Last Weekend's Athletic Feats of Prowess, and a Birthday

It's been a rather rocky time at work as usual, but I also don't really enjoy filling the blog with memories of when I was stressed and unhappy, so I'll try to write about other things.

Last weekend was action-packed. On Saturday my two youngest brothers and I drove out to Brandenburg and visit our uncle P., going for a walk amongst the green grass, red rose hips, beeches and willows that were still green, masses of mushrooms, and tall growths of regular nettles and smaller growths of dove nettles with their soft white flowers. The rim of the path is often like the sward (I don't know exactly what that means, admittedly) in the foreground of — for example — Renaissance paintings, and I like the little speckles, the straight stems, and the broad leaves of the greater plantains that grow along the sides. We also had a talk about family history, which was not always cheerful, then pigeon soup over rice, and for dessert, yoghurt with mango and banana. In the end we also played Haydn trios, then we drove off again toward the city.

On Sunday my mother and I cycled out to Charlottenburg and — together with uncle M. and other colleagues — we walked as far as we could around the Lietzensee, in the middle of apartment buildings, with stately old staircases and fountains and a bridge, park planning straight from the early 1900s or earlier, murky green water, bright sunshine, and a lot of people strolling about. It was very nice.

Then we walked to a café, where we drank cappuccinos, ate cake, and then in my case made a big mistake as I ordered a scone with crème fraîche and jam. A growing colony of wasps was increasingly delighted over this treat, as all of us at the table and a widening circle of fellow diners became increasingly alarmed or at least transfixed. But it tasted good.

Afterward I cycled back out to the city centre to play beach volleyball with colleagues and their friends.

I was quite impressed by my own physical fitness that day, which was a refreshing change. Although my performance in volleyball is never something to boast about. But since then I have discovered, as expected, that cycling quickly to eastern Berlin for two days in a row turns me into a slowpoke with aching legs.

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Anyway, my birthday also happened last week (I am now thirty-six). Because I felt so sad and tired in general, it was a real comfort to feel the affection from colleagues, former colleagues who happened to write just at the right time, and family.