Spring-like winter and spa

Heidelberg, Neckar, February... Some weeks ago the weekend looked like this. 

Last weekend's plans: enjoying the beautiful weather in the amazingly beautiful countryside landscapes. No, I will never get used to the hills, I will always be slightly amazed at least

Last week was pretty intense at work, and the person I got probably the best along with since the beginning retired. He had a pretty festive day I must say, a conference room turned into a party-room

with everything you can imagine from confetti to cake. Everyone could go there for a while in between their own personal tasks, when they had time, to say hi and bye. After that we had our team event, doing stuff together with the closest colleagues. We went to an escape room, solved clues together as a team and finally managed to exit the room. I can definitely recommend escape room live action games to everyone, this was the second time I tried the whole thing, way more difficult than the previous time (well, this was professional, the previous one was organized by a student organisation:)) and yes, good good fun.

For the weekend I ended up taking an Intercity to Stuttgart, and with me I took.. Hmm, nothing! Because I had dropped my keys last week, my roomie had been letting me in, but she had just moved out during my working day on Friday, and I was under the impression the replacement key would be delivered in my post box by Friday afternoon. Well, surprise surprise, it was not there when I got home after work with a solid intention to get some luggage from my room. Well, obviously I had to wear the same dress+blazer combo (phew thank god it's pretty nice at least) all weekend long, but that was all. Resolution: one can survive one weekend with just a handbag. Ok, a short visit to a supermarket cosmetology department might be handy.
Saturday was probably the prettiest day in ages, weather-wise at least. We were driving around the countryside roads... And once again it got me thinking, when the heck am I ever gonna drive a car again ;D I just can't here. And I've forgotten absolutely everything. PLUS the cars here are way too fancy to my liking. If only I had the old Toytota you had to kick a bit under the gas pedal to get it started. All this bluetooth+video feature stuff _in a car_ is just something I cannot understand. It is great, but I would not know what to do. Which is often the case anyway... I think in Finland it is more difficult to find fancy cars I have seen here, because as a nation, we are just not that much into it. Luxury is ok sometimes, but just not in cars. It would be a wrong place to invest it. 

I also had to buy myself a bikini because this is what was on the bucket list for Sunday:

Thermalbad in Beuren

Yes, swimming or more like bathing or floating in a spa. All the pools were +34 at least, and there was a steam sauna. Not quite the same as an authentic real sauna we have at home, but still, good enough for me. I think people are mostly thinking of Baden-Baden when someone is talking about German wellness spas, but actually they're pretty spread out in these areas where the groundwater is exceptionally rich in minerals and utilized in these pools. What was a surprise was the fact that they had a lot of warm pools outside, even if it is in theory a winter as we speak. It was pretty fun... To be able to enjoy the landscapes (which - yes, I get it now - are never ugly or even slightly platitudinous in these areas) with all the mountains in the horizon. And no, your head does not freeze in the process which I was sure was going to happen.
So, things are still pretty great here. Keep in touch!