Today is “German Unity Day.” Although the wall officially came down on November 9, 1989, the official holiday was based on the day the governments officially reunited, October 3, 1990. Since it’s a national holiday, Sheridan and I are home from school.

The upshot of this is that all (most) business are closed: post, banks, offices, and most stores and restaurants. The shops at the Bahnhof are mostly open, though (as usual). There’s not a huge celebration here like we do in the US for Independence Day, though. Honestly, I saw more celebration during the FIFA finals, with soccer hooligans dressed in flags and blowing noisemakers. In Hamburg, however, there’s a city/state-wide fest this weekend, including a river-parade. Over 200,000 visitors are expected, and our teacher warned us that there would be nowhere to stay if we went this weekend (like trying to go to München for Oktoberfest without reservations)!

I went down to the Bahnhof to meet a new friend for coffee. Her name is Nadine, she’s a native of Nürnberg who is interested in improving her English conversational skills. We had a great chat, and she’s offered to help me and Sheridan with our German skills in exchange. What a great trade! I meet a new friend and get help in German at the same time!

So this is the second native Nürnberger I’ve met for conversation. The other is Gudrun, who I think I’ve mentioned before—she teaches in Realschule in southeast Nürnberg.

So all in all it’s been a good day.