Downtown

Today, we headed downtown on the Stadtbahn (city train) to run some errands. The priorities were to purchase another outlet convertor for one of our computers, buy a Lego kit for Sam, and buy a dress for Katie. It was a beautiful day. Bielefeld is a pretty big city - 330,000 people. Downtown was a busy place -lots going on. We ended up finding all of our purchases at the Galleria Mall H&M store (except Katie's purchase morphed - she got a bracelet.)

Dave and I chuckled at how all the clothes we saw in the department store were so vibrant and colorful, yet all the people we have encountered in Bielefeld seem to wear only one palette of colors: white, black, and brown. Not quite sure who is buying those clothes at H&M.

We had planned to also visit the Sparrenberg Castle, a short walk from the mall, but one of the family members (his name starts with "D") had a meltdown from all the stress of dealing with the busy sidewalks and throngs of people. So we stopped at the tourist office for Bielefeld for some info and then headed back to our part of town to buy some things at the market (stores are all closed on Sundays) and to let the kids burn off some energy at the playground. Must have worked, because Sam didn't even have the patience to put together his Lego kit. He fell asleep in his chair and he's out for the night.

Dave says he's getting worn out by all the disapproving German looks we get as people see our family herd by. (Nobody here seems to have more than a couple of children.) Of course, I don't think anybody is really looking at us disapprovingly, we are just sensitive because we feel like bulls in a china shop maneuvering with our clan of kids. For sure, Grace and Isaac bring about lots of smiles from onlookers.

Dave got some great news last night. He's been invited to give a talk at a conference in Trondheim, Norway in August. Trondheim is the same place where he spent three weeks this winter just before Isaac was born. The organizers of the conference have also invited him to stay for a couple of weeks to collaborate on some mathematics. Norway in August sounds so much more appealing than Texas in August. (Note to my mom: I'll be needing you to come help out with the kids for two weeks in August!)

While we were downtown, at three different places I saw middle aged people with Down syndrome, out and about solo, taking the train, and going about their business. Always nice to see - helps me remember to keep our dreams for Grace the same as they are for Sam, Katie, and Isaac.

Speaking of Grace, she was being obstinate about hitting the hay tonight, so here's Dave (with his trusty German beer) keeping her company until she fell asleep.

And last but not least, lovely Katie in her pajamas (yes, it's actually her swimsuit, but it pales in comparison to the sequined skirt she chose for pajamas last night) posing with her German dictionary - which, for the record, never seems to have any of the words I want to look up.