The last week (and final post)

We‘ve started the countdown for our return home to Savannah and are spending the final week in Berlin.  My sister, Debbie has joined us and we‘ve been to a lot of Christmas markets both in Hamburg and Berlin.  Before we left Hamburg we visited the Elbphilharmonie which is the home of Hamburg‘s symphony orchestra as well as a landmark in the harbor.  Debbie and I went up the viewing platform which is about halfway up the building and where you get a spectacular view of the

Elbphilharmonie in the background

Harbor and downtown Hamburg.

We also visited the Christmas market in the St. Pauli with was billed as x-rated.  Maybe we were too early in the evening, but it was pretty tame.  The market at the Hamburg City Hall was much better and actually had some craftspeople interspersed among the many, many Glühwein stands.

The Dom - Berlin

Our train trip to Berlin was uneventful and we‘ve been here for five days.  There are a ton of Christmas markets, although with a few exceptions, they all seem to have the same products.  We have accumulated a number of different Gluwein/Eggnog mugs which I‘m hoping United Airlines does not destroy on the trip home.

We made a trip to the wall today - it‘s still an eerie reminder of a harsh period of history.

Remains of the Berlin Wall

Bremen

The next stop on our journey is Bremen.  Fortunately our visit coincides with the beginning of the Bremen Christmas market, located just across the square from our hotel.  We‘re at the Classico Hotel and if you ever get a chance to visit Bremen, this is a really nice, small, family-run hotel.

Old Town Bremen is a maze of small pedestrian walkways that are ringed with both small shops and major department stores. The main square consists of the cathedral, the Rathaus (city hall), the regional government and our hotel.

Cathedral

The square is currently Christmas market central and full of food vendors.  We have now sampled a variety of beverages - Eierpunch (eggnog), Glühwein (both red and white), and the special Bremen wine punch which had a real kick since there were other alcohols involved.  We‘ve started a collection of commerative mugs from each vendor.

Shopping alleyway

The weather has turned colder and it‘s finally beginning to feel like the holiday season.  We‘re hoping for a bit of snow here before we head back to the semi-warm south!  In the meantime we bundled up and enjoying walking around and seeing the sights.

Thanksgiving in Düsseldorf

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.  We hope it‘s a safe and happy holiday for you.

We are visiting Düsseldorf, about four hours west of Hamburg.  Friday was our last day of class and we will be traveling for a week of so, before heading back to Hamburg.  Although it‘s not Thanksgiving here, it is the beginning of the Christmas market season and we spent the morning wandering through the streets of Old Town Düsseldorf.  We sampled our first mulled wine and eggnog, complete with souvenir mugs to take home.

Once of the many cartwheeling children

Düsseldorf is a shopping Mecca for anyone with money.  Shops range from Harry Winston, to Fendi, to Michael Kors, and on and on.   There has to be a lot of money around, because the streets are lined with Porches, Mercedes, and Audis.  There is even a showroom for a brand called Sunseeker, selling both autos and yachts.  Very convenient to do all of your shopping in one location!

The Christmas markets seem to be predominantly food related.  Lots of mulled wine, sausages, and hand food.  Since this is the first of many markets that we plan to visit, we figure we‘ll have lots to choose from.  Evenings at the market are more fun since everything is decorated and lots of people are out shopping.  The cold weather makes it feel a bit more like the holidays, although I‘d really prefer to be in some warm weather!

Mulled wine and a Christmas pyramid.  

The Christmas pyramid features figures of local VIPs (politicians, actors, singers, etc.). It‘s a fun jab at the rich and famous!  We have seen only one, slightly bedraggled person portraying Santa, so he doesn‘t seem to play a prominent role in the decorations.

The city is also known for its symbol of cartwheeling children - stamped on manhole covers, souvenirs,  and seen in several different statues.  History says that when the city of Düsseldorf defeated the city of Cologne, the children of Düsseldorf celebrated by doing cartwheels.

