Day 18: Dusk Till Dawn

Morning Run

I was up this morning at about 5:45 or so. I wanted to squeeze in a run before the work day on my new “Home Loop”. I got out of the room by about 6:20 or so, just the sun started to rise into the sky. The smell of fresh air after recent rain fall is my favorite. Everything seems greener than normal. Running past the pond, I watched a little family of ducks, a mother and father playing with the little ducklings.

I didn’t see anyone on the trails near the park this morning, except for a woman and her cute dog. I think it was an Australian Shepherd. From the park at the top of the hill, Sindelfingen looked like it was stuck in a deep fog. The Mercedes-Benz factory buildings were peeking out the top of the white wall slowly moving through the city.

As I made my way down the hill, I noticed more cars on the road as people made their way to work. I ran past a little florist’s shop, the shopkeeper putting out plants of all types. I made a wrong turn, and ended up at a new park. I saw a father playing with his child at the nearby Spielplatz (translation: play place or jungle gym). I eventually made the final left turn and ended back at the hotel.

Finishing my run, I walked around the block to catch my breath. Next to the hotel entrance, I saw a sign for the new VVS train ticket that lets anyone travel around Germany via train local and regional trains for just €49 per month. It goes live on May 1st, 2023. I have yet to spend a post talking about the German train system, which I absolutely love (when it works!). I can't wait for this to go live.

There’s nothing like the rush of endorphins induced by running in the morning right before work and finding cheap ways to get around. Grabbing a banana, salami + cheese, yogurt and orange juice, it was time to head to the office.

Dinner Time

Like I mentioned yesterday, this week is going to be busy. I’ll definitely keep posting regularly, but I’ll mostly talk about my morning runs and my dinner outings. Tonight, I went back to Marienplatz again, this time with a co-worker visiting for a few days from Sunnyvale. It was nice to spend time with a teammate, catching up on the happenings of the last few weeks or so. Stepping out of the office, I was finally greeted with some sunshine and blue skies.

We caught up over burgers at Hans im Glück. This is one of my favorite burger joints in Stuttgart. It’s all over Germany, so it’s nothing special to the area, but I think the burgers are phenomenal. The trunks of birch trees run from floor to ceiling throughout the interior. Hanging lights and boutique paintings can be seen around the restaurant.

I had a Gipfelstürmerin (translation: summiteer), which is rum-based cocktail apricot brandy, almond, pineapple, lemon and lime. It went well with my Wilder Westen (translation: Wild West) burger with cheese, barbecue sauce, and onion rings. It was a great sweet-savory combination.

Our dinner topics ranged from the custom-built ukeleles he just purchased near Berlin to my experience so far assimilating to German / European culture to all the things one can configure on a bicycle built from scratch as we watched bicyclists traveling up and down the nearby, newly created Fahradstrasse (translation: bike street), ending finally on the upcoming travel plans we both have planned. Great meal, great conversations, great company.

I'm now back at my hotel room, and I'm ready to crash. The next few days are going to be busy, so I’ll take whatever time I can get to rest.

Frieden und Liebe ❤️ (translation: peace and love)