A Morning in the City

The world is a better place when the sun shines and my hair looks good. This morning the clouds parted early to let the sun through and in a rare moment of self-satisfaction, I was pleased with the results produced by blow drying my hair. I didn't have much time to admire my reflection though, as a friend was on her way to pick me up for a morning of shopping in the city. Uschi arrived as promised at 9:30 on the dot and we set out for our destination -- a beautiful city on the Rhine river, only 15 minutes from where we live.

Our main mission was to go shoe shopping for me, which may sound innocuous, but is actually quite a challenge these days as I wear a brace on my left leg. We headed straight for a medical supplies store that might be able to help, only to realize after a few minutes of browsing that they had nothing which fit my needs. However a very savvy and helpful saleswoman (and we both know about saleswomen, as my friend was for many years a part-owner of a small bookstore and she and I worked side by side selling books) took up my cause and called around until she got the name and number of the person in their company that makes shoes for such cases. So we left the store, unfortunately without any shoes, but at least armed with more information and a new optimism that I may be able to actually get halfway decent looking shoes in the near future.

I don't get to the city very often anymore, as walking is very difficult for me, and when I do, I literally need someone to lean on. And although I am less than thrilled that I cannot walk without aid, it does have the very positive side effect of getting physically close to my friends, which inevitably brings a unique kind of intimacy that strenghtens the friendship. So Uschi and I walked arm-in-arm in the morning sunshine to a nearby department store to work on my shopping list. I found all that I needed and more, whipping out my credit card every few minutes as we power-shopped out way through the store. I bought, Uschi carried, and we made a great team. After an hour and a lot of euros, it was time for a break so we headed to a café specializing in Italian ice creams. We skipped the calorie-ladened frozen creations, but the cappucino and waffel with fruit were truly delicious. Uschi thought the Italian waiter was hitting on me, as he repeatedly spilled coffee on my leg and kept wiping my jeans (the Italians definitely do have a different sense of personal space, probably closer to the American idea than the German). At any rate, just down the way from the cafe is my absolute favorite kitchen store, so of course we had to slip by there, and to my great pleasure, the soup plates for our newest set of dishes just happened to be on sale. Uschi instantly ageed that this was an opportunity not to be missed, so I added soup plates to our collection. She valiantly balanced me and all the packages, but it was clearly time to head back to the car.

We had one more errand to run, to take back some pants Uschi had recently bought so they could be altered, so we drove to the store where she purchased them in a trendy part of town. That area is also a favorite place for students to reside, and it just so happens the store is directly across the street from where our middle son Lukas lives. While Uschi was being measured, I called Lukas on my handy (the English word Germans use for cell phone. Go figure.) and he popped over in his sweat pants just to say hello. Our oldest son lives right around the corner from his brother, so I called Tim also, but even though he was home, he preferred to chat on the phone and not come out. I know better than to appear unannounced at either of their apartments, but I couldn't be in the area and not say hi.

It was a wonderful morning, and what luck that we picked such a beautiful day to go shopping. But the best part of all -- today is Friday, and the forecasts for the next few days all call for sunny weather. This evening we are going to kick off the weekend by meeting with Anne & Ekki at a nearby vintner and enjoying the elegant food and wine at his spring festival. Cheers!