Just Hanging

We spent the day missing Dave.  Just kidding.  (kind of)  We spent the day hanging out.  Like the hobbits, the kids demand breakfast numbers 1, 2, and 3 before noon. While they oscillated  between eating, playing, and fighting,  I connected with our apartment and continued organizing and making lists.  I forget that a few months are required to settle into a space.

In the afternoon, we walked leisurely to meet a German mom I befriended for coffee at Siesmayer, an amazing French pastry cafe within Frankfurt's famous Palmagarten - botanical garden.  After hot chocolate, cappuccinos, and croissants, we headed to Gruneburgpark.  Frankfurt is filled with green parks.  Gruneburger, named "green castle" based on a castle that stood there during the 14th century, boasts the most acres of all city parks.  (The park also has a sad history.  The Rothchilds owned it beginning in 1837.  In 1935, after the Nazi rise to power, he "donated" it to the city.)

Along with tree lined running trails, mini playgrounds are scattered throughout the place.  These playgrounds each feature unique equipment that force kids to develop core strength and balance skills.

As we walked home, we noticed a "Stolperstein" - a small cobblestone sized memorial for individual victims of Nazism.  To quote Wikipedia, "they commemorate individuals – both those who died and survivors – who were consigned by the Nazis to prisons, euthanasia facilities, sterilization clinics, concentration camps, and extermination camps, as well as those who responded to persecution by emigrating or committing suicide."  The artist felt people would pay respect by bowing to read the words and foot traffic would keep the stone shiny.

These stones remind me of how fortunate I am.