vailian

You have to realize that days like this, although probably very frequent in other places, are vanishingly rare in Cologne. It was therefore horribly unfair that we had to play a symphony concert this morning and thereby ruin the first half of what was obviously going to be a stunning day. And that doing a Bruckner symphony (the 8th) which I long ago nicknamed "the Interminable". How inconsiderate can a composer be to write a piece in which the slow movement alone lasts over a half an hour???!!





Some consolation: when I returned home, I found that these people had cooked lunch for me. Franziska and Resi had bought 8 pounds (!) of fresh asparagus... spent an hour and a half peeling it, and had it ready (along with potatoes, cucumber salad, and various sauces) by the time I got back. All the more maddening that we only had an hour or so to enjoy the meal, because I had stupidly filled up the rest of the afternoon with teaching. And this on a sunny Sunday. Should be forbidden, actually. Was secretly hoping the neighbors would call and officially complain that I was working on Sunday.
Curious fact: it is illegal in Germany to wash your car on Sunday?