Not much to report about today, which was mostly about getting from A (our hotel in Blankenberge) to B (my mom’s home in Osnabrück). Mark and I slept well and got up early, around 6 am, packed up a bit more (most of that was done last night), and then walked to the beach to say good bye to the ocean for a while. We even discovered one more beautiful tiled balcony on the way! Perfect reminder of the lovely nooks and crannies of this odd mix of a resort town. Blue skies, very little wind, and the tide being way out made for a nice last walk, and we even saw Judith and Michael in the distance – they were walking along the beach to retrieve the car from its free parking spot 2 km out of town, and when we all met up back at the hotel, we loaded up all our stuff (thankfully, their car is a roomy Renault Kangoo) and then headed to breakfast right at 8.
We were done and ready to roll at about 8:30, and Mark and I had the easy job of sitting in the back while Michael did all the driving and Judith kept checking and re-0checking the Google navigation for possible traffic jams and alternative routes. Both did an amazing job, and it was impressive to watch them as a road-tripping team! Although we drove 95% on freeways, this is often much more slow-going and much busier than on US road trips, and we did hit several slow-downs but never came to an outright stop. Nonetheless, the 260 miles took 5+ hours (we arrived just before 2 pm) and, as always when driving in Europe, did feel just that long – if not longer. My American frame of mind always tries to convince me that 260 miles is not that much, but then my European experience reminds me that the distance invariably feels about twice as long when you’re on the road here than in the US. (And longer when the car’s AC is not working – we were a little toasty although it was only in the 70s, so not too terrible!)
We were, needless to say, all very happy that we got through with so few traffic jams, and arrive at my mom’s in Osnabrück at just about 2 pm. She immediately made coffee and dished out Judith and Michael’s favorite cake, a German-style cheesecake (resembling a ricotta cheesecake, but with raisins) from their favorite bakery, and lovely fresh strawberries. We had our afternoon coffee in her little garden nook under her apple tree, and we were in our happy place. Judith and Michael had to get back on the road right away, though, because they had four more hours (and probably several more traffic jams) to go–but they did message later to say that all went well and that their cat was very happy to see them when he was retrieved from the cat sitter/cat hotel (apparently, there were koi to watch through a window).
But Mark and I got to unpack, start some laundry and then walk a little round through familiar haunts: the nearby botanical gardens were perfect for a little 3/4 of an hour walk, and we even met the goats that live in a closed-off part of the gardens close up. We just strolled around enjoying the sunshine and the plant life. When we got back, we took another walk with Imke to the downtown area (also just about 10 minutes away) to check out an even farmers’ market, a new event that turned out to be very crowded, with lots of lines to buy snacks and drinks and fancy cheeses, and that was a bit too much for my mom. So we decided to wander back home and have the traditional German evening meal (Abendbrot) with bread and cheese and cold cuts in the garden. We sat and talked for a bit, and it was wonderful to see my mom delight in having company outside–until just a couple of days ago, it’s been quite chilly in Northern Germany (just like in Belgium; same overall climate), but now she declared her garden nook open for the season. It’s looking good for the next few days while we are here, and we hope to have many more meals outdoors!
