Our first full day in Germany was the CLASSIC take-it-slow-and-get-over-the-jetlag day. We were both up for a while during the night (also classic) and then managed to sleep in until my sister Judith called around 8:30 am to welcome us and tell us about her new e-bike. While my mom (Imke) and I were still chatting with her, Klaus, Imke’s significant other, arrived. He lives two hours away in Bremerhaven but came to hang out for the day, which was lovely. Mark and I went to get the ALSO CLASSIC freshly-baked rolls from the bakery on the block, and then we had the lovely breakfast Imke prepared for us. (My kids will be so jealous!)
We sat and chatted for a while and then went for separate walks at slightly different times and paces. It was sunny and summery, so Mark and I wandered downtown (about 3 miles all around) and made sure all the usual Osnabrück sites are still where and what they used to be (we come here every summer, after all), and picked up a couple of things from the Osnabrück Tourist Info. Then we all met for a late lunch at a downtown Persian restaurant with a nice lunch menu and outdoor seating directly on the pedestrian outdoor mall.
After lunch, Mark and I headed back home for a nice little nap (essential to the jet lag conquest program) and then we had coffee and cake before Klaus needed to catch his train back home around 4:30. With rain forecast for later in the day, Mark and I went back out for another walk, this time across the nearby “mountain” (a hill called Westerberg with farmland on it) and a little ways into a woodsy area, turning around when we heard the first grumble of thunder. We heard many more birds than we could see with the foliage being so thick, but it was a good time. We made it home just before the rain, with a quick stop at a grocery store for a couple of things (another 3 miles round trip). Then we watched the rain, thunder and lightning from my mom’s apartment (rather mild by Nebraska standards, but a “code red” thunderstorm as per the German national weather service). The storm cleared the (very muggy) air and felt very refreshing to wrap up the day. With all the food we had today, we ended up just having a roll with ham and cheese for dinner, and that felt just right. As Mark keeps saying, we never go hungry when we’re here!