Saturday, May 31, 2014

Changes

I've spent this past week with my folks in Germany. After having visited the last time about six months ago, there have been changes, big and small.

The most unexpected one is the fact that my father has been diagnosed with a debilitating disease which has slowed him down considerably. Back in April, his health condition was quite acute, but he is doing much better now. My mother is taking care of him very well and I hope and pray that things will further improve.

As usual, there have also been changes in my home city. They have been working for several years already on the tunneling of the tram system on the main shopping street. It's a huge project, which became necessary as the number of trams going through the city centre increased considerably over the years. Thus, there have been big construction areas all over. I couldn't recognize the market square anymore, which is right in the heart of the city. This is how it used to look like:


As you can see, there is a pyramid in the middle, but now you can't recognize it anymore:


It's obviously an enormous project, but let's see how it's going to look like when it's done.

Anyway, I've enjoyed the greener setting around my parents' home and the fact that there are more birds singing here. I also went with my parents and grandmother to the Rose Society Garden in Baden-Baden (Black Forest). Although it isn't peak season yet, there were many beautiful roses already:

A rather unusual color for a rose

Two different colors in one bush

Nice gates

We also saw a heron

On Monday, I'll be headed back to Brussels. So let's see what the coming month will bring...

No comments: