Day in B-burg

I had a very pleasant time in Brandenburg yesterday. The weather was again exceptional for the start of October. Heike met me at the railway station and we walked to an Italian restuarant near her home.

Friends were waiting and after greetings we went in to our reserved table. Next to me sat a couple who had just returned from Hong Kong, so we had a lot to talk about comparing their visit with mine in Beijing.

On my other side sat a very nice lady who helps Heike to learn Spanish. That is her first language for she comes from Chile. We talked about her very interesting past. She had to flee Chile in 1973 with her husband and six young children. The fled from the military coup into Argentina, then to Europe where the government of the DDR offered them asylum. I remember that period very well.

The food was as good as the company and conversation. We emerged into the late afternoon sun and walked into the Alt Stadt then to the island with the original settlement of Brandenburg. We went into the cathedral to look at an exhibition. Heike and I then walked along the river and into a Gasthof next to a yacht/boat harbour. We watched the sun settle towards the river as we sipped a cool drink.

As dusk arrived I was back at the railway station then on my way to Berlin. Many thanks Heike for such a pleasant, relaxing day.