Day 39: Back in Familiar Territory

We let ourselves chill for a while this morning since we are back in Hattingen. There was nothing immediate or urgent on the agenda, so we relaxed until about 9:30. By that time, we were both pretty awake and getting a little hungry.

Peter came down to say hello shortly after we had both gotten cleaned up, having heard us puttering about. Unfortunately, he was back to work again today despite he, Alina, and Alicia only arriving home from their Greek vacation late last night. He swapped some laundry around while we caught up a bit, and then Brandon and I got ready to head into Hattingen Mitte.

Alina had come back from the store by the time we actually got upstairs to leave. She told us she and Alicia would also be going into town to run a few errands, so we kept in the back of our heads to catch up with them if we could.

In town, we grabbed some food, Brandon picked up some new sneakers (the treads on his are DONE), and I got a couple things I needed at dm. Around lunchtime, we messaged Alina to see if she and/or Alicia wanted to grab food with us. Alicia thought about it but then changed her mind. So, Brandon and I ate some lovely Italian food and went back to the house.

We relaxed for a bit, I reorganized my suitcase, and then Alina came down to see if we would be ready to go to the local pool soon. We got changed and headed to the Freibad. It was a really nice little complex with a couple of pools, two of which were for little kiddos and infants. The big pool had a set of diving boards, one of them I meant to go on and then never did. We spent a couple hours there before Alicia found a friend whose dad offered to let her keep hanging out so Alina, Brandon, and I could head home.

At the house, Brandon and I played a couple rounds of rummy before helping Alina with dinner prep. On the menu was homemade pita, carrot chili, and rice. It was SO GOOD! WE hung out on the deck for a few more hours after that chit chatting. We are in “strictly German” mode, for the most part, now. Words, in German and in English, have been hard today. I’m not sure why, but hopefully they show themselves soon!

Again, not so many photos today, but enjoy them nevertheless!