Last day in Germany - well, last full day, anyway! There was a lot to be done on this day as well - when haven't we had a full day? This day too was extremely cool. We hopped on a train this morning (our last train ride of the trip) out to what seemed the middle of nowhere. We walked down this little wooded path (again, I thought I was out in nowhere land), when all of a sudden the CommerzBank Arena just popped uo out of nowhere. This is the largest stadium in Frankfurt - I think Madonna just gave a concert there not too long ago. It is also where football is played. You know, European football - what we call soccer. We had a meeting with the organizers of the Women's World Cup for soccer that will be held in 2011 throughout Germany. This was an extremely cool meeting, and I don't even like sports that much! It was just cool to see how much work goes into planning such a massive event. And, we got free stuff. Score!
After that meeting, it was back on the bus with Crazy Driver Guy, and we were off to Darmstadt to see the winning entry of the Solar Decathlon 2007 that was held on the National Mall at the Smithsonian in DC. The houses were understandably small (we also saw th entry for this year). There are strict limits as to what the size of the houses can be, and you also have to understand that these house must first be constructed wherever their home base is, then dismantled and shipped overseas - in pieces - to Washington, where they are reassembled.
Friday, September 4, 2009
August 6
Today started off slowly but ended with a bang. Our first meeting of the day was with Deutsche Bank, one of the major underwriters of this study tour. I suppose it was more of a courtesy visit that anything else, because I honestly didn't get that much out of it. In fact, I became very angry during the meeting. The woman who was talking to us seemed (and I want to make very clear that I am using "seemed" here instead of was, because there is no way that I can prove this) to have a very big chip on her shoulder concerning the United States. It is a very well-known fact that the economy of the United States dictates market operation throughout the world, and the recent financial crisis here has had a major impact abroad. This is something I was very much made aware of when I went to Japan last year, and that program was suspended because of the lack of necessary funds needed to finance such an undertaking. However, as one person in our group put it, the United States may have brought the keg to the party, but we didn't force anyone to drink from it. I guess one could consider that to be a very narrow-minded view concerning the global economy, and very narrow-minded considering the role of the United States in the world today. However, I know that I did not travel all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to hear someone base her judgement of the United States on one trip that she took to Los Angeles. It is very hard to get a representative cross-section of the U.S. from one trip to one part of the country, and she just got under my skin. What made matters worse is that I had left my notebook in the hotel room, so I had nothing to distract me. It made for a long start to the morning. The next speaker talked about corporate social responsibility, and what Deutsche Bank is doing in this area. She was much more interesting (in my opinion). We then had a small tour of the Deutsche Bank's art collection. I think this would have taken a lot longer if we were in Deutsche Bank's main buildings, but as those were undergoing renovations to make them more green, we were just in a smaller temporary office space.
After this we had an opportunity to either go back to the hotel or to spend time in the main shopping district of Frankfurt. It was a nice shopping area (big ticket stores like Bulgari and Dolce & Gabana), but I was pretty sure that they wouldn't have anything tacky like velvet wall art, so I opted to go back to the hotel and grab lunch in the train station. I had Turkish food, the wonderful and enticing döner kebap. I had just enough time to grab an apfelshörle from a convenience store, change clothes, and hop on a bus headed to Ostheim. This may have been one of the scariest bus rides I have ever undertaken. Our driver was not a happy man, to say the least. Our driver in Berlin was very cool and laidback, but this guy was immediately on our cases. By the time he got on the Autobahn, it was over. As you may or may not know, the autobahn has no set speed limit. I believe that busses may, but this guy didn't seem to be adhering to any traffic laws. I decided a nap might be in my best interests. When I woke up, it seemed that we were stranded out in the country somewhere. Ostheim itself is pretty remote, but there seemed to be some major road construction going on that made things seem that much wronger.
What was I doing in Ostheim? We were visiting a company called Bionade. Bionade is an organic drink. It goes through a fermentation process, but is not alcoholic. When we first arrived, we were welcomed into the gasthaus across the street from the company, and there was a large spread of Bionade there for us to sample. Flavors included lychee, herbs, elderberry, and orange ginger. We were taken on a tour of the plant, and given a taste of the glycolic acid that is used in the process. It was pretty much like taking a shot of REALLY strong vinegar. It was beyond nasty. We then got a look at the bottling facility. Afterwards we were given a gift of four bottles of Bionade to take home (yay for freebies! no for suitcase planning!). Since Bionade is made with organic ingredients, it made sense for us to go out to one of the farms that produces ingredients for Bionade.
