Bird Watching

It's stork season near us - just look at this beauty we spotted yesterday on our way back from Bremen.

Hedgehog Alert!

source

On my walk on Sunday I came the closest I've ever been to a hedgehog!!  I have seen one before but never this big, brown or close.  I was just walking up the hill in the park near our flat and out of the corner of my eye so some movement and there he was just next to the path.  Instead of being frightened away he walked right into my path and then back into the bush.  I have to say, I was really surprised at how fast he was.  I always thought they were really slow like tortoises and that's why they have to curl up to stave off predators but not so!  His legs were very long and quick.  After the baby red squirrel last week and the bird on the balcony this week (thankfully Pete wasn't here for that) I think my wildlife experiences here in Huchting are on the up!

Disclaimer - the above photo is not mine.  Unfortunately I didn't have the camera with me (and would probably have been to slow if I had had).  You can find the lovely picture as a wallpaper here.

Photo Walk, theme - Round

After reading this post from Elise Blaha, I decided to try a little photo walk of my own while we were out and about in Huchting on Monday and here are the results:

Puzzle

Last week we noticed these crazy colours everywhere around our local church.  I've never seen anything like it but we figured it must be either something to do with confirmation time at the church or something to do with a festival called Aktionata which is supposed to be going on in Huchting right now... who knows??

New Flat Pictures at last!

Here are some long promised pictures of our new place.

The Dining Area

Living Room

Kitchen

Bathroom & Washroom

Guest WC

Main Bedroom

Main Bedroom

Nature

One of the best things about living in Bremen is that it is so green.  Not just politically and in terms of recycling and things but literally.  Wherever you are in the city you are never far from somewhere natural and relaxing.  At my old flat it was the Werder lake and for Nico it was a lake just over the main road.  Even in the city centre you have the green parks where the city wall used to be and Burger Park.

Huchting, where we live now, seems to be the greenest place yet though.  On our very first journey here to view the flat, we noticed immediately the sense of being out of the city and into the green with the allotments, lakes, trees,...  However, since moving we've seen it more and more every day.  We took a walk in our first week here and were in a park in about one minute flat.  There's a water channel right by our building so we are often woken by ducks.  Having the top floor also makes us more at one with nature.  When we've been sat on the balcony, we've noticed it's not just wasps that fly this high, birds, butterflies, even dragonflies are all around here.

This week that border between city and green has been all the more important.  I really get a sense of gearing up for work on a morning and winding down on my way home because of the cycle route - lovely!

On the Move

Well we made it!  After a whole week of packing up boxes, our army of helpers arrived on Saturday and helped us transport the whole lot from our two flats across Bremen to Huchting and our new haven!

We've since spent the last few days unpacking, cleaning and putting up furniture.  We have finished with the furniture this very minute and I'll post some pictures once we have finished with the boxes!  It's incredible how much stuff two people can accumulate!

The new feeling has not worn off yet, we've had a week of almost glorious sunshine until last night when the heavens opened and Bremen actually flooded!  (I've witnessed all weathers here now!)  Today it's beautiful again and we have had the windows open since we got here.  The two balconies are amazing.  All of our plants are on the back balcony and my little tree pot is also growing mushrooms!!  Eek!

We had a little ride around Huchting on the bikes yesterday and discovered all kinds of shops including a big shopping centre with my favourite book shop.  Still got more to discover and settle in properly but so far it's going ok and as you can see, we have finally been reconnected with the wider world via our phone and internet today!