A Rare Sunny Day

Today appears ready to provide us with a rare day of sunshine. A picnic lunch has been planned as the activity of the day.

Yesterday afternoon, after arriving in Leipzig and enjoying a delicious lunch cooked by Gabriele, we got back in the car for the drive into the downtown area of Leipzig. Leo and Gabriele live in a suburb of Leipzig that is about a 20-minute drive from the city. My Aunt Helga and Uncle Ulli live in a flat that is very close to the city center, near a nice park. We drove to their flat where they met us and the 6 of us then spent the afternoon walking through the city. We did some shopping and some sightseeing, including a panoramic view from the top of a tall building. Much of the landscape was obscured by the mist and low clouds but we could see the major buildings and got the basic idea of the size and layout of the city.

Helga then prepared a wonderful meal for us and we spent the evening hours doing our best to catch up with family news of all that has transpired in the many years since we have been together. I am constantly reminding myself that I should have spent more time relearning what little of the German language that I used to know. Our hosts are very patient with our stumbling attempts to communicate and we somehow get the main ideas across to each other.

Too much to see, do and learn and too little time to do it all. But we are doing our best to appreciate and enjoy every minute that we have in this beautiful country.