Castle Concert, Handball and Eating in Bed...

Here we are ready to go in for the game on October 3
Leipzig (Yellow) beat Nürnberg
Now we're in Sol y Mar "eating in bed" as it were...
We needed two beds - psychiatry people are like that...

Steve and Marita in the castle garden at the Gohlis Schlößchen
Steve and I in the garden (Steve is sporting his new purchase from Karstadt - a heavy coat much too warm for the weather on that day).
How does Autumn approach in central Europe? You slowely migrate inside, and take on indoor activities. The beginning of October has demonstrated this. Tuesday last week, a holiday in Germany, Day of German Unity, gave the chance to watch ladies’ handball in Leipzig. Leipzig played against Nuremburg and won (!). I and my friends from psychiatry went to the game, and afterwards we went to Sol y Mar, I unique restaurant. When you call to reserve there, they ask you, “for sitting or for lying?” Sol y Mar has very big beds with lots of pillows, so you can lie and dine on tables in the middle of the bed. Of course, you can also dine traditionally at rattan tables and sit on rattan chairs. Since we were seven, we needed two beds for all of us. (Must have room to negotiate…) New age music plays in the background, and candles cast flickers shadows as they illuminate the palm trees dispersed throughout this minimalist restaurant.
This past weekend was a glorious autumn present, with sunshine and mild fall temperatures. Steve and Marita, my dear friends from Pirna, came for the weekend, and on Saturday we devoted the afternoon to the grand opening of Karstadt, the major German department store which has an 8 story huge store now in Leipzig. Sat. evening we dined at a street restaurant in the Barfussgässchen, a famous street in the city centre, then went to the movies (“the Perfume” was our choice, and we liked it). Sunday we were at a baroque castle in Gohlis to the north of Leipzig for a piano concert. Haydn, Beethoven, Satie, and Chopin were performed, and we made these charming photos in the castle gardens. Notice the quality of the sunlight in the middle of the afternoon in the photos. The sun is lower and weaker now, so it doesn’t get any brighter than this right now, and it will only get weaker until December 21, when the days start getting longer. It was a wonderful weekend and the conclusion of a wonderful week. My mother is doing better, so that was more than the icing on the cake (oder das Sahnehäubchen auf Deutsch). Thanks for remembering my mother.