Quiet Sunday

Sunday we traveled to Halle, the birthplace of Handel. It seemed like it was going to be a perfect day for travel as we stood in the sunshine on the platform at the Bielefeld train station, ready to set off. It was to be about a 3.5 hour trip on the train each way. The first hint that it might not be so perfect came from Isaac. As we sat down in our seats in the ICE, Isaac had a diaper blowout. Not to worry - I had extra clothes. (Sadly, only for him, not for me, who now had a nice stain on the front of my shirt.)Sam and Katie frolicking in the fountains in front of the Hannover train station. We weren't supposed to be hanging out in Hannover, but our train arrived to the station late and we missed our connection. So we waited for the next train an hour later. This meant we would only have 2 hours in Halle, but as I've said before, the train ride is a big part of the adventure for us. Dave, Sam, and Katie (drying off) in front of an impressive statue at the entrance to the Hannover Hauptbahnhof.Poor Grace was really under the weather. We didn't realize it until we started out the day. She had a crummy cold with some sort of bonus viral rash. We didn't get many smiles out of her. In retrospect, it probably wasn't the best day to travel.

As if to confirm that hunch, our car on the connecting train from Hannover to Halle had its climate controls out of order, so it was full of sweaty, sticky folks. It was a newer train, so it didn't have windows that could open. On the plus side, the conductor was very thoughtful and brought around water for all.This is the main pedestrian throughfare in Halle leading to the city center. Sunday was the last day of Handelfest, the yearly festival held there to celebrate Handel's connection to the city.Halle is an interestesting mix of prewar "oldstyle" German buildings and postwar communist yuck. It has a different feel from the western German cities we've been too. Here's some of the yuck.This is the city center. Lined by beautiful churches.The only grass we saw all day in Halle was some temporary grass placed around the Handel statue in the market square. Grace was such a trooper.Our goal was to see Handel's birthplace. And here it is. A secondary goal was to hear some Handel music. That goal was not met. Ergo the quiet Sunday.In the courtyard of Handelhaus. We walked by this house that was being restored. You can see all the guts of the structure of the house.Riding a horse out of town. Luckily, our train ride home involved no transfers. Not so luckily for the young lady riding in the train compartment with us, the kids were frazzled and on atrocious behavior. Might have had something to do with the fact that they'd primarily had ice cream for sustinence that day. Hmmm, another parenting choice to revisit.
Grace this morning - feeling and looking much better. We are hanging low today and taking lots of naps.