Minor Victory Monday and Cheering Up.

(Achtung: Lots of pictures in this post. If you don't like it. Move on.)

Today is Monday. It's the day after Nick left. It has been a rough start so far, but the first day is over and from now on, he can only come back.

My biggest gift right now is that my brother is here. He arrived last night and having him around is not only an overall pleasure, but it also helps me to have a daily routine that also includes sleep. The first night, while Nick was still traveling and on the plane, Lucy and I were up, watching the flight tracker until it was time to have lunch. (I'm not only terrified of flying when I'm in the plane, but also when others are in the air.) Last night, I finally slept a number of hours in a row and that was definitely a minor victory for me.

I had grand plans for today. I wanted to take Lucy for a walk in the morning, go to the gym, have breakfast, go to my dentist appointment at 2pm and spend the rest of the afternoon reading - until my brother got home from his class.

All went well, until I realized that my dentist appointment is not at 2pm, but an hour earlier - as I was getting ready for the gym.
So everything got messed up. The dentist took forever, I didn't get to go to the gym until about 4pm and by the time I got home, it was already getting dark.

Anyhow, while today wasn't really a successful work day, I managed to drag my sad self out of the house yesterday and bike to the library. Do you remember when I wanted to go to the library the other day, but there was a cable fire!? I ended up going and the most important book wasn't on the shelf. The system said that it wasn't taken out, so it was either used in the building, or misplaced.
Yesterday, I made it my mission to find this book - whatever it would take.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and by that I mean, I was so blown away by how pretty it was, I stopped a few times on my way home to take pictures.

Brandenburger Tor - such a special place.

That's why there are so many people there - every day.
Especially if it's nice out.

...and nice out it was! Look at the colors of those trees!

Brandenburger Tor, looking towards the eastern side. 

I just had to go through the park.

You wouldn't expect this to be less than
half a mile away from one of the biggest
tourist attractions of the city. 

Fall is truly my favorite season. 

Do you see the swan?! He totally snuck into my picture.
Well done, swan. Well done.

We yet have to explore the city by boat. It is on our list, though. 

We are so lucky to be living in such a beautiful place. Berlin really has it all. The feel of a big city, historical landmarks, neat little restaurants/ cafes/ bars/ shops, lots of parks, woods, lakes/ rivers - and safety. While leaving the house a whiny hermit sad and lonely, being surrounded by so much beauty and having such a gorgeous, crisp October day, was terrific and much needed to cheer me up.

It still makes me happy just looking at this.

Of course, it wouldn't be Berlin if there wasn't something going on this Sunday. - It seems to be a natural law that if you are out on a weekend in Berlin, you will see at least one big street that is blocked off for some sort of event. One of those weekend events passed by me, as I was riding my bike around.

(That parade was much, much longer. I stood there for at least 10 minutes until I could cross the road.)

Happy Monday, everyone!