We went to an elderberry farm that is owned by Martin Ritter. Herr Ritter walked us through the main crop of his farm, which is elderberries. They grow on trees, and we saw a regular variety and a Swedish variety. Of course, we got to sample the berries as well! The farm was fantastic - the weather was beautiful, the sky was blue, there were animals to play with - it was without a doubt the most relaxing day of the trip. I was able to feed some apples to some of the horses, including one that was quite the licker and who also nibbled my finger to the point that it still feels sore two days later as I write this (she didn't clamp down, but she did hold my finger firmly between her teeth - and I do mean firmly). Herr Ritter also served us dinner, fried organic turkey and chicken that he grows on the farm (the bird droppings are used to fertilize the crops), with organic vegetables and salads. It was such a nice pleasant time! Our bus ride back with Scary Driver took about two hours, and most of us on the bus stayed awake and told stories and generally had a good time spending time with each other as this trip winds down to a close. By far, I think that day was my favorite of the trip to that point.
After this we had an opportunity to either go back to the hotel or to spend time in the main shopping district of Frankfurt. It was a nice shopping area (big ticket stores like Bulgari and Dolce & Gabana), but I was pretty sure that they wouldn't have anything tacky like velvet wall art, so I opted to go back to the hotel and grab lunch in the train station. I had Turkish food, the wonderful and enticing döner kebap. I had just enough time to grab an apfelshörle from a convenience store, change clothes, and hop on a bus headed to Ostheim. This may have been one of the scariest bus rides I have ever undertaken. Our driver was not a happy man, to say the least. Our driver in Berlin was very cool and laidback, but this guy was immediately on our cases. By the time he got on the Autobahn, it was over. As you may or may not know, the autobahn has no set speed limit. I believe that busses may, but this guy didn't seem to be adhering to any traffic laws. I decided a nap might be in my best interests. When I woke up, it seemed that we were stranded out in the country somewhere. Ostheim itself is pretty remote, but there seemed to be some major road construction going on that made things seem that much wronger.
What was I doing in Ostheim? We were visiting a company called Bionade. Bionade is an organic drink. It goes through a fermentation process, but is not alcoholic. When we first arrived, we were welcomed into the gasthaus across the street from the company, and there was a large spread of Bionade there for us to sample. Flavors included lychee, herbs, elderberry, and orange ginger. We were taken on a tour of the plant, and given a taste of the glycolic acid that is used in the process. It was pretty much like taking a shot of REALLY strong vinegar. It was beyond nasty. We then got a look at the bottling facility. Afterwards we were given a gift of four bottles of Bionade to take home (yay for freebies! no for suitcase planning!). Since Bionade is made with organic ingredients, it made sense for us to go out to one of the farms that produces ingredients for Bionade.
We went to an elderberry farm that is owned by Martin Ritter. Herr Ritter walked us through the main crop of his farm, which is elderberries. They grow on trees, and we saw a regular variety and a Swedish variety. Of course, we got to sample the berries as well! The farm was fantastic - the weather was beautiful, the sky was blue, there were animals to play with - it was without a doubt the most relaxing day of the trip. I was able to feed some apples to some of the horses, including one that was quite the licker and who also nibbled my finger to the point that it still feels sore two days later as I write this (she didn't clamp down, but she did hold my finger firmly between her teeth - and I do mean firmly). Herr Ritter also served us dinner, fried organic turkey and chicken that he grows on the farm (the bird droppings are used to fertilize the crops), with organic vegetables and salads. It was such a nice pleasant time! Our bus ride back with Scary Driver took about two hours, and most of us on the bus stayed awake and told stories and generally had a good time spending time with each other as this trip winds down to a close. By far, I think that day was my favorite of the trip to that point.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
August 5
This morning I freaked out a little bit because I had forgotten what time I was supposed to meet downstairs - 7:15 or 8:15 (that shot of ouzo was probably a bad idea). Not wanting to be that late person, I got up early and got downstairs, checked out, had breakfast, and then hung out for an hour because, of course, we didn’t have to be downstairs until 8:15. Go figure.
