Imagine the setting: a sun-filled garden, summer flowers blooming, shade under the trees, garden chairs around a table filled with lovely fresh food, real coffee in the pot. Sigh with content and relax. We are sitting with our friend Gertrude whom we last saw in Iran in 2013. We really had to stop and see Gertrude before she goes off on a short holiday and we are extremely happy to make it to her home.
We spend a few days here in Dorverden and out and about in the region. This is Lower Saxony and the landscape is large farms and woodland, fabulous old farms and barns some of which date back 500 years. Gertrude has always lived in this area and we visit her family home (now her brother's farm), the lovely old town of Celle and the city of Lubeck. She treats us at every opportunity and she thinks about everything. At first we are swept away in Gertrude's delight in being able to show us these places. The weather is perfect - sunshine every day - and it's lovely that we can relax at her home while she generously feeds us wonderful meals. But the cycling finally catches up with us and we have to pause for breath. But this is okay as Gertrude has some things to prepare for her trip. We get a much-needed rest here and have a great time with our friend before setting out once again.
