We meet again. This is the post that shares a little bit of everything, a catch up, a progress report and plans for the future. And all written in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Today my chosen tea is a seasonal speciality, Japanese cherry blossom. Whilst I’m not mad keen on artificial cherry, these didn’t smell particularly strong (yes thats me over there smelling packets of tea in the supermarket, much to my husbands amusement) and since it’s white tea I thought it would be a good ‘enjoy on the balcony in the sun’ tea. Unfortunately, it’s been raining more than ever since I bought it, classic sods law. Unless you like your tea super sweet I wouldn’t recommend steeping it for more than 2 minutes, after that the artificial sweetener taste got too strong for me. If you want a light refreshing tea with a cherry scent and a slightly floral aftertaste, this might be the tea for you.

Sunday 1st May marked the start  of another favourite German season, Freibad season. Technically our local pool opened on Saturday 30th April, so MrC and I went down to see if we could bag ourselves some early bird discount season passes, and have a sneaky look at the new pool they’ve installed since last summer. Whilst we were in the queue we realised the only ID we had was our UK driving licences, we had nothing with our addresses on, no registration letter, nothing. I had a panic, almost every time I’ve ever had to sign up for anything in Germany the paperwork has been extensive, only my passport works as ID and I’m completely used to being sent away with a list of what I need to bring back next time. This time was different. The women working there welcomed us with smiles, took our drivers licences only to check the spelling of our names, took our photos on the spot and handed back both passes in less than five minutes. We had such a good experience we went home merely to change and get our towels, before trying out the new pool which was happily pretty warm.

Also Weinwanderung season has kicked off again. Want to know what happens on one? check out a beginners guide here. I’ve been pencilling in ones based on a few factors, ones that look particularly fun, have good wines, aren’t too crowded (though the weather usually sorts this out) and aren’t too sporty. Unfortunately my categories haven’t helped to narrow down the decision a lot, any recommendations gratefully received.

I’m still on course with my five year diary. Just those couple of sentences a day have reignited my journal loving inner child. I loved to write as a kid, but my mum and sister read my diary and teased me mercilessly. I really needed that escape as a kid, instead I dived in to the safety of other writers imaginary worlds, Narnia, St Clares and The Secret Garden. I’m looking forward to being able to compare all the years in 2020. I can’t help wondering where I’ll be by then.

The Brexit. It comes up in almost every conversation I have with a Brit recently. From those living there, they are sick and tired of the coverage all over the media constantly. From those living here, the Brits are either making sure that they are registered to vote or annoyed that they can’t vote due to the ridiculous 15 year rule (which may be abolished next year but campaign promises are never real promises are they?). I haven’t spoken to any Brit here who ‘wants out’ of the EU  but those Brits in the UK I’m not so sure, I have a feeling it could be a close call. If you haven’t yet registered to vote look here.

Happy Tuesday folks.