Today was really warm, 29 degrees . I know it´s warm because the local swimming pools are jampacked , fully booked and everyone is surely out for swimming . Either they´re cooling down in the lakes, rivers, or at luxury of their private pools in their gardens.Our own garden is now occupied with our little inflatable pool, plus a slide.My daughter loves to swim there and it already starts to be small for her.Actually she can´t actually swim there, she can just splatter herself and do breathing exercise under the water.But I guess that´s the real essence of beating the heat for children–water fun and more water !

They will stay there probably as long as the weather permits!

I totally forget that I came from a very humid and hot tropical country, and to think that I have lived in one of the hottest regions in the world where I survived 40+ deg temps.Yes, we survived with AC´s, ventilators, and lots of times spent swimming and staying indoors.

Here in Germany, people are already complaining once it´s 30 degrees! It´s funny because everyone complains about the weather whether it´s sunny, raining or freezing. The other days we have thunderstorms and rains, and now, we are sweating like crazy. It´s very seldom that houses here in Germany have airconditioning.Every house has a heating so everyone stays warm in Winter.

Anyway,this Sunday, another quiet Sonntag as usual, but we decided to do something active and fun.We participated in the Stadtradeln Ingolstadt 2021 (or city cycling) where we cycle and count our distance to save energy and prevent more Carbon Dioxide(t CO₂ ).I think it´s a very good cause and it encouraging everyone in our local community to hop on to their bikes and simply burn calories, having fun as a family and being active.We definitely love cycling ,so it was really fun to do this. My little Miss is happy with her new bike so she´s letting off her own steam. In our city, this active campain runs from June 26 to July 16,2021.I just realized how nice it is to see people getting by mingling with others again, cycling from here to there, moving on to normal life again.

Not only local residents are encouraged to cycle everyday, but also the politicians. They are also encouraged to hop on to their bikes and look for themselves, perhaps they can see far much better improvements and what is better for the city…new and better roads, perhaps?

or more cycling paths..?

As we cycle, we went for another fun activity, a Graffiti Art quest!

I feel so excited about this because I am a huge fan of Graffiti Street Art. So after getting all the locations ,we drove our bikes to the different spray stations of the “La Grande Schmierage“.This year, though in Corona times, they launched another beautiful and really cool Graffiti Art campaign all throughout Ingolstadt City ” La Tour de Schmierage“!

And yes, I was not dissapointed. They were all super cool and it really made a difference to me. How they transform empty, boring walls into something so creative is really impressive. I wrote about them about their project “Hall of Fame” and now after 2 years of break because of Corona ,they are back again , full of creative ideas and inspiration.

We cycled out after we had breakfast , that´s the good thing because the streets are still empty.By the time we went back, the streets are now packed with people on their bikes. I smiled to myself , thinking I am really living in a cycling culture .Both old and young, and children, everyone just enjoy pedalling in two wheels. The soft summer breeze is so nice under the shady roads, but around noon, the sun starts to sting already .It´s definitely summer.

More Graffiti works by great artists of La Tour de Schmierage.

Some walls and establishment looked quite dreary, but after the new Graffiti art totally transformed the place and exudes new appearance. An old restaurant, bar, facade, and a boring electrical box are now beaming with colors, alive and with intricate details of happy activities, creativity, animals, creatures, and lots of symbolism.

Can you recognize which Greek/Roman Gods are they?

After being out for about 4 hours and cycling with a 6 year old , we rewarded ourselves with our first Beergarden Lunch. On our last stop, there´s a nice little playground under the shady trees and as we sit there, I remembered the months of quarantine, endless lockdowns, and being stuck, eating at home. I was happy that restaurants were finally allowed to reopen and reviving their business once again.We are starting to do normal things again.I know that it will still take time to finally feel at ease with crowds without the fear of this scary virus, but then…

We opt to hope for the best.

This is how my typical Sunday spent. How about yours?

Until then, Tschüss!