We did have a meeting before leaving Hamburg this morning at the University of Hamburg. The presenter was one of the most excited men I have met on this trip! He seemed genuinely pleased to meet with us, and told us of his wish to join the U.S.’s National Council for the Social Studies. He was funny and easy to talk to concerning issues of teacher education. He then took us on a short walking tour of the campus, and we were able to view a memorial to a Jewish synagogue that was destroyed on Hitler’s Kristallnacht. Next door to the memorial was a Jewish school, and lest you think that any Jews that the Jews faced during the time of Hitler have disappeared, think again. There are still right-wing extremist groups out there (Neo Nazis, as an example) who are still bent on hurting the Jews, and you could see how seriously Germany and the city of Hamburg is taking this by the security measures that were in place around the school. There was a police stand, guards, fences, and security lights and cameras. Very sad to see, and very sobering.
We had just enough time to get back to the hotel area and grab lunch/snacks for the train, as well as out luggage, and then board the train for our almost four hour ride to Frankfurt. I thought that I would get a decent nap on the train, and it turns out that I was maybe out for about 20 minutes or so. Make no mistake - I am exhausted. For whatever reason though I am having trouble sleeping. Not fun at all! We finally got to Frankfurt, and were met with a very welcome surprise - porters for our luggage! This was fantastic because it turned out that the Frankfurt train station was massive. Lugging baggage through there would have been a mess. Our hotel is right outside the station, so it is very handy for getting around. We had enough time to meet Stephan and Victor, our tour guides here, and check into the hotel before heading out to explore the city.
Our first stop was the Goethe Haus. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is the man for whome the Goethe-Institut is named, so it made perfect sense to go out to see his home. Want to know who Goethe is? Think of him as the German Shakespeare. He is Germany's most famous poet, and was also an important political official. The house was very nice, and relaxing to be able to go from room to room and see how Goethe would have lived. We next went to the Roemerburg Old Town Square, which one of the guides called Disneyland Germany because all of the "original" looking buildings were actually built way back in the 1980's. It was still cute! We saw the oldest remaining standing building in Frankfurt, visited the Nikolaikirche (another one!) and had a private organ recital of works by Bach (very very very cool). I also was excited to see some old ROman bath ruins that were unearthed when Frankfurt started to dig out another tunnel for the subway. We ended our tour at the Kaiserdom, Frankfurt's cathedral, which was a beautiful building of red sandstone.
By this point, we were all getting hungry again, so it was off to dinner - this time at a Japanese restaurant! While I am enjoying the international food, I do hope that we get back to eating German food again soon. I am pretty certain that will happen tomorrow!
Goodnight for now!
We did have a meeting before leaving Hamburg this morning at the University of Hamburg. The presenter was one of the most excited men I have met on this trip! He seemed genuinely pleased to meet with us, and told us of his wish to join the U.S.’s National Council for the Social Studies. He was funny and easy to talk to concerning issues of teacher education. He then took us on a short walking tour of the campus, and we were able to view a memorial to a Jewish synagogue that was destroyed on Hitler’s Kristallnacht. Next door to the memorial was a Jewish school, and lest you think that any Jews that the Jews faced during the time of Hitler have disappeared, think again. There are still right-wing extremist groups out there (Neo Nazis, as an example) who are still bent on hurting the Jews, and you could see how seriously Germany and the city of Hamburg is taking this by the security measures that were in place around the school. There was a police stand, guards, fences, and security lights and cameras. Very sad to see, and very sobering.
We had just enough time to get back to the hotel area and grab lunch/snacks for the train, as well as out luggage, and then board the train for our almost four hour ride to Frankfurt. I thought that I would get a decent nap on the train, and it turns out that I was maybe out for about 20 minutes or so. Make no mistake - I am exhausted. For whatever reason though I am having trouble sleeping. Not fun at all! We finally got to Frankfurt, and were met with a very welcome surprise - porters for our luggage! This was fantastic because it turned out that the Frankfurt train station was massive. Lugging baggage through there would have been a mess. Our hotel is right outside the station, so it is very handy for getting around. We had enough time to meet Stephan and Victor, our tour guides here, and check into the hotel before heading out to explore the city.
Our first stop was the Goethe Haus. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is the man for whome the Goethe-Institut is named, so it made perfect sense to go out to see his home. Want to know who Goethe is? Think of him as the German Shakespeare. He is Germany's most famous poet, and was also an important political official. The house was very nice, and relaxing to be able to go from room to room and see how Goethe would have lived. We next went to the Roemerburg Old Town Square, which one of the guides called Disneyland Germany because all of the "original" looking buildings were actually built way back in the 1980's. It was still cute! We saw the oldest remaining standing building in Frankfurt, visited the Nikolaikirche (another one!) and had a private organ recital of works by Bach (very very very cool). I also was excited to see some old ROman bath ruins that were unearthed when Frankfurt started to dig out another tunnel for the subway. We ended our tour at the Kaiserdom, Frankfurt's cathedral, which was a beautiful building of red sandstone.
