The weekend that just passed seemed to have come and gone. It was the first weekend in probably over a month that J and i got to relax. There was no empty box needing to be filled or an item to be carried from point A to B.
In the past 2 plus weeks, J has developed these big red bruise-like spots on his legs. More specifically directly on his shins. And even with the meds that the doc has given him, they don't seem to be improving. I guess with the combination of the move, traveling and him having to start his new job, the spots ranging from the size of a ping pong ball to a base ball just got worse.
He went to the doctor and they told him it was Erytheme Nudosum. He got a blood test done and apparently everything is in working order. Although his white blood cells were high, which could only mean that his body was fighting an infection but where exactly is unknown.
So when Friday came around we decided we'd not do anything.
We took advantage of the yearly pass to the local library that we got from registering as a resident in the new town and rented out a bunch of movies. Each card holder is entitled to borrow 10 movies a week and the best part is, they were free! We figured it would be a much cheaper solution than heading to the corner store and renting out a movie for 3,50 Euros/night.
J also moved the small tv from the living room into the bedroom. And rearranged the furniture and suitcases so they weren't in the way. Ordered pizzas and pretty much had a picnic on the two single beds that lay side by side. So Friday evening into Saturday was pretty much a movie marathon. An excuse to hibernate and rejuvenate.
The 5:30am wake up calls have thrown our body clocks out of whack.
The usual morning ritual is when J's in the shower getting ready for work, i prepare breakfast. Make sure all this things that he needs for work is in one area and roll him 5 cigarettes for the day. Squeeze in about 15 minutes of conversation over a bowl of muesli and a fresh cup of coffee, then out the door he goes at 6:45am. Which also means going to bed much earlier. And by 10pm my eyelids are already getting very heavy.
Sunday morning we were up rather early. I'm guessing we overslept the day before and being cooped up indoors all day, one feeds on the sluggish-ness. At first we thought we'd head to Alex, a favorite restaurant/café in Guetersloh that has Sunday brunch. But last minute we decided to drive to Hannover which is about 100km away from Bielefeld. When J came back to Germany in 2000 or so, he used to live there with some friends.
The city is known for its university and it surprisingly has a lot of greenery and parks. On one particular street we were on the buildings on the right-hand side dated back to before the war and those on the left had to be rebuilt because when Hannover was bombed during the war, that side of the road was destroyed whilst the other side remained in tact. The post-war buildings somehow lacked detail and was far more boring in appearance. Although i forgot to take a photo, i'm sure i'll be back there again so i'll take a photo next time.
So anyway, J decided to call his friend up to see if he and his fiancée wanted to come out for brunch with us, seeing that we were in the area. Their friendship dates back over a decade and one that J often speaks about.
And although they said their English wasn't that great, i begged to differ. We all were able to get along quite well. In fact, 90% of the conversations were in English and the rest i patched together and made sense of it.
Seriously, since i've been watching TV in German for the past year and a half, my vocabulary has definitely improved. I mean hell, i can just about read the whole menu on my own - it must be those cooking shows.
The last time we saw them was November last year. But i guess the 3 hour drive from Duesseldorf is a bit of a hike, hence the reason why J and i never got around to seeing them more often.
But now that we're only about an hour's drive, we have more reason to go there. Plus the city is far more exciting than Guetersloh.
The Sunday brunch buffet place was closed so we ended up at a Vegetarian restaurant called Otto. It's situated in the heart of the university area where mainly students live, so the prices are much cheaper than other places.
Sunday was Schnitzel Day so it was slightly cheaper, so i ordered the vegetarian version. And although it wasn't the real deal, it was still rather tasty.In the past 2 plus weeks, J has developed these big red bruise-like spots on his legs. More specifically directly on his shins. And even with the meds that the doc has given him, they don't seem to be improving. I guess with the combination of the move, traveling and him having to start his new job, the spots ranging from the size of a ping pong ball to a base ball just got worse.
He went to the doctor and they told him it was Erytheme Nudosum. He got a blood test done and apparently everything is in working order. Although his white blood cells were high, which could only mean that his body was fighting an infection but where exactly is unknown.
