I always look forward to the Easter holiday, and this year was no exception. In order to comply with German labor laws, I had to use up a few remaining vacation days from 2015, and I chose to use those in the days leading up to Easter weekend. I had no plans other than to relax and just hang out.
Things got off to an interesting start one morning as I entered my kitchen to make a coffee. As I rounded the corner from the hallway, my left slipper went flying off my foot and hit the far wall. "What the hell?" I thought to myself, as a I retrieved my slipper and noticed that the sole had become detached from the top. Ah well, it might be time to buy a new pair.
Indoor footwear issues aside, I stayed true to my plan of just doing whatever the hell I felt like during the break, which was very little. One day, I decided to brush up on a few finger exercises on the piano, which led to a bit of a marathon session where I played a lot of Joe Jackson songs. During said session, I discovered that I had been using the wrong chord combination on one of my favorites, so spent a fair amount re-learning the correct chord sequence.
I made sure to get all the necessary grocery shopping completed early, so as to avoid the masses; people tend to shop the day immediately before a public holiday like they are preparing for Armageddon. Therefore, Maundy Thursday proves to be an absolute rodeo at the store, as people are running around stocking up on loads of things. For my small household, it was a simple task, made that much simpler without having to put up with a bunch of frantic shoppers.
On Good Friday, I caught up with my sister for a couple of hours on Skype. I shared a little video that a friend had shown me earlier in the week about two little pandas and their 100 days of life. I quite like videos like this (it is the "awwwwww" factor) and was certain that my sister would enjoy it, too.
The weather was mostly rainy in the days leading up to the weekend, but Saturday brought some sunny weather. The owner of a little shop across the street from my flat always has a little gathering. A guy dresses up as an Easter Bunny and stands outside offering chocolates to passing children, and shots of Eierlikör, which is basically a souped-up shot of an egg based schnapps. It certainly is an acquired taste, and is not my thing at all. However, there were plenty of beers available, so we all stood outside and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine. The beer kept flowing for several hours, so a little later after the sun had set, it got a bit chillier, but all in all it made for a very nice day. Thumbs up once again to the joys of standing around outside on a street corner enjoying a bottle of beer. Talk about a block party...
Because of the beer intake on Saturday evening, I had a bit of an early night (after attacking a bag of tostitos) and woke up Easter Sunday to the time change feeling pretty OK. Once again, we had a bit of morning rain, and I spent the time enjoying a few coffees and listening to music.
My sister sent me a little skype message emoticon of an Easter Bunny (complete with wiggly tail), and during the afternoon, I was pleased to see the sun come out. I elected to go sit on a patio and listen to the "quiet" of the neighborhood. Hardly anyone was out all, save for a few people taking some walks around the city, or at least my little corner of the city. I appreciate these few occasions when the city is so still and quiet. Absolutely no hustle and bustle whatsoever.
A friend joined me outside for a beer, and again, I was able to appreciate the spirit of the moment, simply having a quiet, relaxing weekend.
Monday was our final holiday of the Easter break, and I didn't too much more than visit the gym for an hour, then hang about one last day before returning to work.
Boring? No, not at all.
Quiet? Absolutely. Like a library.
Of course, I was back to work on Tuesday, but with the knowledge that it would be a short work week, and sure enough, here it is Friday noon, and I am prepping for another weekend. I will likely be a bit more lively this weekend, perhaps like a wiggly bunny, albeit without the costume.
see you out there
bryan
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