By this point, we were all getting hungry again, so it was off to dinner - this time at a Japanese restaurant! While I am enjoying the international food, I do hope that we get back to eating German food again soon. I am pretty certain that will happen tomorrow!
Goodnight for now!
August 4
Today was education day. Our scheduled meetings had us visiting the Teacher Training Institute, the Ministry of Education for the Hanseatic City of Hamburg, and a school visit at the end of the day. As has come to be expected in Hamburg, however, things didn't exactly go as planned!
Our first visit to the Teacher Training Institute was interesting. We learned about how teachers in Hamburg actually do their professional development each year at this place rather than at their schools.
After this appointment we went back to the hotel for lunch and a short break before our next appointment. I went with several other people to find a store that sells Birkenstocks. Birks are a bit cheaper over here than what they are in the States, and since I know that they are good for my feet, I really wanted to get a pair. Great success! I quickly found the exact sandal that I wanted, and was out the door in time to grab a slice of pizza, a franzbrötchen (Liz, they ARE great!), and a Mezzo Mix (mix of Coca Cola and Orange Fanta).
Our next appointment at the Ministry was interesting because it showed how the city-state of Hamburg is dealing with integrating cultures other then German into the schools. Traditionally all instruction has been in German, and it has been a sink-or-swim approach to learning if you did not speak German. I thought that the speaker was really interesting, but others in the group found him to be boring. I thought he was fascinating because he was a perfect example of a politician making decisions for schools, and these people crack me up. Besides, he did have some good ideas.
We didn’t get to do a school visit because, guess what? School’s out! This seemed weird because we were supposed to go to parts of Germany where school was still in session. That didn’t happen. I was disappointed in this, as were others because we are all teachers and we were interested in seeing what goes on in German schools. Has the trip to Hamburg been cursed?
Now with ample amounts of free time on our hands, we headed to the Rathaus area and the area around the Alster. I looked inside the Rathaus which was absolutely stunning, and then looked at a temporary art exhibit inside that dealt with different themes and how they are interpreted in each of the world's five main religions (Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism). I was so impressed with the exhibit that I ended up purchasing the accompanying book, even though I swore to myself that I would purchase no more books! I just liked how it showed the similarities between the five religions.
I had shopping time after this, but I didn't have anything I needed to buy as I had done all of my souvenir shopping here and there when I had a few minutes to spare. Now, I had almost three hours! I ended up getting a cup of hot chocolate at Godiva and walked over to drink it on the banks of the Little Alster. No sense in spending money when you don't have to (Dad would be proud!). I then headed back to the square outside the Rathaus and was able to witness something pretty funny. Apparently there is a tradition that if a man turns 30 and is not married/engaged, his friends can harass him outside the Rathaus. This guy was dressed in a bunny costume and was sweeping the sidewalk. The only way that he could be freed from doing this was to have a woman kiss him and free him. It was interesting to watch because they were really having a good time, drinking beers and laughing.
We ate dinner that night at a Turkish restaurant. Germany has a high number of Turkish immigrants, so this made sense. I have no idea what my food was called, but I had hummus, some ground meat thing stuffed with goat cheese, a salad, rice, and some drink of apple juice that is mixed with sparkling mineral water that I have not had 20 of while on this trip. We were brought out shots of some liquorice-flavored alcohol that tasted a lot like ouzo. I’m pretty sure it was ouzo, but they called it something different. Tasty tasty.
That night at the hotel I had to pack up the bags, which are oddly heavy (stupid books) and get ready to leave Hamburg for Frankfurt.
Our first visit to the Teacher Training Institute was interesting. We learned about how teachers in Hamburg actually do their professional development each year at this place rather than at their schools.
After this appointment we went back to the hotel for lunch and a short break before our next appointment. I went with several other people to find a store that sells Birkenstocks. Birks are a bit cheaper over here than what they are in the States, and since I know that they are good for my feet, I really wanted to get a pair. Great success! I quickly found the exact sandal that I wanted, and was out the door in time to grab a slice of pizza, a franzbrötchen (Liz, they ARE great!), and a Mezzo Mix (mix of Coca Cola and Orange Fanta).
