Happy Birthday, Glenn!

Ah, Spring is at it's peak this week! We got back from our trip to Germany just in time to find our flowers in full bloom.

I love strolling through my yard every morning when I finish my walk with Janet to see what flowers have broken through the ground or opened their blooms since the day before. It's like a new surprise every day! Glenn and I enjoy walking in our neighborhood and admiring all the varieties of flowers. Each Spring when the bulbs start breaking ground, I am appreciative of my son-in-law, Jonathan, who planted a bag of 100 bulbs for us our first year here.

During the week, Glenn and I both were busy with returning emails. We did get a break on Friday at lunch when the Rierson's came for a short visit. They used to live down the street from us until last year when they moved to London. They were in town for Spring Break and brought their two boys back to visit all their old school friends. It was good to see them again!

The big news of the week is that yesterday (April 10) was Glenn's birthday. I always like to stay around the house on my birthday because I want to be home when folks call to wish me a happy birthday, but Glenn wanted to go on a bike ride on his birthday, so we did. (About 5 people called while we were gone to wish him a happy birthday. Thank you for leaving messages!)

It was a little cool and overcast, but we were adequately prepared so it was quite pleasant. We rode along the Danube River, going AWAY from town, as much as we could, until we got to this bridge that took us onto an island called Csepel.

Construction on the Harosi Duna Hid (Haros Danube Bridge) that took us over the Danube River onto the island was started around the time the Berlin Wall fell and Communism broke apart. It struck me as I noticed the date of construction that the bridge was being BUILT as a way to connect one world with another (Budapest with Csepel), and the wall was DESTROYED as a way of connecting two other worlds together (east and west Germany).

We found this wonderful path that runs parallel with the river that is part of the land owned and managed by the Water Works department. We went in one direction until the path ended, which was 6 kilometers. Next time we'll go the opposite direction on the path to see how far it goes! All in all, we rode 25 kilometers yesterday. I was very, very thankful for my new biking shorts with the padded seat (worn under my long pants, of course!)

Big news for this coming week! The Doyles return on Thursday and we will be soooooo glad to see them. I'm sure there will be pictures of the reunion for you for next week!