Rachel's in Germany!: The perfect Saturday afternoon . . .

The weather today was amazing! As sunny (and almost as warm) as California! I haven't seen any rain yet . . . guess I must have brought the California climate with me. Indra, Petra, and I took a long walk in the Stadtpark. There were a lot of people out walking, cycling, canoeing, flying kites, playing soccer, and having barbecues. Indra said this is rare to have such a warm day so early in the year. We also picked some flowers to put in our rooms, and it was funny because people kept telling us we weren't allowed and that we were ruining the beauty of the public space by picking them.

At the planetarium, Indra's friend Ben met us. We went up to the observation deck at the top of the dome to look out across the city, and the view was awesome! It was at least nine or ten stories, so we could see really far. None of us could have asked for a more perfect day to be out. It reminded me of going to the Griffith Observatory on a nice day in L.A.

As planned, we went back to Georgi-Haus to make veggie burgers. It took a while to get them all made, but the work went faster with four people, and they turned out really delicious. I also found a recipe for homemade thousand island dressing to put on them, which made them even better. So Mom, you can be proud of me, because I actually cooked two dinner dishes from scratch this week and succeeded at both of them!!!

Also finished a new piece of cut-paper wall art (made from some papers I was going to throw away). It really helps my room look less blank. Plus I added more flowers to the vase on my desk . . . so things are feeling much more homey!

I couldn't have asked for a better Saturday. Hopefully my time in Hamburg will involve more weekends like this one!