Day 10 - Jane's Birthday!

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Got up and got some lovin’ from Big G. He was just loving having his Mommy, Daddy and Aunt all over him. I took him for walkies…we didn’t get far. Walk 3 feet, sit down, wash one side of face. Walk 3 feet, sit down wash other side. Walk 3 feet, wash ruff. Walk 3 feet, climb into tire which has flowers in it, curl up. He is so adorable.

Jane, Thomas and Mike drove to the grocery store and I stayed behind to work on travel diaries, exercise my broken arm and enjoy the sunshine. When they returned we drove into Freiburg.

Thomas went to shop for jeans while Jane, Mike & I strolled around Freiberg. Lots of street musicians, including a guy who apparently can play only one note on the bass fiddle, but he was wearing a kilt and stockings. Very Dame Edna from the waist down. There was an excellent guitarist with a silly dancer. Another guy was playing an incredibly difficult classical piece on an accordion. Johann Sebastian Squeezbach(s). There was a trio of trombonists, and some excellent breakdancers! I must say that the quality of street performers in Freiberg FAR surpasses those in Heidelberg. There were also some artists.

We walked to the Münsterplatz and shared two different kinds of wursts from the carts which surround the Munster, then walked around the corner to buy some more fresh dates, a persimmon and a fresh fig. From there we walked to the Augustinplatz where we found a free children’s nature museum. VERY interesting to see an exhibit on the American Indian. Also there was a gem and mineral exhibit with some fluorescent minerals from Franklin NJ (near where I live.) Bought some cooooooool gifts there for some people we know and love (starts with a b, ends with an e and has and e in the middle, and starts with a p, ends with a t, has an a in the middle…) While walking around we Jane said, "I think I'm having a 'big hair' moment!" We looked over and there was a woman with Ronnie Hair. The German Ronnie. Except much older-looking and not as adorable, naturally. But we did get a picture of her.

Mike & Jane went to grab seats on the terrace of a restaurant in the Augustinplatz while I went into a homegoods store ($22 washcloth? I don’t think so.) I came out and couldn’t find them, but Keith Richards (or, as Mike said, “it has to be some rock star") was sitting there. Clearly he had been a bass player at one time. He could win a “stubbed out cigarette upright walking iguana” contest. Mike got pictures.

They found me and Thomas had arrived so we had drinks and relaxed. It was a lovely day and there was a lovely view of a building with a periwinkle façade, violet shutters and deep purple petunias spilling from window boxes.

I had released a book on a bench in the platz, and as Jane and I walked by it, a derelict picked up the book and began reading the whole “I’m not lost, I’m free” sticker to us and encouraging us to take the book because it was in English. I was beginning to think that we weren’t going to get away without taking that book with us. I released another book in Starbucks, and Jane released a book at the restaurant in the platz.

We strolled back towards the car and Jane suggested I go into DM for the bath stuff I was looking for. (I had just bought a bottle of it at Smile in Berwyn, MD for $12; DM had it for .95 Euro.) So I loaded a bottle of each flavor in my arms (4 in all) and before I could move an inch, one bottle slid out of my arms and smashed on the floor. I said to Jane, “what should I do?” and she said, “keep moving.” We checked out and my poor left foot was just covered with thick bath gel. Thinking quickly, Jane helped me balance and I dipped my foot into the Bächle. We howled when we saw the bubbles travel down the stream. Walked a few feet and looked down, and we started howling again – there were bubbles foaming out of my shoe. We dipped me 2 more times before it finally seemed to be clean. Made it back to the car without any further incidents and drove home.

Jane and Thomas whipped up a fabulous dinner of mixed pasta with sauce, cheese and meat, a salad and baguette with champagne and we opened one of Jane’s presents from Mike, “Napoleon Dynamite” which we watched while we ate dinner.

After dinner Jane opened all of her other presents. I think she was very happy and surprised by many of her gifts. Of course, many of the presents had a birthday theme - Mom and I gave her a "Martini Mover" of her own. There's a picture of her "olive buoy" above. We watched a few episodes of “Chicken Robot” before turning in.