It was 6 AM yesterday morning and J's clock radio had just gone off. As usual the headlines were being broadcast on one of the radio channels. I lay there waiting for her to finish so she can move on to the weather. I was expecting her to give a "lots of rain" forecast but instead she says, "lots of sun".
Hearing that immediately put both J and i in a better mood despite that it's still dark outside and that we both aren't Morning people.
As J is getting ready for work and i'm waiting for our perfect cup of coffee to be brewed, i open the shutters to see a clear sky. Quite the opposite from the days before. There's something about seeing the sun and a blue sky that puts me in a better mood. Maybe it's the lack of them that makes me appreciate them even more.
12 hours later...
We needed to return some DVDs at the library and instead of jumping in the car like we always do and taking that 10-minute ride, J suggested we take our bikes.
J managed to buy a second hand bicycle from the rental place during Summer and i still had my bumble bee bicycle from last year. But since i had that fall, i wasn't too keen on the idea of riding on the main road especially during peak hour. And even though many of the roads have bicycle paths, the thought of them driving so close makes me super uncomfortable.
J assured me that we'd take another route and so we took the back road knowing that at one point it had to end up at the library.
We crossed a road and it wasn't long before we were cutting through a small forest that was tucked behind some small streets. Streets that we wouldn't ordinarily turn into if we went by car. The forest eventually lead to a stream and a huge playground. Having lived in this town for nearly a year and compaining that there wasn't any nice places to walk to nearby, we were extremely excited. Had we known of this place earlier, i'm sure we would have made more of an effort to step out of our front door on the weekends.
Pardon my messy fringe. I should wear a headband to keep it in place.
The temperature was just right. Not too cold and not too hot. It was somewhere along 19˚C.
Seriously though, i had no idea breathing in fresh air felt so good! I say this because having not smoked for over 9 months, i could feel my lungs expanding. My senses were on overdrive.
And for once i wasn't out of breath.
Although riding up this ramp to get over to the other side was a bit of a bitch. It's no wonder my muscles were aching this morning when i woke up. Muscles that obviously had not been used in a very long time.
I would have thought with all this extra padding i developed on my arse, it would add more cushion.
I tell you now, it didn't work.
Ouch.
I want more suspension and/or extra padding on my seat.
Us cutting though another park and me taking another break so i could take more photos. Bless J for his patience.
We had found heaps of chestnuts on the ground. Or as the Germans would say, Kastanien. We even saw one father and daughter greedily pick them all up from the floor to take home in bags. It is the season after all.
I swear people must have thought i hadn't seen nature before.
I felt like such a tourist taking pictures of practically everything. Well in some sense i am a tourist despite having lived in Germany for now, thirty-one months and have registered this town as my place of residence.
But at the moment, i felt like one of them... a bike rider.
They don't need to know that yesterday was my first time out on my bike in ages.
Nobody looked at me funny. Everybody was just minding their own business and speeding along on their bikes. You'd be amazed how many people here actually do ride their bicycles to and from work.
I remember times when i'd be walking back home from German class and hordes of cyclists would pass me. Envious that they were so much further ahead of me when i just made it to the traffic light.
I'd get home nearly an hour later feeling like an idiot for choosing to go home by foot. And often when the weather was crap, i'd opt to waste my money and pay 2 Euros to use the bus. It didn't take me long to realise walking in snow up to my ankles is really hard work.
So anyway, we got to a church. The same church we walked past when the floor was cover in snow during Winter. But this time instead of naked branches above, we saw them covered with various shades of green and rusty coloured leaves. It was so beautiful and in that sense, i really love that about Autumn.
After having done our errands, we made our way to the city centre which was just metres away.
The road that runs along the shops is blocked off from cars and only pedestrians and bike riders can go through. But it was already past 7 PM and as usual all the shops were shut. So we took the long route back and rode through the side streets and paths that we wouldn't ordinarily go had we gone by foot or car.
By the time we got home the sun was just about to set. The full moon was behind us and we couldn't stop saying how much fun we had and promised we'd do it again today.
