The Rathaus (town hall)
Our beloved Jessi and Jonas.
The port city
We went to Hamburg this last weekend to visit our friend Jessica Wegner and her family. They are originally from Hamburg and have been trying to convince us that the north of Germany is WAY better than the south. Well, at least prove to us that all of Germany is not like Bavaria. And she is right!
Hamburg was a really cool city. It reminded me of San Francisco/Zurich with its weather, surrounding water and numerous bridges. Little fact: Hamburg actually has more bridges than Venice, Italy!
Why is my husband so dashingly handsome?
Jessi and her boyfriend Jonas played tour guides in their city taking us on a double-decker bus tour and translating the German narrative just for us. They are so sweet. We strolled along the waterfront wharf and had fish sandwiches for lunch (very typical port-city grub), walked through the underground (and underwater) tunnel that connects the two sides of the Elbe river and got to party one night in the famous Reeperbahn.
The Reeperbahn is an historic party area, (if that's possible...), where sailors would spend their hard earned wages on prostitutes and liquor. Hey, let the good times roll! And it's still a party hearty area today, although the sailors are no longer the only ones who come here to have a good time. All the youth in Hamburg can be found here on Friday and Saturday nights staying up until early the next day. One street in the Reeperbahn area is famous for its prostitution, as it is legal here in Germany. Jessi and Jonas were telling us that women, although they are technically "allowed" to go on this street, often do not because they get hassled by the prostitutes. Whether this is from shame, competitiveness or simple distraction, women are not welcomed on Herberstraße. However, if you are a man, the story is completely different. I'm sure you can imagine. Needless to say, we stayed away from that street, but still got some good pictures of sex ads.
One night, we ordered pizza and ate our slices off WWII-era dishes. It was sorta creepy and cool at the same time, knowing that the plates we were using were made during the reign of the Third Reich. Also, when I was trying to take this picture, the camera wasn't focusing properly and the picture was not coming out at all. We all started joking that maybe you're not supposed to be able to take a picture of the swastika!! But then I figured out my camera's extreme focus mode and it turned out fine. Notice that it was made in Bavaria.
We then said our good-byes and headed home on Monday. Except Nate, he had already left via train on Sunday afternoon (someone's gotta work right?). So here is the last story of our travels this past weekend.
Merissa and I arrived at the Munich airport and bought an outer ring train ticket to get back into the heart of the city. Now, we already have tickets for rings 1-2, the airport is located in ring 13 and the outer ring ticket we bought for 9 euros only covers rings 5-16. I know, I know, this is getting complicated. Yes, welcome to Germany. Anyway, all you need to know is that we deliberately knew we were breaking a German law, but figured we could make it 2 rings without getting checked and save 50% of the normal cost. It really is ridiculous how expensive it is to get to and from the airport!
You know where this story is going right? Of course, (probably because she was with me, because this stuff never happens to my sister), somewhere in the 4th ring we get checked. They do not care if you don't speak German, there are signs in multiple languages saying you will have to pay a fine of 40 euro if you do not have the correct ticket, so what else can we do but say that we are getting off here in......uh......Johanneskirchen. (Where the hell are we?) So, Merissa and I employ our best acting skills and pretend that this is our stop, walk confidently toward the exit and let the train leave us behind.
Thankfully, the ticket guard, or whatever they're called, didn't follow us or give us a fine, they've been known to do that. So, here we are in Johanneskirchen, out in the middle of the Bavarian countryside waiting 20 minutes for the next train. After the scare wore off, all we could do was laugh uncontrollably. Lesson learned. NEVER break the German laws!
Portuguese Tapas. Nate's favorite: sardines.
St. Michael slaying a demon (at least that's what I think this is...)
Atop the tower in St. Michael's Church
The underground and underwater passage to the other side of the city.
3 comments:
I love it that you and Nate are getting to do the young couple without kids dream of living in another country and exploring so much. And I get to experience that freedom vicariously through your blog! : )
About the Nazi dishes: so, are they collector's items, worth lots of money? Are they commonplace? Are they considered good quality and desirable despite the taint of history? Or would it be like an American owning an antique quilt made from the cotton harvested by plantation slaves in the south and never thinking twice about it?
I have some coins from the Reich, that I inherited from my grandma, and they fascinate me too, mainly because they are actually tainted black. It must be due to whatever poor quality metal they used during wartime, the "good" metals being used for the war effort, but the effect is quite striking, as if the color of the money reflects the color of their national heart. It looks like evil money.
I'm not sure Lisa. I remember they were really heavy, so maybe they are good quality and considered collector's items. They were cool nonetheless. Not sure how many people have them. I wanna see your coins someday!
Shera, I love your stories. Thanks for letting us travel through your experiences!
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