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Originally posted at: Rachel Zoe’s White Pinstriped Top + Pants

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The German Sonntagsspaziergang is a centuries-old practice of walking on Sunday, which remains a protected Ruhetag (day of rest) throughout Germany. On this day, entire populations take to the woods, riverbanks, and neighborhood paths in what resembles a slow-motion pilgrimage. Families walk three abreast. Elderly couples proceed arm-in-arm. Teenagers dawdle behind their parents, and the whole procession often culminates in the anticipated reward of Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) at a local café or kitchen table.

The Sonntagsspaziergang treats walking as a form of attention, a way of becoming literate in the language of your own landscape.

The practice is naturally accessible. Local parks suffice. Converted rail trails work perfectly. Ordinary neighborhood streets become adequate stages for this weekly performance. The infrastructure already exists.

This mode of observation has deep roots in German and broader European traditions of contemplative walking and natural philosophy. John Burroughs, the 19th-century American nature writer, practiced a closely related form at his retreat, Slabsides. By walking the same three-mile loop repeatedly, he trained himself to notice what he called “small truths”: the specific week maples turn scarlet, the day red-winged blackbirds return, the gradual surrender of a wooden fence to entropy. Repetition breeds intimacy.

Walking through a landscape at human pace – slow enough to hear footsteps, fast enough to cover ground – transforms environment into relationship. The German concept of Waldeinsamkeit captures this: the particular solitude found only in forests, a feeling both alone and accompanied. The Sonntagsspaziergang cultivates this intimacy deliberately. “The woods” becomes your woods. “The park” becomes a weekly companion whose moods and seasons you learn to read.

A Sunday in Bonn

In Bonn, for example, the Sunday stroll follows the Rhine’s pathways. Families walk the Rheinaue, the sprawling park created from former floodplains, where wide paths wind between lakes and meadows. Others take the promenade along the riverbank itself, watching barges move slowly upstream while cyclists pass and joggers navigate around the steady stream of walkers. The path continues south toward Bad Godesberg or north toward the Siebengebirge hills visible across the water.

The rhythm is unhurried. People stop to watch swans near the shore or to let children investigate interesting stones. Benches fill with readers and observers. The destination matters less than the duration – the commitment to spending the afternoon outside, moving through familiar territory at walking pace. Many end at an Ausflugslokal along the route or return home for coffee and cake.

Adapting the Practice: Elements of a Sunday Walk

Germans don’t follow a manual for their Sunday strolls – the tradition is passed down organically, practiced intuitively. For others looking to adapt the spirit of the Sonntagsspaziergang, certain elements emerge from observing the practice:

Choose familiar ground. The same loop through a local park, the neighborhood circuit, the path you could walk in the dark. Repetition allows you to notice change.

Let your senses anchor you. The wind in bare branches, a cardinal’s call, distant traffic. These sounds pull attention outward into the present landscape.

Pause deliberately. Sixty seconds observing moss on bark, the joinery of a stone wall, the exact shade of a budding branch. The slower pace reveals what rushing obscures.

Leave your phone behind or pocketed. The walk is a conversation with immediate surroundings.

End with something small and ritualized. Coffee at the kitchen table. A slice of bread with butter and jam. This simple reward marks the boundary between the walk and the return home, giving the practice its shape.

The Sonntagsspaziergang elevates the ordinary through sustained attention. By protecting Sunday afternoon for observation, practitioners become inhabitants of their geography. The discipline lives in the patience to let the world reveal itself slowly. Walk out the front door and pay attention.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you have a specific Sunday practice in nature? What does it look like? What do you like to observe/listen to/explore?

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Let’s face it. Real estate agents get a bad rap. But there are some very good ones out there helping buyers and sellers every day, and doing a great job of it. It’s like any other profession. You have to find them.

So how do you find an honest real estate agent to buy or sell your home? Good question!

Look Online

One of the first places to start your search is online. Everyone is online today looking at listings, getting beeped by search engines, asking AI, and reading ads, news, whatever.

It’s only natural to look online for a real estate agent, as well.

Look, but be smart about it. A lot of people say a lot of things, but that doesn’t always make it so. Check your facts.

If you do a search for pet-friendly homes and someone claims to be a pet-friendly realtor are they really, or are they just posting listings? If you’re a golfer and someone claims to be a realtor who specializes in golf communities, does he walk the walk and talk the talk? Buyer beware!

