December 13th - A cold forces me to rest.

Just like every year around Christmas, it remains a tradition this year as well. I have caught a cold. Sore throat, runny nose, and plenty of sneezing. Not fun. That's why I'm staying in the apartment today.

Stephanie went for her favorite activity alone: a beach walk. Unfortunately, without her tablet and therefore without the possibility to take a picture of her companions. For quite some time, two dolphins swam next to her, just like you see in movies: parallel to the beach, resurfacing and diving back under. But as I said: unfortunately, no picture. Shame.

As for today's picture: it comes from Haßloch and was sent to me by our daughter Daniela. It belongs to the blog post from November 9th. We bought a few jars of Manuka honey in New Zealand. The saleswoman warned us that we couldn't take this honey to Australia and that we would have to throw it away upon arrival. So, we packed all the honey in a package and sent it home by mail. It arrived yesterday. It looks a bit different from when we sent it (see picture).

We are now considering giving this package to the 'Museum of International Everyday Culture' - if it exists. If not, we could also start a new one in Haßloch.

I just researched how many Australians live in the major cities and regions of the country. Two-thirds of all residents live in the eight largest cities. These cities are spread along the coast or close to it. This means that only one-third of all Australians live in the interior of the country, which is 8 million people. So sometimes the distance to the nearest neighbor is very far.

Sydney and Melbourne alone have a combined population of 10 million.