Meeting a friend

Five years are a long time. Especially when you haven't seen one of your very best friends for so long.
It struck me thunder when my friend from Singapore wrote me an email not too long ago that she'd come to Europe to visit a friend in Germany and would like to spend the last weekend of her holiday at my place. I was at the ceiling!
So I took a 2-day leave from the job and drove up to Albstadt in southern Germany (Schwäbische Alb, for those who know the area) where she was staying with her childhood friend. On the way I got some chocolates at Zurich Airport, payed the beautiful town Rottweil (yes, that's where the dogs are coming from) a visit, and also the airfield Degerfeld with the infamous asloped runway that goes downhill in the western direction.
Of course, being Swiss I calculated the driving time and told her I would be there at 4 in the afternoon. And of course, being me some things didn't really work: The restaurant at the airfield, where I wonted to get a drink and maybe an ice-cream, would only open at 5 in the afternoon. So I arrived one hour early in Albstadt. So I stood there at the house, 30° C in the shade, with a bag filled with melting chocolates. I'll spare you the details about how they looked after that...
Anyway, Natasha and her childhood friend with kids arrived. Meeting a friend after a long time is something very special. I don't remember having been so happy in the past five years.

Meeting for the first time

We went out for dinner, local dishes of course, and back 'home' had a nice chat with the master of the house. The next morning hosted a very nice surprise for me: The lady of the house runs a Balinese Wellness-Studio in the basement of the house, and she offered me extensive treatment for a special "friendship-price". 90 minutes of total relaxation including a fullbody-massage!
After that we had some time to fool around a bit, take some pictures and in the afternoon we drove back to my place. After a light dinner at home we went to Lake Halwil with my parents for an ice-cream and a little walk at the lake.

Fooling around at Lake Halwil

Saturday was a surprise for my friend: One of my work-mates once spent a couple of days in Singapore, and my friend played tour-guide. And now we met my mate again in Zurich. The usual thing: Walking through the old town of Zurich (it's more beautiful than many people think!!!), souvenir-shops (travelers want to bring something home for their friends) and of course: Sprüngli!!!!! Switzerland's No. 1 chololate manufacturer, that runs several shops in town. The day ended with an italian dinner in a restaurant near my place.

Fooling around in Zurich

Sadly the next morning was departure. But only after a nice breakfast together with my parents and introducing my friends into walnut-trees and lime-trees - not the ones with the citrus fruits, but the ones where you make lime-tea from the blossoms. ;-)
Later on I drove her to the airport and we parted for the next year or so...

The sadest part

See more pictures here.