Autumn Pictures

We didn't capture first day of school pics this year ... Possibly because it was raining ... Again .... In Drizzeldorf ...


In retrospect it was a good thing, because the the 15 km (9.3 mile) route that had taken us 22 minutes the week before when the girls went to soccer camp turned into a 40 minute surprise commute that rendered parking at either school an impossibility. (I had guessed that I wouldn't be able to find parking, which was the only correct prediction of that morning.) I dropped the girls at an intersection a few blocks before school ... And then parked in a free 24 hour lot I had scoped out the week before. I hoofed it to school only to arrive in the elementary school courtyard, just after my youngest's class had already gone up to their classroom. Nailed it.


The next morning we left earlier. And made it in plenty of time. We learned two important things about local German traffic that first week. First, local traffic is always heavier on Mondays. Second, traffic is always heavier on days that rains. (That one seems a bit ironic in a place where cloudy and overcast and rain seems disproportionately abundant.) But we also recognized something else ... On days there is no chance of rain more people must walk or bike, or maybe choose public transportation, freeing up the roadways and shaving our trip to school nearly in half. (Another personal hypothesis is that because it rains so often, the locals seem to celebrate the days that are dry :: there are way more convertibles and outdoor eateries than one would imagine in a land where, according to weatherspark.com "The median cloud cover is 85% (mostly cloudy) and does not vary substantially over the course of the year." )


But this last week has been gorgeous! And we are basking in the 15% window that is free of cloud cover. The shaddows stretch long in the evenings, and the sun filters brilliantly through turning leaves.


And so, with the weather improved, and the commute somewhat conquered, this week I talked the girls into some quick autumn photos. And although they aren't the traditional squeaky clean, first day of school style ... they work!

(This isn't her best pose ... Because she was insisting on cartwheels instead!)