Although my travel blog has kind of tanked thanks to COVID-19, I decided to go ahead and renew my subscription for the next two years. I use the WordPress business plan, so it wasn’t cheap to renew. I spent $521, but that’s good until July 2023. For all I know, we could still be here that far down the line. Or we could be living somewhere else… probably in Europe. That seems to be where Bill’s best prospects for employment are at this point in time.

Bill got home from his latest TDY from Hell yesterday. On Thursday, he’ll get his second vaccination. Then, on June 9th, I’ll get my second shot… and then, maybe I can get back to reviewing restaurants and visiting exotic places. There are so many areas I still want to see. At this point, our plans to travel will come down to what places are open and which ones will give us the least hassle.

I suspect that our weekends at home may soon be coming to an end. I look forward to getting out more, if only so I can take more pictures. I’m getting tired of seeing the same ones on my photo feed every day. And I’m tired of only writing about what happens in Breckenheim.

Incidentally, Noyzi is fine after last week’s pet toy scare. He spent a couple of days pooping out the toy he partially ingested and never had a single moment’s trouble.

Today is Whit Sunday (Whitsun or “White Sunday”), a religious holiday that is celebrated in Germany, along with Whit Monday. I had almost forgotten about it, until I noticed the “three day holiday” mentioned in The Local, a useful online news source for English speakers in Germany (I think they have different editions for countries all over Europe). I finally broke down and bought a subscription last year. For the most part, I’m glad I did. It helps me figure out life in this country that isn’t really home, but has sort of become home. Or, at least it helps me keep informed about what the rules are now, regarding COVID-19.

Whit Sunday is the Christian High Holy Day of the Pentecost, which is celebrated 50 days after Easter. According to Google, “…it commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles.” I don’t think too many Germans are very religious these days, but they do love their holidays. That’s probably why they still celebrate religious holidays like Whit Sunday and Whit Monday and close all the stores. Germany is pretty unusual in that stores are still closed on Sundays, although plenty of Germans don’t subscribe to religion or identify with another faith, like Islam or Judaism.

I hear my landlord’s grandchildren outside. That’s not unusual, though. They come over a lot.

The sun is finally out and the weather is slightly warmer… although it’s still unseasonably chilly for May. It’s hard to believe that in two months, it’ll probably be hot again. One thing I do appreciate about Germany is that the summer heat doesn’t last for too long, especially since air conditioning is not a given, especially in people’s homes.

Anyway… thanks to today’s purchase, this blog will be around for the next two years at the very least. Unless, of course, I croak or wind up in jail or something. I don’t have plans for either of those things to happen, but you know what they say about life being what happens when you’re busy making plans. 😉 As I learned once again this week, you never know when things can suddenly change.

I think one of our first trips will be to Stuttgart, so we can finally see the dentist. Beyond that, I have no idea where we’ll end up going. I’m just so glad to finally see the COVID-19 infections dropping and things slowly opening up again. The constant lockdown has been extreme, and I know for me, it’s been hard on my mental health. I’m also getting a little too comfortable with being a hermit, and that’s no way to live. So here’s to two more years… and the prospect of breaking out of this COVID-19 exile.