Lübeck

Hooray!  Yesterday was our last day of language class and for the next two weeks we will be traveling to several locations in the Hamburg area.  This weekend we are in Lübeck, about 60 miles east of Hamburg.  Founded in 1143 as a port near the Baltic Sea, it was a member of the Hanseatic League.  The city was heavily damaged in 1942 by RAF bombers, and rebuild following the war using much of the same original architechture.

Holsten Gate (Holstentor)

The old town is framed by the Holstentor, one of the original city gates.  Inside the gates are the primary shopping areas, many already decorated for Christmas.  Construction for the Lübeck Christmas market is underway with large Christmas trees being assembled and food booths moving in

We toured St. Mary‘s Cathedral (Marienkirche) which has the tallest brick vault in the world.  The bell tower was destroyed by a bomb and ensuring fire and today the bells remain as they fell.

Marienkirche

We also took a boat tour around the old town and got to see all of the old sailing ships and yachts moored in the harbor.  One of the products being shipped out were gigantic bases for the wind turbines that you see all over Germany.  There were lots of people out in shells and canoes, even though the temperature is only in the low 40s.

Last night I tried a new drink - Marzipan liquor.  It‘s tastes strongly of almonds as you would expect, but with an alcoholic kick.  It‘s like drinking an almond flavored Baileys.  We had dinner at the Ratskeller and were extremely pleased that the waitress could understand our German!

Sailing ships in Lübeck harbor

Miniature World

One of the must see sights in Hamburg is Miniature World.  Located in a three-story building, the miniature scenes are primarily of cities and towns in Europe (plus Las Vegas and Miami Beach).  Trains run throughout the villages, buildings light up, and every 15 minutes the lights are dimmed and you see the scenes as though it were night.  I don‘t think I‘ve ever seen anything on this scale with such attention to detail.  Las Vegas at night looked just like you see on the Strip.

Click to see Las Vegas at night.

I particularly liked the Hamburg airport, complete with a Lufthansa jet taking off from one of the runways.  Also notice that the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars is parked on the tarmac.  Next month Santa Claus will start popping up in some of the scenes.

Millennium Falcon

Here is the Neuschwanstein Castle in southern Germany.  It served as a model for Disney‘s Sleeping Beauty castle.  Paul and I visited here a couple of years ago and it‘s a beautiful location on a lake.

So many things to take in!

Die Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitansmitze

Yes, that really is a word.  Roughly translated it means the Danube steam shipping company Captain‘s cap.  Our substitute teacher threw that one at us this week.  Mike is an interesting guy and as he told us, he generally teaches more advanced German students.  That means he speaks a lot faster than our regular instructors so we really have to concentrate to understand him.

There was a holiday on Wednesday and it wasn‘t Halloween.  It‘s Reformation Day, marking the beginning of the Lutheran restoration by Martin Luther in 1517.  This is only the second or third year it has been a holiday in Germany and it‘s observed only in Northern Germany as Southern Germany is primarily Catholic.  Most people seemed to treat it just like a regular day off.

The number of people who ride their bikes here is pretty amazing.  There are special children’s seats mounted on the back that prevent them from being injured in case of an accident.  Rainy weather does seem to cut down on their numbers, but we have seen hardcore riders in full wet weather gear who still ride.  So far (fingers crossed) we have avoided being run over by a bicyclist on the sidewalk.  The sidewalks have designated bike lanes and you‘re taking your life in your hands if you walk there.  Even worse is if you are getting off of the bus, or coming out of a store and you inadvertently step into the bike lane.  My head is constantly on a swivel to make sure we don‘t get hit.

Brrrr.... it‘s cold outside

Winter has arrived.  It was 32 degrees when we got up this morning with an expected high of 45.  We knew it was coming, but we went from pretty nice weather to yuck in just a couple of days.