Our next appointment at the Ministry was interesting because it showed how the city-state of Hamburg is dealing with integrating cultures other then German into the schools. Traditionally all instruction has been in German, and it has been a sink-or-swim approach to learning if you did not speak German. I thought that the speaker was really interesting, but others in the group found him to be boring. I thought he was fascinating because he was a perfect example of a politician making decisions for schools, and these people crack me up. Besides, he did have some good ideas.
We didn’t get to do a school visit because, guess what? School’s out! This seemed weird because we were supposed to go to parts of Germany where school was still in session. That didn’t happen. I was disappointed in this, as were others because we are all teachers and we were interested in seeing what goes on in German schools. Has the trip to Hamburg been cursed?
Now with ample amounts of free time on our hands, we headed to the Rathaus area and the area around the Alster. I looked inside the Rathaus which was absolutely stunning, and then looked at a temporary art exhibit inside that dealt with different themes and how they are interpreted in each of the world's five main religions (Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism). I was so impressed with the exhibit that I ended up purchasing the accompanying book, even though I swore to myself that I would purchase no more books! I just liked how it showed the similarities between the five religions.
I had shopping time after this, but I didn't have anything I needed to buy as I had done all of my souvenir shopping here and there when I had a few minutes to spare. Now, I had almost three hours! I ended up getting a cup of hot chocolate at Godiva and walked over to drink it on the banks of the Little Alster. No sense in spending money when you don't have to (Dad would be proud!). I then headed back to the square outside the Rathaus and was able to witness something pretty funny. Apparently there is a tradition that if a man turns 30 and is not married/engaged, his friends can harass him outside the Rathaus. This guy was dressed in a bunny costume and was sweeping the sidewalk. The only way that he could be freed from doing this was to have a woman kiss him and free him. It was interesting to watch because they were really having a good time, drinking beers and laughing.
We ate dinner that night at a Turkish restaurant. Germany has a high number of Turkish immigrants, so this made sense. I have no idea what my food was called, but I had hummus, some ground meat thing stuffed with goat cheese, a salad, rice, and some drink of apple juice that is mixed with sparkling mineral water that I have not had 20 of while on this trip. We were brought out shots of some liquorice-flavored alcohol that tasted a lot like ouzo. I’m pretty sure it was ouzo, but they called it something different. Tasty tasty.
That night at the hotel I had to pack up the bags, which are oddly heavy (stupid books) and get ready to leave Hamburg for Frankfurt.
August 3
Today was a scheduled tour at the German Emigration Museum in Bremerhaven. This museum was one of the things I was most looking forward to on the trip, so I was very excited about taking the train to Bremen, switching trains, and ending up in Bremerhaven. Unfortunately, we got a bit delayed because our train out of Hamburg arrived to Bremen late, making us miss our train and forcing us to take the next one. That was a 50 minute wait. There was some serious shopping to get done in that time! I had no idea what I was going to find, but it didn't stop me from looking! It's funny how fast 50 minutes flies by when you have some unexpected unstructured time!
We had another hour or so on the train from Bremen to Bremerhaven. As each minute ticked by, I could feel myself getting more and more excited. I truly was looking forward to this museum! It won the Best Museum in Europe award in 2007 - and there are a LOT of museums over here! In the lobby I was about ready to lose it - I'm crazy in museums! We were given a card that corresponded with a different emigrant, and as we moved through the museum, we could see how our emigrant did, if they were allowed passage, what happened to that person on the passage, and if they were finally allowed into the country to which they had emigrated. My emigrant was Justina Tubbe, who, rest assured, finally made it to the United States in 1835 and ended up settling in Texas. We had another guided tour, which lasted around two hours or so, which was just enough time to scratch the surface. I SOOOO wish that we would have had longer here. I was fascinated by this place - lots of interactive exhibits for visitors, a place to do research on your own family at the end, and very informative signs throughout the museum in both English and German. I even managed to have my picture taken as an emigrant (unfortunately the machine was out of ink so they are supposed to mail the picture to me - we'll see!). I wanted to take pictures, but once again this was a museum where you had to pay to take pictures and I thought I would console myself by buying the museum book in the gift shop. Guess what they were out of? They are supposed to e-mail me when the new book is available. I was utterly fascinated by this place. We had to move on, though. I was hoping that I could have used my remaining time in Bremerhaven to explore the museum more (we were scheduled to spend the afternoon in Bremerhaven at our choice of museums, but something happened - a vote or something that I didn't take part in) but we were headed back to Bremen. I was a little disappointed here. Bremerhaven had this amazing sea breeze, and even if I just spent another hour there, I was looking forward to walking around Bremerhaven and just enjoying the city. Not spending time in Bremerhaven has been one of the lows for me on the trip so far, and it was made that much worse due to the fact that there was apparently a vote to determine what we were doing and I didn't get to take part for some reason. I think I had just built so much up around this part of the trip that when it didn't work out I was just really bummed. Bremen was a nice city, and I got to see the statue of the Bremen musicians, which was cool, but I still remained a little bummed about how the day turned out. I knew I couldn't pout - this is, after all, a trip that I am not paying for - so I put a smile on my face and tried to deal with it the best that I could. I did get a little souvenir shopping done in Bremen, so not all was lost!
