A lot of Catch Up

 It's been about six weeks since the last entry. Almost four of those weeks I had no computer. The old computer had been giving signs of imminent death, but I was in denial and when it finally had to go to the computer hospital, there was a question of whether or not my computer brain could even be retrieved! Nightmare! It took several days to accomplish retrieval, and when it finally happened, THEN I ordered a new brain. Bad move. Should have ordered earlier, but so it goes. (For those of you wondering why I just didn't go buy a new one at the local shop, I want an English operating system which means a customized machine, which means ordering and time.)

So, now, a new machine, and now, finding out how it works and making it work for me. Maybe I'm old, but frankly, I think it's a bit harder than it looks, Certainly, it is taking time. Nevertheless, here we go, catching up. 

I guess you all know we are moving, leaving our fairy-tale home that is so cozy and wonderful, but is absolutely not a fairy tale place for us older folks. Too many steps, too many stairs, too many ups and downs, inside and outside. We are an accident waiting to happen and that is primarily what we are trying to avoid. So, off to the predictable and ordinary!

Our new place is smaller (good), is far more energy efficient (very good), has an elevator (WOW!) and in the apartment, there are no barriers. Also, no dirt, so no garden, but a good-sized terrace. I will have more time to sew and read. Not sure what dear Werner is going to do  LOL .

But, let's back up a bit.

Since my last check in, we've done a good bit. First, René's birthday. The weather was iffy, but we saw this along the way to their place. A good omen? 

On these "off" birthdays, there's no invitation, no specific plans, but in the villages (Dörfer), it's understood that friends will drop by. You just never know how many! So, René prepared for a lot. 

And of course people came - René has a reputation for putting on a good table. Also beer and wine.  

  

And I want to know if I am the only one who thinks this guy looks a lot like Robert DeNiro? Anyway, a good time was had by all. I fully expect that next year, René's 60th, will be an affair to remember. 

The day after, before we returned to Bremen, we took a good walk with the pup (Sami) in the lovely fall weather

and brought back some apples, freshly picked.

The next weekend, visitors from Berlin! Yea!  I'd written to Nicole and Jeremy and said: This could be the last time to visit our cute little place.  Conveniently, it was long weekend for the both, so they signed up immediately. It was short but wonderful, only one day to really explore. After lots of consideration, we changed all our plans at the last minute and decided to visit Metalhenge, the installation on the top of our landfill that replicates, in Bremen fashion, Stonehenge. It is fascinating!!

Nicole and Jeremy used our old, pedal-it-yourself bikes, and Werner and I used our e-bikes. OK, we are the old guys and they are used to biking to work on a regular basis. GREAT DAY! It was windy, but sunny and pleasant. We packed a little lunch and set out. 

We biked there, parked, walked to the top and had our little lunch. You can see from my hair it was a windy day.

We were so pleased that it wasn't full of tourists. Jeremy had bet it would be overrun (since that is his experience with such sites) but we were lucky he was wrong this time. We had a fun converstation with another two-some there, got our pictures taken and enjoyed the views.

It really is an honest redo of Stonehenge in our local vernacular. If you want to learn more, go to this site:  www.metalhenge.de 

Then we spent some time trying to sell stuff - bikes, books, garden furniture, old electronics. Some worked, some didn't but we have been moderately successful repurposing things instead of just junking them. A huge bag of corks, collected over years, was gladly taken by a local girls' group for crafts, along with out-of-date CDs. They're looking for fabric, too. I think I can donate some of that, too. 

And then we needed a break, so of course we went to the beach!  LOL. It is not St. George, there's no surf to speak of, it is only moderately salty, but it's the sea, it's water, it's sand. Cuxhaven on the North Sea.

We found a charming hotel with the smallest and weirdest bathroom ever, but the breakfast was great and we were just on the other side of the dike. And the weather was the best - again!! - sunny and coolish, but just right.

Really, I am certain this bath would not have been approved for commercial use in the USofA. But we managed just fine.

Walks on the dike.

Walks on the beach.

There were still folks walking in the Watt and kids digging in the sand, even though it was only about 50°. Germans!

We took a day trip to Helgoland, an island off the coast that is unique - there are only a bit over 1,000 permanent residents, but lots and lots of tourist and visitors. The Germans and British fought over it during WWII and it got seriously bombed. A good half of the island is a national park and another even smaller island nearby is a place where seals nest and brood and live.  Funny side note - while waiting for the ferry, we ran into our neighbors who were going there for a weekend!

The catamaran that took us there could go as fast as 60MPH, smooooooth ride! 

On arrival, you see the colorful shops along the harbor. 

We started immediately on the walk to the highest point to have a view of "Lange Anna"  Tall Anna, a stone monolith that is the symbol for the island. They've done a lot of work since our last visit there about 25 years ago (!).  Almost all of the paths are now barrier-free, a real boon to folks who can't quite manage the steps. 

Hi!

There are areas that are restricted during breeding season for local wildlife - birds.  These are the nests. Weird, and disturbing, that these colorful parts are the detritus of plastic nets used by the fishing boats. 

The pictures don't do justice to just how big Anna is.  

Next day, time to leave, but we learned that one of Werner's classmates was coming to Cuxhaven and our trips overlapped, so we hung around a bit longer and had a nice visit and lunch with Lüder and Ellen! It's such fun to visit with friends in unexpected places.

So, that's it for now. We're packing up, little by little, selling books, giving away odds and ends, separating the keep from the toss. Thanksgiving is a no-go this year, though I am imagining a very small rendition. Right now I am craving dressing and turkey......