Renting out my apartment

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What?! Renting out my apartment??? Of course not. But I might as well because I’m hardly ever home. After coming back from the Pre Worlds late on a Sunday night, I caught a plane to Stuttgart the following Thursday in order to spend a weekend with family and friends. My mum organised a little family party for me one evening, which was just great. We had lovely food (yes, there is always extremely nice food when my mum is in charge of it) and a great evening together. I flew back to Hamburg on a Monday night, and then, believe it or not, I had a weekend at home. And I definitely needed that one because there were loads and loads of unfinished paperwork awaiting me on my desk. No lazy weekend at all…

The following weekend, I went to St. Peter Ording with my friend Kathi. St. Peter Ording is a nice, but also very touristy village by the shore of the North Sea. We left on a Saturday morning, and after the weather had been crap during the whole week, the sun came out, the sky was blue. A most beautiful day! We did some shopping (lots of nice shops there, I can tell you!) and then had some nice lunch, sitting outside in the sun. We spent the afternoon in a park where there are seals and different kinds of birds that live by the sea, but there is also a farm that has cows, goats, sheep, horses, geese… Very nice! After a lovely dinner and a little break, we went for a run along a dike. The next day, the weather was not as nice any more. It started off with a grey sky already. Kathi and I decided to participate in a two hour windsurfing taster course. I had done a windsurfing course some 13 years ago, of which I could of course not remember much. It was great fun (although we spent most of the time in the water instead of on the surfboard, surprisingly 😉), and we decided to do a windsurfing course next spring. We had just finished the course when it started pouring down with rain. As it was a long walk across the tideland in order to get back to the car, we had to wait in the surf school for a while. But finally, we could walk back, had lunch in the village, and then spent the afternoon in a very nice sauna where you can go out into the dunes. There is also a fantastic view out on the seashore from the relaxation room. Well, we were not the only ones there that day, but still, it was very nice.

I got home late on Sunday night, went to the office on Monday morning and then left for Cologne shortly after lunch. I was invited for my godchild Benedikt’s first day at school on Tuesday morning. I spent a great evening with Benedikt, my cousin Petra (Benedikt’s mum), her husband, her other son Severin, my aunt, uncle, and Benedikt’s other godmother. The church service the next morning took place in the Cologne Cathedral, and it was pretty spectacular because it was held in a part of the cathedral that is usually not accessible. Benedikt was excited and happy, he met his futures classmates, and he loved the fact that so many guests had come just to attend his first day at school.

I arrived back in Hamburg on Tuesday night and left for Bonn on Friday to spend the weekend with my friends Katrin, Tom, Anke, Simone, and Torsten. On Sunday, all of us and some of my former colleagues participated in an equated triathlon. The company I used to work for participates in that triathlon every year. My part was the swimming, 500m. I was not too happy with my performance (12:22), but it could have been worse. Finally, my team became 6th out of 16, which is pretty good, I reckon. Suppose our hero of the day was Dennis, who ran the 5km within 19:30. Wow! You will find all the results here. We had dinner with all the colleagues, and then I caught a train back home and arrived there very late at night.

The following Friday, I went to see my friend Rebi and attend the Warsteiner Montgolfiade, a balloon festival in which some 160 balloon teams from all over the world participate. It is pretty amazing because the balloons have all kinds of shapes and colours. For example, there was a balloon in the shape of Darth Vader’s head, a Jägermeister bottle, two locomotives, a Brandenburg Gate, a fire engine… So cool! The balloons can only take off early in the morning and late in the evening because during the day, the wind is too strong. So there is plenty of time for other program during the day. There are, of course, fairground rides and jamboree. But, even better, the local hanggliding and paragliding club offers tandem flights in a paraglider. The tandem pilot is Rebi’s dad Klaus.

Rebi picked me up from the train station, and we went straight to the paddock where the club was winch towing. I said hi to Klaus, and he said: “Wanna come for a fly?” - “Um, er, yes…” It was going to be my first flight after the crash, my first flight in more than 1.5 years. When we were getting ready, my heart started beating harder and harder. I felt like getting sick. I was so nervous and anxious that I thought I would not be able to do it. I was close to telling Klaus that I couldn’t fly with him. But then I thought “Come on! Just give it a go!” And as soon as we took the first step, it was all good. My anxiousness was completely gone. I was calm and happy. I enjoyed the flight very much. It was short. We were towed to no more than 250m, and as there were no thermals, we could not stay up. But still, gliding through the air was a great feeling. And while we were up there, we could see the balloons take off on the other side of the valley. Very spectacular. I could not get into the harness properly, so I was not extremely comfortable, but still, when we landed, I had that big grin in my face that would not go away for the rest of the evening. I was so happy and grateful - thank you so much, Klaus!

We spent the next day on the tow paddock, too, and went over to the Montgolfiade in the evening in order to attend the “night glow”. It starts when it is already dark. There is music, and the balloons are illuminated (but do not take off, of course). That is just spectacular. After that, there were most beautiful fireworks. On Sunday, we went to a nearby market where Rebi’s friend Sandra played with her band Second Voice. The two girls are only 15 years old, but I reckon they are quite good. Rebi filmed them, so if you like, have a look at the videos on her blog.

The weekend had passed too fast. But thank you Rebi, Klaus, and Gabi for having me! It was a great weekend. My journey back was chaotic, with delayed trains and technical problems and all that. My train to Hamburg was delayed by one hour. And it was so overcrowded that it was hard to even sit on the floor. The trains here have shelves for luggage, and suddenly I realised that the bottom compartment of the shelf right opposite me was empty. It was just spaceous enough for me to sit in it. I asked a man who was standing right in front of the compartment whether he would mind me getting in there. He laughed and said no. But when I really stepped towards him, he said “Really?” “Really,” I replied. So I sat in that little shelf, and it was not too bad. I was not in anybody’s way and could just sit there and read. And finally, I arrived back home.

This weekend was my first weekend in Hamburg again. On Friday afternoon, I received a text message from Klaus (not Rebi’s dad, but Klaus whom I had learned hanggliding with) that he and his wife Sabine were looking for a Hamburg city guide, meaning that they would be in Hamburg for the weekend. We met downtown for a little walk and dinner, and it was just great to see them. I hadn’t seen Klaus for more than a year, Sabine for even longer. Klaus is still flying happily and safely and having fun, which was great to see. I spent the rest of the weekend doing the stuff that I usually don’t get done when I’m travelling so much, and I had a very relaxing evening in the sauna with Kathi yesterday and a nice time with Mizzi at the Hamburg planetarium today.

Believe it or not, but from now till the middle of November, I will be in Hamburg. No travelling. But it won’t get boring. My mum is coming to stay with me next week, and I will have more visitors to come during the next couple of weekends. So maybe next time I can tell you some stories about Hamburg!

P.S. I still haven’t got a new camera, so I’m sorry that I don’t have really nice pictures for you this time.

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Photos

Montgolfiade 1
See the fire engine about in the centre of the picture?

Montgolfiade 2
So many balloons in the air..

Montgolfiade 3
See the Jägermeister bottle on the right side of the picture?

My special seat on the train
The view from the shelf I was sitting in on the overcrowded train back to Hamburg last Sunday...