trip's beginning

Sunday 10 August 2003

Today is Sunday, and everything commercial grinds to a stand-still. Some restaurants, museums, and assorted venues are open, but everything else is closed. People used to go to church; now they socialize.

Today was the day we chose to start getting ready for our return. We sorted and packed two of three suitcases. Gifts for others, new treasures for the home, gifts to us, and more swelled our soft-sided cases. It took us most of the morning and a bit of the afternoon. Then we had a late brunch with our hosts, Karl-Heinz, Gaby, and Suzanne.

Afterwards K-H (on a bicycle) took Isaac (on a 30-year-old Kett Car) on a tour of the neighborhood, including the horse stables and the new Münster wetlands. A 3 km (1.8 mi) trip. K-H said Isaac had quite mastered the rules of the road, staying to the right, heeding the bicyclists, waiting to cross roads in his four-wheeler.

The kids enjoyed the Canonengrabe playground for two-and-a-half hours, after which we had a fine local-style dinner of turkey medallions (cooked like pork-in-brine medallions), mashed potatoes and sauerkraut (both with sweet sautéed onions atop), and a quark-based sweet yoghurt-like mix with blueberries. Omi Marga knows how to make her kitchen sing.

An invitation from Michael Rainer completed our day. We visited him and were re-introduced to his daughters (whom we first met on our get-together in his back-yard gazebo).