The proverbial (weekend) party is over. A sense of brief isolation in a hotel room in the post-breakfast gloom. The television emits an ambient alpine soundtrack on a ‘Sud Deutschland’ channel. Setting out east. A few shops, cafes and a library open, many remaining still closed. The pacifying chorus of sparrows en route. A natural counter to the constant hum of traffic. The return to old haunts. Familiar sights. A strange combination of melancholy and the notion of being (slightly) tainted by association. A little underwhelmed (familiarity breeding…) and yet comfort in the concept of the space negotiated seeming somewhat smaller.