A quick peek into the Forum, our local shopping center, in its 2003 incarnation. While it looks basically still the same today, some of the glass panes from the roof have been removed, the small trees are also gone and the fruit and vegetable stand is also not there anymore. It is a fairly large building (about 150 meters long) with two storeys, but it can get crowded quickly down here on the street level during the rush hour. Unfortunately the company running it was bought by a hedge fund a couple of years ago and since then there have been a lot of regrettable changes. But at least we have an a large book shop, an electronics store, a drugstore, a pharmacy and two big groceries… but too many clothes, shoe and cellphone shops. But I guess we shouldn’t complain, because if it wasn’t for this, we would not have all the necessary shopping opportunities about 5-10 minutes walking distance from home.

He’s all black except one white spot, but from the amount of grass he eats, he might be at least part cow! Haven’t done a #Caturday posting in a while, so here’s one from the 2011 archives :-).

I think we already have some slight autumn colours …

The single one that grew on the lower balcony.

Maybe black and white is better once in a while?

I’m not sure if this is only soft or our of focus…

The view of Mülheim’s Schloßstrasse, the inner city pedestrian zone, right when you come out of the shopping mall. This square is actually called Kurt-Schumacher-Platz, but for obvious reasons everybody calls it Pflasterstrand (cobble beach). Below it is part of the 100 meter long tunnel with the Eppinghofer Strasse which was built in 1986 – before, this used to be a high-traffic pedestrian crossing with streetlights and everything. It’s more peaceful now, but the paving is not particularly attractive. The main design, three small circles and a large one, is actually really only visible from the air. This photo was again taken in 2003 and today it looks about the same here, except the Extra supermarket on the right, which used to be a Spar before, is now gone, replaced with yet another clothes discounter.