As most things are closed on Monday, I usually do my laundry on Monday. It is always an experience. As I posted last time, the washing machine is very small and so cannot hold many clothes or towels at one time. Since I did not bring many clothes that is not really an issue. The main thing is that the time required to wash the clothes. I am guessing it is because water heaters are not large here in Europe so if you are using hot water, you need to take longer to wash the clothes. The other is an environmental issue, I think the use of smaller engines to run the washing machines is more environmentally friendly. I am just speculating on this.

I used the cotton – eco setting for doing towels yesterday and the load took about 1.5 hours to complete. It does not really cause an issue, it is just an interesting aspect of life as I have to prepare ahead for laundry as I do not want to leave the washing machine running in case something goes wrong. Nothing has but I would rather be safe than sorry since I am on the third floor and do not want water leaking into the apartments below.

The other aspect of the laundry process is there is no dryer so everything has to air dry. I have a great drying rack that holds a lot of items but it is still an issue of time for the clothes to dry. I try to do the laundry fairly early in the morning so it will have all day to dry. Most things dry fairly quickly so it is not problem but again, just have to make sure I plan ahead so that what I need is ready when I need it.

None of this is really a complaint but more an observation of the differences in life with the US. Generally, I could do a whole load of laundry (sheets and towels) both washing and drying in the time it takes me to do one load of wash here.

Other than that, I went out for my usual wandering for the afternoon. Things are quiet on the day but there are still lots of people out and about. The weather had been great here so far and the highs are in the low 70s and nights are in the high 50s. I keep waiting for it to get cooler but so far it has stayed nice. I have only worn a coat one evening. For running, it is still t-shirt and shorts.

I did explore an area of the city I had not walked around before and found lots of very narrow streets and old buildings.