Rules and walking

One of the things I like best about visiting a new city is walking around to explore it, visiting different neighborhoods and just getting a feel for what it would be like to live there. We did that when we visited Hamburg back in May, paying a bit more attention to the prospect of living here since that was a decision we had to make, but still exploring the city in much the same way we normally do. (Walking a lot helps make up for eating a lot, no?) Now I really enjoy walking down streets that I remember from that first visit. My perspective is a bit different, somewhere between a visitor and a resident. I haven't been here long enough to feel entirely comfortable, but I have managed to sort out the streets around our apartment and some of the adjacent neighborhoods. A few of the streets that are now quite familiar are some that got me completely turned around during our visit. I went down them a lot and each time I went the opposite direction I needed to go. This must have happened about twice a day every day we were here so it was very satisfying to get that resolved.

I also really enjoy being out on a walk and realizing that I walked that same route back in May. Like the bakery around the corner - we walked past it during our visit (I even got a pretzel there) but it took me until last week to realize we had essentially walked past our apartment and through our immediate neighborhood when we visited.

With Zoli gone I really have to remind myself to leave the house every day - it's easy for me to get sucked into the internet and the election coverage and knitting and fellowship writing (okay, maybe not so much that last one) and bam!, the entire day is shot. Since I tend to be a bit cowardly in a new place (and I suddenly don't need to go buy food nearly as often, I wonder why) I made a rule that I have to leave the house and talk to at least one person in German 6 days of the week.


I'm doing well so far - this afternoon I was in danger of breaking the rule so I went for a walk along a canal to enjoy what remained of the sun and to go to a cafe to do some reading. I was quite proud because I made myself ask if they had decaf coffee! I still haven't quite figured out the pronunciation of "Koffein", but I got it out and the guy understood AND they had it (decaf espresso even) so I was pleased.


It was a beautiful afternoon, quite crisp and fall-like.

Daylight Savings Time ended for us on Sunday, so the sun now sets a little before 5 and it's completely dark by 5:45. It does get light earlier in the morning now - it means that it's light again when my alarm goes off but unfortunately it doesn't mean I don't sleep for another hour. I should make another rule.