We’ve been shopping for food etc. with the cart, resting some, all being
a bit travel weary. Every day here so far has been lovely warm and sunny. You
don’t get the brilliantly blue skies as in Spain but it is a wonderful Spring.
We were at a local café in Rieselfeld where there seem to be a large population of physically challenged
people, Bruce fits right in with his wheels. We had a glass of wine and a woman
came to sit next to us with a beautiful, obviously older, aide dog. She wasn’t in
a wheel chair, she wasn’t blind or deaf and I had trouble thinking of a way to
ask her why she needed the dog. So I said, does the dog help you to reach for
things? She wasn’t a short person either but I thought that might be the least
offensive thing to say. Her English was good, she said no that she has Diabetes
and Epilepsy and the dog can tell about half an hour early before either affliction
attacts her so she can take her meds. Since her lovely dog is getting on in
years she is getting a puppy this week to help take over it’s duties and the
older one won’t have to work 24x7 – her words. Very friendly lady and I hope we
meet her again with her dogs older and younger.
I don’t know why this neighbourhood has so many physically and mentally
challenged people in it. This day we were surrounded by people out to enjoy the
sun and most of them had challenges. It is flat, a park close by, good transit,
not crowded, perhaps these are reasons why. Doesn’t matter, I’m just glad they
have found a place to be comfortable in, as we are.
We made an appointment with City Hall to register ourselves as
residents. I’m still not really clear why this needs to happen but does, so we
did. I had anxiety about it due to previous experience in Heidelberg. Here in
Freiburg it was easy, and only needed a
passport, they didn’t care which one, so we used the Irish ones. Anxiety going
because I’d tried to get a temporary residence permit in Heidelburg and never
achieved it even though providing scads of documentation, I clearly didn’t fit
into one of their pigeon hole categories. So when we left Germany, two months
after supposed leaving (yes, we’ve done the "let’s stay" before) the Boarder
Guard said “You’re not supposed to be here” and I explained as well as I could.
He winked and said ah, vacation, always delays things, go ahead. We left
September of that year, 2012. Wow, just made me realize we’ve owned the flat
coming up two years!
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| Stork in the pasture, later he flew over us, magnificent! |
We needed a few household items not available in the stores downtown or
our neighbourhood. Knowing they would be rather heavy we cabbed to a big box
store we’d been in with our partners. Wandered and wandered, a person needs to
leave a bread crumb trail to find their way in that place, so large! Think of
an Ikea and almost double it. Anyway they had what we wanted so that was very
good since the cab ride was quite pricey.
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| Our usual mode of transport - the tram, which circles our building before heading back downtown. |
Bruce says you can tell a DIY (do it yourself) type of person by how
many allan keys in the drawer. Well we bought towel racks that needed assembly.
No workshop bench so used the dining room table, oh what fun, NOT, but they are
together after a bit of blue air coming from me.
We’ve been downtown to the Munster Market a couple of times and I finally
introduced myself to an English lady retailer that we often talk to. She sells
olive wood products and we’ve bought a lovely salad bowl from her.
It’s raining and cloudy but we can hear the robins loving it and
singing. Lexi sits at the window and runs to the other end of the apartment to
see them. She sticks her head under the sheer curtains – you can’t see me!
Unpacking and laundry done, check; business and bills taken care of,
check; now we can have fun and get out to other places!
Cheers, Bx2 and Lexi Cat
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