october felt like a dizzying roller coaster.

it started with a 2-week stay up north, because p’s mom took a tumble and needed a bit of help getting back on her feet. lots of running around and afternoons at the library, frantically trying to keep all the plates spinning. after that, we came south just in time to pack our bags for a long-anticipated trip to visit our bolzano friends, who have been tempting us for years with photos of their alpine adventures… and boy, did they ever deliver! the scenery was gorgeous, the time of the year was perfect, and we hiked, camped, slept, ate and talked to our heart’s content. probably one of the best weeks of the year so far, and we so needed it.

we left the alps a bit teary-eyed, and jumped right into the warm hugs of all our bielefeld friends for a few days, before returning to the south with our friends O&Z, in order to show them a bit of our algarve — including a dip in the ocean, as they had never swam in one before!

dear october, you were intense. in the future, let’s try not to do ALL THE THINGS at the same time, k?