We have finished Week 5 of our language class and it was a busy week.  On Wednesday, our landlord Bernie invited us to meet his family and cooked dinner for us.  It was a fun and relaxing evening.  Then on Friday after class, we went with our classmate Justin to a local brewery, the Altes Mädchen.  Justin is from New Zealand but has lived here with his German girlfriend and son for the past seven years.  He showed us around the district near the old slaughterhouse, the Rindermarkthalle which has been converted into a food shopping area.

There‘s a craft brew store next to the Altes Mädchen with primarily local beers, but a few from the US as well.  I found a caramel chocolate beer that I‘ve brought home to sample the next time we‘re feeling adventuresome.  These are the kind of places that don‘t show up in the tourist books and why we like to live in places a bit longer.

I have successfully ventured into a beauty parlor and had my hair done with no major issues.  Paul had an interesting trip to the barber.  His hair looks good and the barber also offered to remove hair from his nose and ears.  Paul felt something warm on his ears, and found the barber was using fire to singe the hairs off.  It works!  Then came the nose hair removal.  Paul described it as two sticks with some kind of substance shoved up his nose.  Occasionally the barber would feel them to see if they were ready.  Then when they were ready to go, he quickly pulled them out.  Paul said there was no pain involved and the hair is gone.

Time to get back to the books ....

What a difference a weekend makes ...

Friday was a humbling day.  We got the results of our monthly exam back, and boy do we have a long way to go.  We spent most of class reviewing grammar and discussing what we needed to work on.  As we usually do on Friday, we went someplace new to explore and we ended up at a Turkish restaurant where we enjoyed a good meal and a beer to drown our sorrows.

 What better way to end the week!

Our adventures also brought us to Saint Gertrud‘s Lutheran Church.  This is the only church in Hamburg to have survived the war with only minor damage.  We were wandering around outside and very nice lady riding by on her bike asked if we would like to see inside.  It turns out that she‘s a volunteer at the church and she wanted us to see the interior.   The churches here in the north have much less elaborate decor than in the south, probably because in the south, most churches are Catholic.

Saint Gertrud‘s

Interior - Saint Gertrud‘s

It‘s quite evident inside which of the stained glass windows have been replaced.  The older windows are the traditional scenes of people, while the replacement windows are almost Art Deco in style.  It‘s an interesting combination.

Back to school on Monday where we are now B.1.1 level students.  Our class has gone from 4 to 15 students, representing 12 different countries.  Our common language in German, so the conversations can be quite comical.  We have a new teacher who kept us so busy that the 3.5 hours flew by.  I think it‘s going to be more fun with the larger class.  

Food Adventures

Paul and I are pretty adventuresome diners.  The biggest obstacle for both of to overcome is slimy texture.  Just can‘t do it!  In advance of coming here, I did some research on local specialties so that we could give them a try.  I have now checked three items off the list - pickled herring, Labskaus, and Kabeljau.

Labskaus - Blokbräu Brauerei

Labskaus is a Northern Germany specialty that looks like beef tartar with an over-easy egg on top.  It‘s actually a combination of mashed potatoes, “corned beef”, onion and assorted spices.  Served warm along with mini-gherkins and herring, it was delicious.

Just down the street from us is Ristorante Italiano da Elena.  A small 30-ish seat restaurant serving pizza and really awesome pasta.  Deciphering the Italian menu was a bit difficult and somehow we both ended up with different pastas with shaved truffles.  Yum!  Paul‘s ravioli were probably 2x2 inches and filled with a cheese mixture.  My linguine had a very light sauce topped with Trüffel shavings and it was sooooo good.

Königsberger Klopse

The small city of Schwerin had a fairly large number of restaurants in the city center.  Saturday rather than Friday seems to be the night to go out because the restaurants were full on Saturday evening.  We ended up downstairs from our hotel at the Weinhaus Wöhler for some traditional German food.  I tried the Königsberger Klopes with Kabeljau, primarily because it‘s one of the foods I had read about in my German cooking magazine.    I‘m not sure what was in it other than cod, but it was very tasty.  I‘ll have to find a recipe and try to reproduce it at home.

