In Search of Gelato: Pretty, Clean, Orderly, Perfect

This is 40 dawned sunny and warm. Jens walks to a bakery each morning when he has guests to provide pretzel rolls and croissants for breakfast, along with yogurt, fruit, meat, and cheese. I like his "hotel" very much! The party was great fun, held in his parent's storybook backyard, and filled with friends, delicious food, and relaxing. Nathan and I both agreed that the day was one of the most relaxing we'd had in months - and there is some unfortunate photographic evidence of just how relaxed I was when I fell asleep while sitting up. That evidence will not be shown here. Nora was introduced to grass, and she is now ruined for any lawn we might ever provide to her (see above photo). Jens's parents must have enjoyed their time with Nora since they offered to keep her the following evening while we went out to dinner. TWO nights out for us! We LOVE Germany and Jens and his parents!

Jemke, the village where Jens's parents live - isn't it just so perfect. Everything
is exactly in its place. I did find one yard that had some WEEDS growing - the
horror. I'm pretty sure those neighbors are ostracized and talked about at length.

Wooden carving in the

Tangermünde Church; I

desperately want this pretty

lady to be in my house.

We spent the next day walking around lovely Tangermünde, a 750 year old town on the Elbe River. Stopping in at a coffee roaster for a cuppa while I fed the babe allowed us to meet Coffee Guy - he really enjoyed his work. He roasts his own beans, and when I ordered a coffee with milk and sugar, he gasped a drawn out, "Noooooo," with a look of horror. Then gave us a whole show about the different techniques he uses to prepare coffee - one way is that the coffee never touches anything but porcelain, in another, it's filtered through paper into a glass beaker, and so on. I love interacting with someone who is truly passionate about his work. I always leave their presence feeling so inspired.

City Hall

Pretty Tangermünde

For the evening, we met up with some of Jens's friends whom we have had the pleasure of meeting before, leaving Nora behind once again. Feeling more confident that she wouldn't terrorize her new "Oma and Opa," we fully enjoyed a rare time out - and even rode bicycles to the restaurant...an event we cannot do in Naples. Here in the sud, bicycling is only done on weekends in groups of 30 or so, and one absolutely must wear matching outfits with your fellow cyclists. No bicycling to errands or daily life, only touring.

We loved getting to see Jens again, reconnecting with another friend whom we were shocked to realize we had not seen in 10 years (and who spent three days totally loving on Nora - Nora was as happy visiting Germany as we were), and just stepping outside the chaos of the life in the Sud for a little bit of German orderliness.