As the saying goes, you can pick your nose, pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family. Lucky for me, my family turned out to be awesome. But I’ve since learned that you can also pick your own strawberries, which I highly recommend.

Today’s adventure started out with a goal to buy, as Hubby would call them, “ugly German shoes”. I desperately needed footwear for inside the house, as I find myself standing a lot in the kitchen cooking. Now that it’s a little warmer out, I wanted to have a pair of sandals, as my other inside “ugly German shoes” covers my feet. So I opted for these red ones.

But the real adventure was how Little T and I got to the store, which is 9 kilometers away. Not getting out to bike as much as I would have liked this week, I really craved a long bike ride, which is the exact opposite idea of fun for Little T. So I bribed him. I offered to give him 10 Euros which he could spend at the toy store above where I wanted to buy the shoes. He was in.

Half way to the store we were biking to is a strawberry field where you can pick your own berries. So, I suggested that we could stop there on the way back home to pick a basket, and have a break from biking. So with a knapsack packed with water, peanut butter-chocolate-meat wrapper, fresh peas, gummy bears and our strawberry basket, we were off.

The ride to our destination took about 45 minutes, and Little T only wanted to stop once to eat his wrapper. It was about 23 degrees with the sun shining on one side, and dark clouds looming on the other. But it always looks like that here, so if you don’t plan anything outside because it looks like rain, you would never leave the house. This is my kind of summer weather. Even having to wear a sweater while biking, and wearing a scarf around my neck now as I type this outside doesn’t bother me. I’ll take this weather any day over humidity and “hotter than Hades”.

With my new red shoes, and Little T’s new Lego toy purchased, it was time for some ice-cream and coffee in the village. One of my favorite things to do on the week-end is sit in an outdoor café, sip coffee, and people-watch. Today there was a gentleman quietly strumming a guitar. This is the life.

Once our break was finished, it was time to head to the strawberry field. The sky looked even more threatening of rain, but as we rode further towards the strawberries, it got sunnier. Once we arrived and parked our bikes, Little T was anxious to grab the basket and start picking. It is priceless to witness an 8-year old’s excitement about seeing so many red strawberries, and proudly show me each one he picked. The field was packed full of people, young and old – some picking to fill a small basket like us, while others filling huge tubs. There is nothing better than to pick a fresh strawberry that is still warm from the sun.

The entire basket we purchased was only 2 Euros. Just a few days before in the grocery store I saw a container of strawberries half the size, with the berries looking like they were ready for the compost bin, for the same price. How fun it is to have complete control of every strawberry that goes into your basket. But the best part? The taste! Little T picked some really tiny strawberries. I popped one in my mouth and was instantly reminded of my mom’s homemade strawberry freezer jam, and how yummy it tasted when spread on toast.

Tonight I plan to make homemade pasta. While wearing my new red shoes.