Schwerin

It‘s a lovely Saturday and we‘re spending the weekend in Schwerin, about an hour west of Hamburg. It‘s a small city, famous for the Schwerin castle and the numerous lakes throughout the area.  We are staying at a Winehouse/Restaurant/Hotel in the heart of downtown, the Weinhaus Wöhler.  This morning for breakfast there was a wonderful array of breads, cheeses and meats, salmon, eggs, etc. etc.

Weinhaus Wöhler

 The hotel is within walking distance of both the main city square and the castle.  There are numerous restaurants and shops, and last night we had dinner at a Croatian restaurant, just to try something new.  Never having been to Croatia, I‘d say it‘s a combination of Croatian, Italian, and German food.  Just guessing!

Of course the highlight of coming to Schwerin is visiting the castle.  Following German reunification, the district of Mecklenberg government converted part of the castle into their parliament building.  The remaining areas of the building house renovated rooms of the original castle which are open to the public.  We had to try out our German in the castle because none of the staff seemed to speak English.  Of course, that‘s how we‘re learning to converse!

Schwerin Castle

The castle sits on one of the lakes and the public has access to an expansive garden.  Legend has it that the castle is haunted by a goblin, Peter Männchen or Little Peter, who rewards the food and honest, and punishes the bad.  Seems like a good guy to have around!

Peter Männchen

Hamburg Harbor

Classes were over for the week and we had a lovely, sunny afternoon to spend outside.  Where better to head than the harbor ferry over to the Strandperle Restaurant at Övelgönne Beach. along the Elbe.  The ferry is included in our monthly transportation passes and it’s a wonderful way to view the harbor up close.

There are a myriad of cargo cranes, tug boats, and even an ice breaker along the ferry route.  Övelgönne beach is at the base of a steep hill full of old houses which survived WWII.  The beach itself has many restaurants and is a mooring area for wooden sailing ships.  I probably saw 20 of them in just one area.  It‘s a fun area for sitting outside on a sunny day and enjoying the view.

Our classes continue to be challenging.  We have had two instructors - Sylvia and Lisa.  We prefer Lisa because she NEVER speaks English to us, while Sylvia will immediately slip into English when we can‘t figure something out.  Sylvia is also clueless when it comes to operating a computer, so we usually listen to the practice dialogs at home.  There are still four of us in the class, Paul and I, a New Zealander who has lived here for four years, and a woman from Switzerland who speaks both French and English.  It‘s a good group.

The Reeperbahn

Hamburg‘s Reeperbahn is a “colorful” area of Hamburg located near the port.  It’s typical of the red light district in most port cities, full of seedy restaurants, sex shops and whatever else you might want or need.  It’s also a cultural hotspot for Hamburg with many live music venues and theaters.  The Beatles played here for several years before hitting it big.  The Beatles statue is underwhelming to say the least.

The Beatles - Hamburg

We went to the Reeperbahn because there was a food festival advertised.  It turned out to be a few food trucks and a band warming up on stage.  Again, underwhelming.  We probably won’t go back again until the Christmas market opens in November.  Got to get those really fun gifts for all of our friends!

The Reeperbahn

We have noticed a number of similar statues around town and upon doing some research found that they are of Hans Hummel, the last water carrier in Hamburg.  Back in the day when homes were not hooked up to a water line, water carriers delivered buckets of water to homes.  The Hans Hummel statues are an art project of 100 identical statues painted by various local artists.  We have seen similar projects in Berlin (bears), and in Washington, DC (donkeys and elephants).

Hans Hummel - water carrier

By the way - today is German Reunification Day.  28 years ago, the Berlin Wall came down and the city was reunited.  There didn’t seem to be any celebrating anywhere other than in Berlin, but it’s a national holiday so no school today.  German grammar is a bear, so it was nice to have a day off to review.

