Chemnitz, Germany – Week 1

Saturday 16th November, 2019
Happy anniversary to Gavin and Kristy. Hope you have a lovely day.

Well Benny is off to work today till 2pm, so with  the inclement looking weather I will enjoy a relaxed morning in his lovely apartment. I received a call on his home phone and thinking it was his delivery as I didn’t understand anything I said, I indicated the 4th floor in German and opened the door. This wasn’t a delivery but a couple of Jehovah’s who offered me a business card and in limited english suggested I look at their website. Oops!

Tonight I am heading to the Opera to watch 10 of the dancers from Benny’s company and the Opera Company perform in “Mefistofele”. This was spectacular but last time I saw it I was too tired and slept a lot of it. Photos in the link below if you want to have a look.

https://www.theater-chemnitz.de/spielplan/mefistofele/8853

Friday 15th November, 2019
Well another really good night sleep again. Followed by a lovely walk around the lake, a 1500m slow swim and a walk home. A quiet afternoon with Benny waiting for another delivery. A top of 11°C, a balmy winter’s day.

Thursday 14th November 2019
Another quiet day at home, just chatting on the phone, computing, reading and waiting for another delivery for Benny. Sorry DB for your manic life I will be home soon. The weather today looked beautiful, the sun was shining on to Benny’s bed, it was a lovely spot to enjoy the warmth and quiet. I almost missed the delivery as when the phone rang I told the guy the fourth floor but then forgot to unlock the downstairs door. Not used to apartment living. When he didn’t arrive I realised but he had already gone. I had to chase him up the street to get him to come back with Benny’s furniture. Another night of building Ikea stuff.

Wednesday 13th November, 2019
Well another quiet day. A lovely cooked breakfast with Benny before he heads off the work at about 9am. I am sleeping a lot better now. Getting about 7-8 hours sleep and sleeping in until at least 6.30am. Yay! Hanging at home this morning hoping Benny’s delivery will arrive before I head out. Oh well. It wasn’t to be. I headed out about 12pm for a walk around the lake, it was beautiful and still although a little rainy. After my walk I headed for my first visit to the Chemnitz Stadtbad (City Bath). It is just a few minutes walk from Benny’s work. Well as always the first time doing something in a foreign country without their language is always a little challenge. After paying my entry 3.50€ I was given a token and directions to the ladies. It is a lovely facility. I struggled to get my token to work in the turnstile but managed it eventually. Then to get a locker, in the end I had to ask for help from a girl just leaving. It turned out it wasn’t my ignorance just some lockers were missing the key. Then I went for a swim and managed 1km slowly as directed. Then struggled with removing my token from my locker, again asking help the lady just pulled it out and indicated in body language that you just need muscles. Haha! It was really nice to be back in the water, albeit a little slow.

I then met Benny and we did a little shopping in the town centre before I headed home and Ben went back to work for another 4 hours. It was almost dark by this stage and it was only 4.30pm. Benny’s new apartment is only a 15 minute flat walk from his work.

Anyway. Another day almost done and dusted. Counting them down slowly.

Tuesday 12th November, 2019
Today I am just hanging at home waiting for another delivery, it is a little gloomy out today, no sunshine and only 2°C to 6°C. A little chilly, but inside and under a blanket it is all good. Time to catch up a little with family and my husband on the phone, a little blogging and relaxation. Sorry DB your life is a little more hectic than mine now. Won’t be too long and I will be home again.

Monday 11th November, 2019
Another lovely day of sunshine, but a little cooler due to the wind today. We managed a walk around the lake again and then a little shopping before heading back to the respite of warmth in his new apartment, which by the way is very lovely. Light, roomy and clean. He is now on the fourth floor so it is also a little more private. We spent a lovely afternoon just looking through our family’s photos from the last year so he could enjoy the growth and feel a part of everyone’s life. It was a most enjoyable afternoon as we waited for his furniture delivery which arrived at 6pm. After a flurry of activity building his Ikea shelves, 2 x outdoor chairs and armchair, we headed out for Isabel’s birthday dinner at a German equivalent of our Grill’d. Fancy burger bar where we enjoyed an interesting, varied language (English, German and Spanish) conversation with Isabel (German), Jean-Blaise (French), Soomi (Korean), Alejandro (Spanish), Benny and I (Australian). I didn’t follow it all but it was lovely to be included in Benny’s German family’s celebration. A very special opportunity. There time clocks are very different to mine though as we headed out for dinner at 8.10pm and only 1°C, almost my bedtime, and didn’t get home till after 10.30pm on a night before the start of a full work week. Lucky for me it is recuperation time now.

Sunday 10th November, 2019
Well I managed a good nights sleep at last. I think the lack of air-conditioning and heating  and maybe the 2.5 weeks of manic pace assisted me tonight. We went for a lovely stroll to the Schlossteich as it was a beautiful sunny day albeit only 6°C. whilst walking in the sunshine it was quite pleasant, although a little cold in the shade, as long as you kept moving it was OK. This afternoon I have been to watch Benny’s matinee performance of Swan Lake again, it was fantastic and I even managed to see the whole show without any micro sleeps. Yay me!! I love watching him and his friends, they are so talented. We then went for dinner at a nice Vietnamese Restaurant. Time for a few vegetables. It was a lovely dinner and wonderful to spend some time with Ben.