Today happens to be a holiday in Germany too – Pfingstmontag. Neither I nor my friends knew what this holiday was (odd that they didn’t know), but after a little effort (a Google search), it seems that it’s Pentecost Monday. It’s still odd to me to have days off for religious holidays.

Anyway, Pfingstmontag means all stores are closed today, so it was a super stressful toilet paper Saturday, since Sunday and Monday back to back means no shopping for 2 days!

I went to an Anglican Episcopal church to celebrate Pfingstsontag (Pentecost Sunday). I have mixed feelings about the Catholic churches I’ve found here, so I decided to see if there were any other English speaking parishes. I miss having a place to go on Sundays where I feel like I’m part of a community. And I miss singing and starting the week with a positive message. To compensate, I’ve been riding my bike around town, listening to Zig Ziglar podcasts and singing out loud. I’m pretty sure I’m now “that crazy redhead” to all the locals.

The mass was just ok. I liked that the reverend was a woman – way to go progressive church! But the people were overly friendly and welcoming and evangelical; I guess that’s not a bad thing, but it’s just not my thing. The mass was also 1.5 hours. I’m not willing to make that commitment So, I tried it. And I’m still searching.

In other news, I was in London for a short couple of days for work. I stayed at Camden Lock, which is a really cool area with restaurants and hipster shops. Loved exploring a new area of London I’d never been to before.