Dinner that night was at a Chinese restaurant. Britta knew the owner, and called ahead to have the food ready when we arrived as it was getting late. This was a feast! We sat at two large tables with lazy susans, and food just kept coming out of the kitchen every time you turned around. It seemed as if we ate forever, but in reality I think we just bombarded with enough food that it seemed that we ate more than what we actually did. And what did I have to drink? Apfelshörle!!!
Back to the hotel for another great night's sleep in anticipation of tomorrow!
We had another hour or so on the train from Bremen to Bremerhaven. As each minute ticked by, I could feel myself getting more and more excited. I truly was looking forward to this museum! It won the Best Museum in Europe award in 2007 - and there are a LOT of museums over here! In the lobby I was about ready to lose it - I'm crazy in museums! We were given a card that corresponded with a different emigrant, and as we moved through the museum, we could see how our emigrant did, if they were allowed passage, what happened to that person on the passage, and if they were finally allowed into the country to which they had emigrated. My emigrant was Justina Tubbe, who, rest assured, finally made it to the United States in 1835 and ended up settling in Texas. We had another guided tour, which lasted around two hours or so, which was just enough time to scratch the surface. I SOOOO wish that we would have had longer here. I was fascinated by this place - lots of interactive exhibits for visitors, a place to do research on your own family at the end, and very informative signs throughout the museum in both English and German. I even managed to have my picture taken as an emigrant (unfortunately the machine was out of ink so they are supposed to mail the picture to me - we'll see!). I wanted to take pictures, but once again this was a museum where you had to pay to take pictures and I thought I would console myself by buying the museum book in the gift shop. Guess what they were out of? They are supposed to e-mail me when the new book is available. I was utterly fascinated by this place. We had to move on, though. I was hoping that I could have used my remaining time in Bremerhaven to explore the museum more (we were scheduled to spend the afternoon in Bremerhaven at our choice of museums, but something happened - a vote or something that I didn't take part in) but we were headed back to Bremen. I was a little disappointed here. Bremerhaven had this amazing sea breeze, and even if I just spent another hour there, I was looking forward to walking around Bremerhaven and just enjoying the city. Not spending time in Bremerhaven has been one of the lows for me on the trip so far, and it was made that much worse due to the fact that there was apparently a vote to determine what we were doing and I didn't get to take part for some reason. I think I had just built so much up around this part of the trip that when it didn't work out I was just really bummed. Bremen was a nice city, and I got to see the statue of the Bremen musicians, which was cool, but I still remained a little bummed about how the day turned out. I knew I couldn't pout - this is, after all, a trip that I am not paying for - so I put a smile on my face and tried to deal with it the best that I could. I did get a little souvenir shopping done in Bremen, so not all was lost!
Dinner that night was at a Chinese restaurant. Britta knew the owner, and called ahead to have the food ready when we arrived as it was getting late. This was a feast! We sat at two large tables with lazy susans, and food just kept coming out of the kitchen every time you turned around. It seemed as if we ate forever, but in reality I think we just bombarded with enough food that it seemed that we ate more than what we actually did. And what did I have to drink? Apfelshörle!!!
Back to the hotel for another great night's sleep in anticipation of tomorrow!
August 2
Today was our sightseeing day around the city of Hamburg, and it was also the day that I thought I was going to die. Simply put, I think Hamburg was trying to kill me. Read and discover.
I opted out of going to the fish market this morning for multiple reasons. One, I had seen the Tsukiji market in Tokyo, the world's largest, so I wasn't really concerned about seeing another market. Two, it gave me more time to sleep in. As I had stayed up far too late last night, I really needed the extra time to sleep in. I even slept so late that I didn't allow myself enough time for breakfast. No worries, though. I ended up being fien throughout the day, so no complaints!
