Spring has definitely sprung here in Überlingen. I walked along the lakeside promenade and up through the city garden trails and noticed all the beautiful flowers popping up everywhere. The weather got to 20 degrees C today and everyone was out walking and enjoying coffee and lunch at the many cafes along the lake. The weirdest thing is to get emails from back home about the continuous snowfall.

Today I met a couple girls from work for lunch and coffee and we enjoyed sitting at our favorite coffeeshop, La Vita, a very nice and very “european-feeling” place to me because of it’s great decor and everyone is always dressed very trendy. The food and coffee there is defintely some of the best. I had a fresh fish soup today that was fabulous. We were lounging on these little outdoor couches with our coffees, just 20 feet or so from the lakes edge and with the sun shimmering on the water and it was a very beautiful afternoon. Tons of people were out and I could definitely start to imagine what summer is going to be like here in this little town.

image via Lisa Town

Two things that we see a lot here are furs and leather clothing. Sure, we use leather for a lot of things back in the US like shoes, hand bags and coats but rarely do you see people wearing leather pants. Here, I never go a day without seeing at least one person wearing leather pants. In fact, there is one person at my work that barely goes a couple days without wearing them. But the difference here especially is that they are not seen as maybe that special pair of pants there are only worn on occasion like a News Year Eve party or a mid-life crisis. People here wear them like jeans…and even more weird…with tennis shoes.

The other thing is fur. Fur is absolutely everywhere! Notice the stand selling furs in the market here in Überlingen that I passed on the way through town. Ladies will wear fur coats that go all the way to the ground, boots made of leather and covered in fur details, shirts with huge fur collars and sleeves. I would imagine that there are lots of fur in peoples homes as well.

Mmmm…..pommes….
No wonder I have a strange craving for German fries every time I leave the apartment.