We got up about 7:30 and had a little breakfast of yogurt and tea when Imke, Judith and Uschi came by (Dorothee was going to catch up later, because she likes to sleep in). Kai slept in, but we others got ready to explore a little. We had one more little squall of rain, and then it cleared up, and we went for a walk along the beach, and then also through the cute little downtown, back to Uschi‘s rental. We stopped by there for a little bit and had coffee before doing a bit of shopping (now including Dorothee, while Mark went home with a couple of items ahead of us)—Judith was looking for a specific raincoat, but actually found not just that, but also a skirt and a leather jacket she liked—she got one item from Imke for her birthday, one from me for her birthday, and bought the third, so I think that worked out well! Then we went grocery shopping for a big joint lunch, with Judith and me as cooks, and we actually went back ahead of the others to start fixing the salad and pasta for everyone. We worked really well as a team and made us a lovely feast for 7—pasta with a broccoli cream sauce of my sister’s invention, and a salad with my ever-popular balsamic vinaigrette, and then fresh strawberries and ice cream.
After lunch, it got downright sunny, and we pretty much spent all of the afternoon outside and/or napped in various combinations of people. First, all of us except Uschi went for a walk toward the next little town, which is just right across a footbridge on the other side of a little canal/port entry, and down its promenade. Kai went with us for a little bit but then turned back and hid from the grown-ups again (as he has a perfect right to do, given that he is completely outnumbered by us old farts), and we others continued through the downtown again. I had been really interested in a beautiful cardigan earlier and my mom offered to buy it for me, so we went back to the apartment for her purse and got it. My sister got to stay until about 5 pm, and Uschi, Mark and I walked her to her car near the train station and then bought some bread for the evening meal on the way back to the rental. Since it seems like all we ever do is eat, we did continue along those lines and had Abendbrot while we talked about possible plans for tomorrow. Around 6:30, my mom, Uschi and Dorothee left, and the three of us went the other direction on the beach until there was no more beach, and walked back along the promenade. It was a gorgeous evening, and we sat with the windows open while blogging and reading until past 10 pm without even having to turn the lights on—Midsummer is on Thursday and we have gloriously long hours of sunlight. Looking out at the Baltic from our living room at all hours makes my heart soar with happiness.