My orientation to my city continues! When I say orientation, this includes everything from learning where the PO is located to descaling the espresso machine! 🙂 Mornings have been leisurely as we have had to wait on deliveries each day. FedEx has been delivering boxes from Memphis each morning and unlike in the States, if you miss them, you have to go to FedEx and pick up your boxes; they won’t attempt another delivery. Since some of these boxes weigh more than 50 lbs, we don’t want to have to pick them up so we wait each morning until delivery is made. But, the sun rises over the river and pours into the living area making for a quiet and sunny morning respite.

When we finally ventured out, we returned to the hardware store for more hangers and other items, hit the grocery again for more basics, and wandered through the streets people watching. It was overcast but quite warm so very soon we shed our jackets and enjoyed the balmy weather.

Last night, we met some of Doc’s friends for dinner. They came to the flat for a drink before we all caught the bus to Heumarkt Plaza for dinner at 12 Apostel. The plaza is a huge space and was bustling with dinner-goers and pub crawlers. The restaurant where we dined was Italian and the food was very good. They managed to rustle up a large mixed salad with grilled asparagus and other veggies. It’s asparagus season here so everywhere you go, it is being served in a variety of ways. The restaurant ceilings were painted Sistine Chapel style and was quite lovely.

Today is a holiday here, May Day or Labor Day, so the plaza was being staged for a celebration. Crew members were setting up the stage for music and food booths were being readied for the festivities. All stores, banks and most cafes will be closed today but the plazas should be lively and The Dom is open for touring. That is our plan for today, touring the cathedral and walking around enjoying May Day festivities. Looking very forward to seeing the inside of this most impressive cathedral.

Happy May Day Y’all!!