It was a holiday in some parts of Germany today, including where we are here in Hattingen. On holidays in Germany, all the stores are closed. I also learned on our drive home last night from the garden party that trucks are not allowed on the Autobahn on a holiday, so if they are going through a part of the country where a holiday is being observed, the truck drivers must pull off for the day/night. I thought that was incredibly interesting given that even federal holidays in America do not get observed nearly that strictly!
Since we got home very late last night, we all slept in a bit this morning. I did not realize until I finally looked at the time that I managed to sleep until about 9:15 this morning! For those of you who know me, that is incredibly impressive! I chalked my late sleep up to the blinds being closed so fully that I could not tell the sun had already been up for a bit (but I certainly did not mind the rest!). We had a lovely breakfast and Alina asked if we wanted to go for a bike ride. We were both a little out of practice, but I got rolling again pretty quickly (no pun intended). Alina, Alicia, and I headed off on Alina’s usual route, which is about 11km. Peter and Brandon hung back to give Brandon some more time to get comfortable. It was a great ride! It was mostly flat with a few small hills, most of which I managed okay. The last hill before we got home was just a little rough for me, so I pushed my bike most of the way up. Much of the bike path ran along the river, and we even got to go through the forest a bit, as well as make a stop at a very nice playground! We took our time, and by the time we had returned, Peter and Brandon had been home for a bit (they didn’t go as far) and were down at the river sticking their feet in the water. Alina, Alicia, and I grabbed some drinks and ice pops and headed down to join them. It was so relaxing; and the water was so refreshing! After a bit, Alina made a delicious fruit salad, which we ate at the house. Alicia asked at this time when we would be going out with the SUP (stand up paddleboard). I was still feeling good, so Peter got them out and the three of us, plus photographer Brandon, went back to the river. I had never done paddle boarding before, so we used one of the still water pools in the river for Peter to teach me. I started by practicing paddling on my knees so I could get a better sense for balancing. I took a few laps of the pool and then I felt ready to try standing. It was definitely tough to get the mechanics initially, particularly having to shift my feet so I was positioned better, because I felt like moving would throw off my center of balance. I got set up fairly quickly (I think) and then Peter held onto the SUP while I practiced paddling again. Once he let go, I did pretty well with making some laps on my own. Turning was tricky a couple times because I had to think about which way I wanted to go and then back paddle in the appropriate direction. I did fall off the SUP twice, but Brandon managed not to get any video of either! It was a lot of fun, though, and we are going to go to a different spot and actually travel down the river a bit some other time this weekend because it is supposed to be SUPER hot! Post-SUP, we came back to the house and I got to use the garden shower to clean up. It was very nice :) Brandon picked some raspberries and strawberries. After Peter and Alicia returned from a little more swimming, Alicia and I picked a few more berries and some “rocket salad” from the garden. Brandon helped Alina make up the starter salad for dinner, and our main meal was a delightful quiche with tomatoes and goat cheese! Alicia served us some ice cream for dessert, which we topped with the berries from the garden. Early on in the day, Alina had remarked how it felt so much like a Sunday since we all slept in a bit and were planning to just relax or do fun activities, and that is so true. It was such a wonderfully relaxing day! I am looking forward to spending more time on the SUP this weekend :) Until then, enjoy some photos AND videos from today!
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