On December 27th, we hit the road (in the most ridiculous situation ever, stay tuned) and headed from the south to the north to visit Niclas and his family in Hamburg. I was pretty excited because it was my first time to experience Germany outside of Bavaria. I met Nici's parents back in September when we Oktoberfested together, and they are very sweet (seriously, how sweet is it to invite me to come stay even though they've only met me once?), so I was excited to see them again and to see their home!
Okay, but before we get to the good stuff, let me set the scene of how we got to Hamburg, because it is a doozy. Train tickets would have been really expensive, so Irene found us a carpool* for only €35, which was awesome! Two guys picked us up in Munich and all was going just fine. Then they informed us that we'd be picking up "Mike" a bit outside of Munich. This was disappointing as an 8-hour car ride with three people in the backseat is less than ideal.
Then we pulled over at the designated exit and laid eyes on "Mike." We were even more disappointed. "Mike" was lookin' rough. And smelly.
However, all was not lost! Turns out that that "Mike" was a fake. On to find the real Mike! Who, as it turns out, was lovely. But unfortunately was still a third person in the backseat, regardless of his charms.
Fast forward about an hour.
Scene: Somewhere in Germany. On the Autobahn. In a green car. Traveling about 200 km/hour (125 mph). Irene: legs straddling the console/no headrest, me: sitting on one butt cheek/a third of a headrest (totally pointless, head options are tilt 90° right or slightly right and 90° back)/not able to see out window and therefore feeling slightly sick, everyone in the backseat: incapable of moving, talk radio streaming (?!) (in German, of course) including a segment on cumin and a segment on Peter Pan/J.M. Barrie
Irene: Katy?
Katy (had been closing eyes and leaning head 90° right to the cold window, opens eyes and turns head slightly): Yes?
Irene: Oh, I'm so sorry. Were you sleeping?
Katy: No. Definitely, definitely not. At all.
This is the point at which we proceeded to discuss (quietly) the absolute ridiculousness of our current situation. We were laughing (quietly) for a good 15 minutes before we both decided the best thing to do to feel better would be to close our eyes. The guys continued to drive ridiculously fast, litter out the window (?!), and pull away from a gas station so fast we didn't even have time to buckle up before we were out of the parking lot. Clearly we were IN A HURRY.
On the plus side, we made it to Hamburg in 6.5 hours instead of 8. Also on the plus side, we were in Hamburg! (And don't worry, we had train tickets home!)
It was a beautiful day. Also, just so you know, Scharbeutz was the furthest north I've ever been (at 54°N), and I don't know why but I was excited about that. (This made me think about what the furthest south I've ever been is, which is Cozumel at 20°N. I've got a lot more traveling to do if I've only experienced 34 latitudinal degrees!) ANYWAY. We spent a lovely, crisp, cold first day in northern Germany!
*This is a pretty popular thing to do in Europe, carpooling. I hadn't done it before this, but it's pretty legit - both Germany and France (and many other countries, I'm sure) have very organized systems of carpooling that save money (and possibly time, as trains that stop in little cities take a long time).
Okay, but before we get to the good stuff, let me set the scene of how we got to Hamburg, because it is a doozy. Train tickets would have been really expensive, so Irene found us a carpool* for only €35, which was awesome! Two guys picked us up in Munich and all was going just fine. Then they informed us that we'd be picking up "Mike" a bit outside of Munich. This was disappointing as an 8-hour car ride with three people in the backseat is less than ideal.
Then we pulled over at the designated exit and laid eyes on "Mike." We were even more disappointed. "Mike" was lookin' rough. And smelly.
However, all was not lost! Turns out that that "Mike" was a fake. On to find the real Mike! Who, as it turns out, was lovely. But unfortunately was still a third person in the backseat, regardless of his charms.
Fast forward about an hour.
Scene: Somewhere in Germany. On the Autobahn. In a green car. Traveling about 200 km/hour (125 mph). Irene: legs straddling the console/no headrest, me: sitting on one butt cheek/a third of a headrest (totally pointless, head options are tilt 90° right or slightly right and 90° back)/not able to see out window and therefore feeling slightly sick, everyone in the backseat: incapable of moving, talk radio streaming (?!) (in German, of course) including a segment on cumin and a segment on Peter Pan/J.M. Barrie
Irene: Katy?
Katy (had been closing eyes and leaning head 90° right to the cold window, opens eyes and turns head slightly): Yes?
Irene: Oh, I'm so sorry. Were you sleeping?
Katy: No. Definitely, definitely not. At all.
This is the point at which we proceeded to discuss (quietly) the absolute ridiculousness of our current situation. We were laughing (quietly) for a good 15 minutes before we both decided the best thing to do to feel better would be to close our eyes. The guys continued to drive ridiculously fast, litter out the window (?!), and pull away from a gas station so fast we didn't even have time to buckle up before we were out of the parking lot. Clearly we were IN A HURRY.
On the plus side, we made it to Hamburg in 6.5 hours instead of 8. Also on the plus side, we were in Hamburg! (And don't worry, we had train tickets home!)
...........
On our first full day in Hamburg, we actually didn't stay in Hamburg. We went north to Scharbeutz, a city on the Baltic Sea, where Nici's parents have an apartment.
the view from Nici's parents' beach apartment... not bad, huh?
Irene, bundled up-style
Me, bundled up-style... seriously. Tights, tank top, dress, sweater, two scarves, fleece jacket, jeans, socks, mittens, two hats, coat. That's why I look like a penguin who can't move!
There's not quite enough fur in this picture.
cute houses along the beach
seagull party
Commemorating the first of my Hamburg trip Christmas presents!
This is actually the "mess up" picture and not the good one, but I think it's hilarious.
See it on the bottom right? "Have a hot chocolate and a piece of cake at the Baltic Sea" - check!
hot chocolate and apple strudel with vanilla sauce and ice cream... as delicious as it was beautiful!
horse back riding on the beach, pretty sweet! Except I'd probably like to do it somewhere/sometime slightly less cold.
On the way back to Hamburg from the beach, we stopped in the city of Lübeck. Lübeck was the capital city of the Hanseatic League, an important trade league which stretched along the North and Baltic seas.
the Holstentor, one of the two remaining city gates
beautiful
This style of architecture, called "Brick Gothic," is typical in Baltic countries.
Weihnachtsmarkt right near the Rathaus (town hall) - You can see the coat of arms of Lübeck on the Rathaus behind the lights.
I was slightly obsessed with this market and its lights, so there are quite a few pictures.
Is your heart filled with (post-)Christmas magic?! It should be.
For real.
inside the Rathaus (town hall)
a window exhibit showing Rumpelstiltskin at the market? carnival? called Marchenwald, or "Fairy Tale World"
This is the house where the famous German novelist Thomas Mann and his family lived when he was growing up.
*This is a pretty popular thing to do in Europe, carpooling. I hadn't done it before this, but it's pretty legit - both Germany and France (and many other countries, I'm sure) have very organized systems of carpooling that save money (and possibly time, as trains that stop in little cities take a long time).
No comments:
Post a Comment