We took the subway to the harbor to look around. Hamburg is a very industrial city, and its harbor is always bustling. We took a 1.5 hour boat tour of the harbor, which was interesting if not a bit smelly (fuel) and rocky (bustling harbor = lots of waves). The narration was all in German, which was a bit frustrating. I eventually quit trying to listen to the guide translate and just looked around me. When the boat was only gently moving back and forth, I think I caught a few winks along the way. After that someone had the bright idea to go down into a tunnel that would take us to a small island out in the harbor.
This is where I think Hamburg was trying to kill me. Just saying.
I wasn't initially afraid of the tunnel. We took the elevator down, and it was very noisy. This tunnel goes under the Elbe River, and is open to traffic on weekdays. On the weekend, it is for pedestrian use only. However, today, for whatever reason, there was a group of motorcycles that were circling the route of the tunnel. Motorcycles equal exhaust fumes. Turns out, the tunnel wasn't that well ventilated.
Would this be a good time to tell you that I am claustrophobic?
I am not sure how long this tunnel was, this Gateway to Hell as I now like to call it. I would give an estimate of six to seven football fields end to end, but I am really not sure. It seemed as if it stretched on forever. About halfway through the tunnel, after breathing in all kinds of exhaust, it occurred to me that there was nothing protecting me in this tunnel from a massive onslaught of water except for the tiled walls that arched over me. I freaked out. I definitely quickened my step to get out of the tunnel, and by the time I reached the end, I was hyperventilating and crying. I definitely lost it. Unfortunately for me, there was no way to get back from the island except to go back into the tunnel again. There were no taxis (remember, no auto service on weekends), no busses, no ferries...no nothing. The only way I could get back to civilization was to go through that tunnel all over again. Claustrophobia, my friends, is no laughing matter. Generally when I get in an enclosed area, I am okay, but for whatever reason today I couldn't handle it. Wood, Britta, and Nicola tried to find a way to get me back, but something in me told me to run for it. I told them to call off the search, that I had made a decision to run through the tunnel. As we all know that mine is not a body built for speed, this was going to be quite a feat. I estimate that I made it a good distance before I lost it again, becoming a hysterical mess. I have never been so happy to make it to the end of something. Thus far, that tunnel has been the worst moment of this trip for me, and I am hoping that nothing else will pop up that could rival it in any way, shape , or form. After this (and after I had the chance to calm down), we had the chance to look around the harbor a bit and grab some lunch. I have to admit that the area bothered me some, but it could be that my impressions are colored by the tunnel incident. I thought it was a little touristy. But, overall the weather was nice and I had the chance to get lunch (a cold fish sandwich, which is much better than what you think), so I'll take it.
Here's where the unfortunate part of Sunday kicks in. The hotels that we were scheduled to visit weren't open, so we literally walked around for almost six hours. We saw a couple of churches including another Nikolaikirche, which was just the bombed out remains of a church destroyed during World War II. We were able to go up into the remaining steeple and get a view of Hamburg. It was very windy and chilly up there, but nice nonetheless. I also got to see the Alster, the big lake in the middle of Hamburg. I think overall though I was a little frustrated with today. It just seemed that we walked and walked and walked, and really didn't see much. Again, I could just be saying that because of the tunnel. Not sure.
Dinner tonight was at a Pakistani restaurant, which is essentially very much like Indian food. Here's the fun part though - translating it from Pakistani to German to English. Ordering took FOREVER, but once the food showed up, it was worth the wait! I had a samosa and chicken tikka masala, and some apfelschörlen. After the group finished eating, some of the members decided to go tour the Red Light District. I just wasn't interested. Morally the idea of gawking at people who make a living of selling themselves just gets to me, and I just felt bad about making these women my spectacle for the night. I wasn't alone. More power to the ones who went out and viewed it, and I know they had fun, but I had a great time going out for drinks with Michael, Siggi, and Karen. In fact, that has been one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip for me to this point. Sleep came VERY easy Sunday night! I had abused my body with too much food and some running - I needed rest!
I opted out of going to the fish market this morning for multiple reasons. One, I had seen the Tsukiji market in Tokyo, the world's largest, so I wasn't really concerned about seeing another market. Two, it gave me more time to sleep in. As I had stayed up far too late last night, I really needed the extra time to sleep in. I even slept so late that I didn't allow myself enough time for breakfast. No worries, though. I ended up being fien throughout the day, so no complaints!
