Yesterday we ended up not making it to bed until early morning and that combined with all the panic and running around over the previous few days had us very tired so we spent the day at Hanno and Isa's sleeping in till late morning and then I started getting caught up with work and Connie did some organizing of all the stuff we'd bought that we would need to bring back. The weather was hot and sunny so we spent some time relaxing and catching some sun and I unpacked my bike again so I could do some more cycling over the next few days. We ended the day with a great BBQ in the evening.

Today I went out for a nice ride . The forecast was for more sunny and hot weather so I went early so I wouldn't be riding in 30+ degrees. Although certainly not mountainous like the Alps, the area surrounding Stuttgart is nice and hilly with numerous cycle paths within the towns and between towns there's usually paved paths that are used by farmers, pedestrians and cycling. Where there weren't any paths the back roads were nicely paved and the passing traffic always gave lots of room.

Once I got back I went back to getting caught up at work while Connie did some domestic stuff so we'd have clean clothes to wear. In the afternoon we went to the stadtmitte and met up with Hanno to do some shopping at a store that deals in traditional German clothes like drindl dresses and lederhosen. Connie picked up some accompaniments for the drindl dress that Isa gave her and then she and Hanno talked me into getting a pair of lederhosen along with all the other goodies. We're all set for the next Oktoberfest in Barrie or Waterloo now...maybe even halloween. Of course now we'll need to plan another trip back to Stuttgart in September some time so we can wear our goods in the big fest they have every year.

Speaking of fests, there just happened to be one going on in the stadtmitte and we met Isa and Hugo there. It was the Hamburg Fisch Markt (fish market) that takes places every summer in Stuttgart. The vendors bring their fish specialites and beer straight out
of the port city of Hamburg and set up around a square downtown, in the middle are all the beer tents. The vendors are funny as many of them yell out to walkers by to get them to stop at their stands, which include fresh fish to take home, unique gift items, and cooked food you can have with your beer right there. We stayed there for quite a while, but as the evening wore on towards 8pm the crowds became large, particularly because it was a Friday. It was around 30 degrees Celsius and with no air movement under the tents within the square combined with the crowds the place became stiflingly hot, so we finished up and made our way home. We didn't stay up very late because we had a pretty full agenda lined up for the next day.