Today started (after breakfast) with a Big Project. I had told my mom I would help her reorganize and cull books the large book shelf in her living room, because she was unhappy with how overstuffed they were. That took us a couple of hours of removing books she wanted to part with, to make space for more recent books that had not found a home, and enabled us to make a section for books relating to her travels with Klaus, her significant other, and one for books about notable women. She was very happy that we got this done, and I was impressed how easy it was because the shelves were already so well organized–fiction alphabetized by author and non-fiction sorted by subject and then also alphabetized. What a joy it is to have a former librarian for a mom! However, truth be told, for anyone except for my mother and me, the difference between Before and After is more like a “spot the differences” puzzle. Try to find them all!
Then Mark and I took a brief turn through the botanical garden and rounded up my mom to go to the city center for a lovely lunch on the main market square (Markt). An Italian restaurant has a nice lunch menu–I had carbonara, Mark farfalle with chicken and a creamy tomato sauce, and my mom a piece of salmon with vegetables. We sat outside in the shade amidst historic buildings (most of them destroyed and then rebuilt after World War II bombings; the façade of the restaurant was removed from its original spot on a different street to this location in the 1970s) and then walked through the pedestrian shopping district for a bit before we finished up our outing with a gelato. When we got home, we were all ready for naps! (Even my mother who claims she is NEVER able to take naps.)
After said nap, and fortified by a cup of coffee, Mark and I went on a small grocery run, and then had a small bite to eat (just open-faced sandwiches) and went out for a night on the town. It was sunny and in the 70s (25 degrees C) and so the entire downtown was humming with conversations at outdoor bars and restaurants like a big old beehive. We meandered around all the familiar streets and a couple of parks and playgrounds, and stopped to have a drink (literally, one: Mark ordered an Aperol Spritz, I had a couple of sips and otherwise drank Schorle, i.e. juice with sparking water) at a pop-up “beach bar” hosted by the city theater during its summer break. They have different events throughout July and August, and tonight, a Ukrainian festival was ending with a Ukrainian blues band. We listened for just a bit and then wended our way home past more street cafés and small outdoor concerts. Everyone seemed very happy and relaxed, but there were no obviously drunk people, no loud conversations or brawls, and the most obnoxious thing was actually that so many people smoked (but outdoors). It was fun people watching, but we were tired and ready for bed when we got home!