We took the subway to the harbor to look around. Hamburg is a very industrial city, and its harbor is always bustling. We took a 1.5 hour boat tour of the harbor, which was interesting if not a bit smelly (fuel) and rocky (bustling harbor = lots of waves). The narration was all in German, which was a bit frustrating. I eventually quit trying to listen to the guide translate and just looked around me. When the boat was only gently moving back and forth, I think I caught a few winks along the way. After that someone had the bright idea to go down into a tunnel that would take us to a small island out in the harbor.
This is where I think Hamburg was trying to kill me. Just saying.
I wasn't initially afraid of the tunnel. We took the elevator down, and it was very noisy. This tunnel goes under the Elbe River, and is open to traffic on weekdays. On the weekend, it is for pedestrian use only. However, today, for whatever reason, there was a group of motorcycles that were circling the route of the tunnel. Motorcycles equal exhaust fumes. Turns out, the tunnel wasn't that well ventilated.
Would this be a good time to tell you that I am claustrophobic?
I am not sure how long this tunnel was, this Gateway to Hell as I now like to call it. I would give an estimate of six to seven football fields end to end, but I am really not sure. It seemed as if it stretched on forever. About halfway through the tunnel, after breathing in all kinds of exhaust, it occurred to me that there was nothing protecting me in this tunnel from a massive onslaught of water except for the tiled walls that arched over me. I freaked out. I definitely quickened my step to get out of the tunnel, and by the time I reached the end, I was hyperventilating and crying. I definitely lost it. Unfortunately for me, there was no way to get back from the island except to go back into the tunnel again. There were no taxis (remember, no auto service on weekends), no busses, no ferries...no nothing. The only way I could get back to civilization was to go through that tunnel all over again. Claustrophobia, my friends, is no laughing matter. Generally when I get in an enclosed area, I am okay, but for whatever reason today I couldn't handle it. Wood, Britta, and Nicola tried to find a way to get me back, but something in me told me to run for it. I told them to call off the search, that I had made a decision to run through the tunnel. As we all know that mine is not a body built for speed, this was going to be quite a feat. I estimate that I made it a good distance before I lost it again, becoming a hysterical mess. I have never been so happy to make it to the end of something. Thus far, that tunnel has been the worst moment of this trip for me, and I am hoping that nothing else will pop up that could rival it in any way, shape , or form. After this (and after I had the chance to calm down), we had the chance to look around the harbor a bit and grab some lunch. I have to admit that the area bothered me some, but it could be that my impressions are colored by the tunnel incident. I thought it was a little touristy. But, overall the weather was nice and I had the chance to get lunch (a cold fish sandwich, which is much better than what you think), so I'll take it.
Here's where the unfortunate part of Sunday kicks in. The hotels that we were scheduled to visit weren't open, so we literally walked around for almost six hours. We saw a couple of churches including another Nikolaikirche, which was just the bombed out remains of a church destroyed during World War II. We were able to go up into the remaining steeple and get a view of Hamburg. It was very windy and chilly up there, but nice nonetheless. I also got to see the Alster, the big lake in the middle of Hamburg. I think overall though I was a little frustrated with today. It just seemed that we walked and walked and walked, and really didn't see much. Again, I could just be saying that because of the tunnel. Not sure.
Dinner tonight was at a Pakistani restaurant, which is essentially very much like Indian food. Here's the fun part though - translating it from Pakistani to German to English. Ordering took FOREVER, but once the food showed up, it was worth the wait! I had a samosa and chicken tikka masala, and some apfelschörlen. After the group finished eating, some of the members decided to go tour the Red Light District. I just wasn't interested. Morally the idea of gawking at people who make a living of selling themselves just gets to me, and I just felt bad about making these women my spectacle for the night. I wasn't alone. More power to the ones who went out and viewed it, and I know they had fun, but I had a great time going out for drinks with Michael, Siggi, and Karen. In fact, that has been one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip for me to this point. Sleep came VERY easy Sunday night! I had abused my body with too much food and some running - I needed rest!
Finishing up August 1st...
Okay, so we finally got to Hamburg after a long day of travel. Any hope of getting a little bit of immediate rest was immediately pushed aside as we went out for dinner. I was admittedly a bit hungry, so I was fine with it! We ate dinner at a local restaurant, which served some regional specialties. I had pannfisch, which was a pan-fried fish with a mustard sauce, with German potatoes (yes!), sauerkraut, and a salad. I had two big glasses of apfelschörle, of course! It's my new favorite thing! After a nice long dinner getting to know our new tour guides Britta and Nicola, it was off to the hotel to make phone calls home, play around on the internet some, and finally get some sleep for a long day tomorrow!
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