to the station. Nellie came with me all the way, not only into the station and onto the platform, but into the train car to make sure I was settled.  Once the train pulled out, I was fine on my own, reading a book and watching people. The change in Cologne was very simple and I was soon on my way to Stuttgart. We were a few minutes late, so didn’t come in on the expected track, but luckily I knew which track that was and met Kevin and Kat there. We went through the station and put my bags in a locker, then went for lunch. We had some good German beer and Kevin and I had variations on the local specialty, a kind of filled pasta that resembled an egg roll – delicious! Then back into the station to catch a suburban train to the hospital to visit Doris, Kat’s mother. She was feeling pretty well, doing lots of rehab for...
Read more