Two different views of Hamburg

Since most of our afternoons are free, we try to get out and see some of the local sights.  The Hamburg Botanical Gardens is just a 20 minute S-Bahn ride from downtown.  It’s a beautiful and quiet place to walk around and enjoy the plants and trees from around the world.  They are currently hosting an interesting exhibition on North American Indians and the crops that they grew.

Adam eating the apple

It‘s amazing how many varieties we saw while walking around and how good it all smelled.  I did notice that there were no pine trees like we would see on the west coast, by maybe they don‘t grow here well.  Considering how late it is in the growing season, there were still many blooms.

This weekend the gardens are hosting an Indian Summer festival as they close out their season.  Hopefully that doesn‘t mean we‘ll be having cold weather soon, but we‘re ready when it does.  In the meantime we‘re enjoying nice fall weather and (keep your fingers crossed) no rain!

Japanese garden

Quite a different side of Hamburg is the Sternschanze quarter, an area touted as an alternative to the touristy Reeperbahn.  It‘s colorful, gritty, and a slightly seamier side of the city.  There is a lot of graffiti all over the city, but much more predominant in the working class neighborhoods.

School Days

Day 3 of school and there‘s no hiding in class.  As suspected, Paul and I are the only students in our level and our teacher, Sylvia now knows what she‘s dealing with.  We‘re getting lots of personalized correction and Sylvia says that in a month our ability to converse will be much better.  I sure hope so!

The view from the train stop near the school is pretty spectacular.  Right across the road is a harbor for tour boats and small craft.  One stop down you can see the main harbor where large ships are loaded.  The entire area is being revitalized with many shops and apartments as well as the Elbphilharmonie.

We hope to have some free time in the next few days to visit the Immigration Museum at the harbor where many German immigrants to the US made their initial journey.  Paul was able to track some of his ancestors here through Ancestry.com and now we want to see what records are available. Tomorrow afternoon we will head to the Hamburg Botanic Garden (Sylvia said we had to go while the weather is good).  With an expected high of 69 we‘re experiencing a real heatwave!

Remember that it‘s Oktoberfest and we‘re doing our part to celebrate.

Life in Hamburg

Hi all.

We made it!  After uneventful flights, we landed in Hamburg early Friday morning and headed to our abode for the next three months.  We are in the Eppendorf quarter of Hamburg, in a third-floor walk up on a quiet residential street.  I expect to have much stronger legs by the time we leave!  Our landlord, Bernie seems like a really nice guy and had lots of area info for us.  We‘ve already been out exploring and found a nice cafe nearby for either breakfast or lunch if we want to eat out.

Since this is our first visit to Hamburg we went on the hop-on, hop-off bus tour to orient ourselves in the city.  The city center is primarily south of where we are staying but our school is just across the harbor from the Elbephilharmonic and near the downtown shopping and business areas.  The harbor area was much larger than expected and it was fun to see the headquarters for the shipping company cargo that we see come into the Port of Savannah.

Here are a couple of today‘s highlights:

The Tanzen Building (dancing building) is located on the edge of the Reaperbahn (red light district) near the harbor.  From a distance the curves appear to dance.  There is a restaurant on top of the left tower but since Paul doesn‘t do heights we will skip that one.

The Lemon Lady statue near St. Michaels church - local legend says that if you rub her finger, it will bring you good luck.  Of course the finger is rubbed down to the brass.

We start school on Monday and may be the only students in the class.  We got an email last night saying that the minimum number of students is four but that they had decided to go ahead with us with perhaps shorter hours.  We will discuss it with them, but private classes aren‘t such a bad thing.  In the meantime, I‘ve been trying out my really bad German in shops and at the grocery.  Two trips to the grocery and still no pretzels purchased!

We plan to spend the remainder of the weekend exploring the area around the apartment and may hop on the S-Bahn and head north to see what‘s going on up there.  Then back to school on Monday morning!