So when Friday came around we decided we'd not do anything.
We took advantage of the yearly pass to the local library that we got from registering as a resident in the new town and rented out a bunch of movies. Each card holder is entitled to borrow 10 movies a week and the best part is, they were free! We figured it would be a much cheaper solution than heading to the corner store and renting out a movie for 3,50 Euros/night.
J also moved the small tv from the living room into the bedroom. And rearranged the furniture and suitcases so they weren't in the way. Ordered pizzas and pretty much had a picnic on the two single beds that lay side by side. So Friday evening into Saturday was pretty much a movie marathon. An excuse to hibernate and rejuvenate.
The 5:30am wake up calls have thrown our body clocks out of whack.
The usual morning ritual is when J's in the shower getting ready for work, i prepare breakfast. Make sure all this things that he needs for work is in one area and roll him 5 cigarettes for the day. Squeeze in about 15 minutes of conversation over a bowl of muesli and a fresh cup of coffee, then out the door he goes at 6:45am. Which also means going to bed much earlier. And by 10pm my eyelids are already getting very heavy.
Sunday morning we were up rather early. I'm guessing we overslept the day before and being cooped up indoors all day, one feeds on the sluggish-ness. At first we thought we'd head to Alex, a favorite restaurant/café in Guetersloh that has Sunday brunch. But last minute we decided to drive to Hannover which is about 100km away from Bielefeld. When J came back to Germany in 2000 or so, he used to live there with some friends.
The city is known for its university and it surprisingly has a lot of greenery and parks. On one particular street we were on the buildings on the right-hand side dated back to before the war and those on the left had to be rebuilt because when Hannover was bombed during the war, that side of the road was destroyed whilst the other side remained in tact. The post-war buildings somehow lacked detail and was far more boring in appearance. Although i forgot to take a photo, i'm sure i'll be back there again so i'll take a photo next time.
So anyway, J decided to call his friend up to see if he and his fiancée wanted to come out for brunch with us, seeing that we were in the area. Their friendship dates back over a decade and one that J often speaks about.
And although they said their English wasn't that great, i begged to differ. We all were able to get along quite well. In fact, 90% of the conversations were in English and the rest i patched together and made sense of it.
Seriously, since i've been watching TV in German for the past year and a half, my vocabulary has definitely improved. I mean hell, i can just about read the whole menu on my own - it must be those cooking shows.
The last time we saw them was November last year. But i guess the 3 hour drive from Duesseldorf is a bit of a hike, hence the reason why J and i never got around to seeing them more often.
But now that we're only about an hour's drive, we have more reason to go there. Plus the city is far more exciting than Guetersloh.
The Sunday brunch buffet place was closed so we ended up at a Vegetarian restaurant called Otto. It's situated in the heart of the university area where mainly students live, so the prices are much cheaper than other places.
J also got to meet up with his friends brother, whom he hadn't seen in about 8 years. All because of an argument/misunderstanding between the brother and the ex. So of course J's ex disapproved of their friendship. In fact, she disapproved of many things back in the day.
So then after 8 years they managed to unravel the past and J said he was sorry. It got a bit intense but i reckon a couple more sit-downs, it'll be like water under the bridge and everyone can be friends again.
But like i told J, even though they lost Time and there were a lot of unanswered questions, now if any should be the time to swallow your pride and try and mend their friendships. After all they were best friends and it was J that turned his back on them all because of his ex.
We sort of lost track of time and before we knew it our stomachs were grumbling. It was time for dinner. J had told me about this little restaurant that was run by an old french lady who came to Germany donkey years ago and decided to open a café and sell only baguettes with all sorts of toppings.
I ended up getting the mushrooms, cheese, salad and bean sprouts. And of course, i had to wash it down with my all-time favorite Kristallweizenbier. J got the ham and banana. Yes i said banana. He said it was good. I didn't try it cause it had meat on it but i take his word for it.
So yea, that was our weekend.
We rested. Spent some quality time with J. Didn't have to pack or unpack. Ate well. Met up with friends and i got to see more of Germany. What more could i have asked for.
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