Well seeing that that was the first time i had properly ridden a bicycle in over two decades, i wouldn't be lying if i said, that it was the BESTEST bike ride EVER!
I feel my confidence riding on two wheels slowly rising.
Hearing that immediately put both J and i in a better mood despite that it's still dark outside and that we both aren't Morning people.
As J is getting ready for work and i'm waiting for our perfect cup of coffee to be brewed, i open the shutters to see a clear sky. Quite the opposite from the days before. There's something about seeing the sun and a blue sky that puts me in a better mood. Maybe it's the lack of them that makes me appreciate them even more.
12 hours later...
We needed to return some DVDs at the library and instead of jumping in the car like we always do and taking that 10-minute ride, J suggested we take our bikes.
J managed to buy a second hand bicycle from the rental place during Summer and i still had my bumble bee bicycle from last year. But since i had that fall, i wasn't too keen on the idea of riding on the main road especially during peak hour. And even though many of the roads have bicycle paths, the thought of them driving so close makes me super uncomfortable.
J assured me that we'd take another route and so we took the back road knowing that at one point it had to end up at the library.
We crossed a road and it wasn't long before we were cutting through a small forest that was tucked behind some small streets. Streets that we wouldn't ordinarily turn into if we went by car. The forest eventually lead to a stream and a huge playground. Having lived in this town for nearly a year and compaining that there wasn't any nice places to walk to nearby, we were extremely excited. Had we known of this place earlier, i'm sure we would have made more of an effort to step out of our front door on the weekends.
Pardon my messy fringe. I should wear a headband to keep it in place.
The temperature was just right. Not too cold and not too hot. It was somewhere along 19˚C.
Seriously though, i had no idea breathing in fresh air felt so good! I say this because having not smoked for over 9 months, i could feel my lungs expanding. My senses were on overdrive.
And for once i wasn't out of breath.
Although riding up this ramp to get over to the other side was a bit of a bitch. It's no wonder my muscles were aching this morning when i woke up. Muscles that obviously had not been used in a very long time.
I would have thought with all this extra padding i developed on my arse, it would add more cushion.
I tell you now, it didn't work.
Ouch.
I want more suspension and/or extra padding on my seat.
Us cutting though another park and me taking another break so i could take more photos. Bless J for his patience.
We had found heaps of chestnuts on the ground. Or as the Germans would say, Kastanien. We even saw one father and daughter greedily pick them all up from the floor to take home in bags. It is the season after all.
I swear people must have thought i hadn't seen nature before.
I felt like such a tourist taking pictures of practically everything. Well in some sense i am a tourist despite having lived in Germany for now, thirty-one months and have registered this town as my place of residence.
But at the moment, i felt like one of them... a bike rider.
They don't need to know that yesterday was my first time out on my bike in ages.
Nobody looked at me funny. Everybody was just minding their own business and speeding along on their bikes. You'd be amazed how many people here actually do ride their bicycles to and from work.
I remember times when i'd be walking back home from German class and hordes of cyclists would pass me. Envious that they were so much further ahead of me when i just made it to the traffic light.
I'd get home nearly an hour later feeling like an idiot for choosing to go home by foot. And often when the weather was crap, i'd opt to waste my money and pay 2 Euros to use the bus. It didn't take me long to realise walking in snow up to my ankles is really hard work.
So anyway, we got to a church. The same church we walked past when the floor was cover in snow during Winter. But this time instead of naked branches above, we saw them covered with various shades of green and rusty coloured leaves. It was so beautiful and in that sense, i really love that about Autumn.
After having done our errands, we made our way to the city centre which was just metres away.
The road that runs along the shops is blocked off from cars and only pedestrians and bike riders can go through. But it was already past 7 PM and as usual all the shops were shut. So we took the long route back and rode through the side streets and paths that we wouldn't ordinarily go had we gone by foot or car.
By the time we got home the sun was just about to set. The full moon was behind us and we couldn't stop saying how much fun we had and promised we'd do it again today.
Well seeing that that was the first time i had properly ridden a bicycle in over two decades, i wouldn't be lying if i said, that it was the BESTEST bike ride EVER!
I feel my confidence riding on two wheels slowly rising.
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