Get a Recommendation

Everyone has a cousin or friend who is a real estate agent. Trust me, I hear it all the time.

The fact is most agents in Florida do not work at real estate full time. They are part-time realtors and, as such, are not in the trenches every day. They may or may not be able to help you. They may not be able to help if a problem arises or even know how to write a contract.

You need a REALTOR® who knows the market and knows it well – not only the market but the local market you’re looking to buy or sell in.

I stress local here. I can’t tell you how many times I see agents take listings and buyers from three or more hours away. It doesn’t help the buyer or the seller for several reasons.

First, if the agent is not local, they are often not familiar with the local market. If they are not from the local area, how would they know if houses sell for more or less in certain subdivisions within a neighborhood? They wouldn’t! I can tell stories of agents from out of the area that cost their sellers tens of thousands of dollars! And if I was a buyer, how can an out-of the-area agent know the ins and outs of different subdivisions?

As a buyer or seller, this doesn’t benefit you in any way. It’s a negative.

It’s a negative even if they promise they will save you a few bucks, like a buyer calling the name on the sign.

Buying a home is probably the most expensive purchase you’ll make in your lifetime. This is not the time to be penny wise and dollar foolish, as they say.

Not All REALTORS® Are Created Equal

Not all REALTORS® are created equal. Many people do not know that. All real estate agents are licensed to sell real estate, but not all real estate agents are REALTORS®.

To be a REALTOR®, you must belong to the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribe to the Code of Ethics. There are 17 Articles within the Code of Ethics that include Duties to Clients and Customers, Duties to the Public and Duties to REALTORS®.

As a REALTOR® you promise to adhere to the Code of Ethics. As a real estate agent, you do not have to adhere to anything.

So, to find an honest real estate agent, it would be my suggestion to go with a REALTOR®. Of course, you still have to talk with them but more about that later.

Read Reviews to Find an Honest Real Estate Agent

After you find someone who looks like they might be a good fit for you, read their online reviews. Reviews are posted everywhere – Google, Facebook, their websites and more. And while we’re talking websites, that brings me to my next point.

You want someone with a heavy online presence today. Why? Because the days of reading newspapers are almost gone. By the time you pick up a real estate magazine, those ads are weeks old. The houses have been on the MLS and property portals for weeks.

You also want someone with a heavy online presence, because for sellers they can promote your listing more. For buyers, you know they’re up on the times and you can get a good idea about who they are just from reading.

Talk to Realtors

You may get lucky and hit it off with someone on your first call. You never know. You may have a gut feeling that this is right and it probably is.

Be prepared to talk to a few agents. See who you feel most comfortable with. After all, you will be in this together from the beginning to the end and, likely, long after.

You’ll be working as a team.

You need to like and trust this person.

Do you get a sense they’re honest and will work hard for you?

You should because that’s important.

Be on the Same Wavelength

You need to be compatible with your agent. Some people just naturally hit it off, and with others it’s a struggle.

Buying or selling a home is stressful enough. The last thing you want is to work with someone in a relationship that is strained.

Go with your gut.

You can tell if an agent has integrity and is honest, two traits that should be high up on your list.

Is Your Real Estate Agent Accessible

Accessibility is another thing you should be looking for. Is this agent accessible?

We live in a world that is 24/7 these days. You want someone you can reach in the evenings, or on weekends, if you need them. Not someone whose message says they “return calls between 11:00 and 12:00 and 4:00 and 5:00 pm” or, better yet, within “24 hours.”

Or says, “for a quicker response, text me.” Seriously? They’re sitting right there. Pick up the phone! (Is it just me or all women over 60?!)

Real estate agents should be accessible to their clients. Realizing it is a stressful time for buyers and sellers, agents need to be patient and have compassion. Sometimes buyers or sellers just want to talk – something is bothering them. Will this agent be there for you? It may not be that second but someone who returns calls and texts as soon as possible.

Summary of How to Find an Honest Real Estate Agent

While real estate agents have a bad rap, you can still find a REALTOR® with integrity, who is honest, transparent and will work hard for you. Someone who is willing to go to bat for you as either a buyer or seller.

You deserve it. Why settle for less?

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Are you a woman over 60 looking to buy or sell a home? Are you planning a move in the near future? Do you have any questions that might help make your home purchase easier? Let’s talk about it!

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