I'll admit as I write this I'm a bit melancholic. I'm sitting in my attic room in Neuss listening to some brilliant Ed Sheeran whilst reflecting. I've still got over a month to go on my travels, have only a little idea of where I'm going to end up (country names, no further) and have already come so far. I find it a little crazy. Sometimes I could be back in Australia, not Germany or Spain or wherever I have made it to. Then someone speaks and it hits me "actually, Clem, you're on the other side of the world". I'm melancholic because this blog is about "My week with Mara" (and friends) and I miss them all terribly! However, without further ado, I give you the recap of my time in Hamburg and Kiel.
I arrived after my 3 hour bus ride tired but altogether fairly excited. I hadn't seen Mara since NCYC'11 and was keen to have a good catch up and see both Hamburg and Kiel with her. As I disembarked from the bus I saw her and her friend Katrin walk up and all my nerves dissipated as they both gave me a big hug and said hi. I quickly collected my bags and we started walking towards Mara's car to drive back to Katrin's place where we were staying for the next couple of nights.
When we arrived we had a quick planning session. I had somehow, by some stroke of insane luck, arrived in Hamburg on the weekend of the Port Birthday Celebrations. Hamburg is the biggest port in Germany and second biggest in Europe, and as such these celebrations were going to be quite impressive. Mara and Katrin printed out the timetable and it was decided that we would wake the next morning and after breakfast set out to explore the Port.
As we left in the morning, I was treated to typical Hamburg weather-windy and very, very cold with a very, very high chance of rain. Charming! We had decided to head to the Port and take our Boat Tour as the first activity, so we could see a bit of the Port and Old Town before exploring on foot. However, the boat tour changed routes at the last minute as apparently the water was too high for the boat to pass under the Bridges, which there are, incidentally, more of in Hamburg than in Venice. True Story. As such we were instead treated to an extensive tour of the Port itself, taking in the AIDA Luna, a cruise ship about to be baptised in the celebrations later that night and the dry-docks where the ships were taken to be painted and repaired. I actually found this fascinating as I've had a bit of a fascination with big ships since I was young.
After the boat tour we made our way through the throngs of people (seriously-like sardines) towards St Michel's Cathedral. Once there we made our way inside and after taking a quick look at the actually worship space, bought our tickets and climbed the stairs (to the lift *giggles*) so we could go to the top. We did walk the entire way down though, after being blown around so forcefully by the wind at the top that I was being physically moved backwards towards the other side of the tower. The views were incredible; we could see the entire city and beyond. Afterwards, as we made our way down the stairs, we discussed out next move.
It was decided that we would walk to the downtown area. There we would see the fountain and the "not-a-lake" yet "not-a-river" body of water, as well as the Town Hall and then the shopping district. I quickly decided that the Gummi Bear shop was my favourite (they gave out free samples as you shopped-so good!) after which we moved on once again. We made our way down the the Port and caught a ferry down to the Hamburg Beach, and after a short walk around and deciding that it was too windy and cold, caught the ferry back again. Once back at the Port, we decided that I had to try "Kartoffelpuffer", which are quite like hash browns but saltier and eaten with either sugar or applesauce. We were packed in like sardines as the number of people at the Port had swollen greatly over the course of the day, so after fining our Kartofellpuffer, we made our way back to Katrin's place, quickly stopping at the Gummi Bear shop so that Mara could buy a Mother's Day gift on the way.
Once back at the apartment we made dinner and cocktails before resting for a while. The port Birthday Celebration were coming to a head that evening with a massive fireworks display after the baptism of the AIDA Luna and we planned to go and see them before we met up with another friend for drinks.
These fireworks were spectacular. I would hazard a guess that they lasted for at least 15 if not 20 minutes, consisting of every shape from golden waterfalls to planets with rings around them to hearts, and then finished by a golden finale. It was almost magical. We sat up on the hill after climbing through stinging nettles and from there we could take in everything. The AIDA Luna had been joined by her four sister ships; all brilliantly lit up and shooting spotlights into the sky, the Russian sailing ship was blasting music (I swear I heard Ai Se Eu Te Pego) and the atmosphere was excited, not dampened at all by the light rain that started halfway through the fireworks display.
When the fireworks display ended, we watched for a while as the many thousands of people (who looked a lot like a swarm of ants) on ground level moved as one towards the S-Bahn.
We made our way down the hill in a different direction, eventually (after a very close brush with a cyclist) ending up in the trendy night district and settling in for the rest of the night at a bar called the Goldfischglas.
The next morning we awoke a little later. I had plans to skype the family, after which we were going to drive to Hendstedt to Mara's family to have a big Sunday Lunch.
It was without the best lunch I had eaten since Morocco, possibly even including Morocco. Mara's dad had cooked us a typical North German winter meal (as it was still very cold weather it was OK) of Rouladen with red cabbage and potatoes, and then Mara's mother had made us this amazing, trifle-like desert with Yogurt and cream and fruit. Needless to say I was incredibly full and content afterwards! We spend the afternoon playing Rumikub before Mara and I took the bikes around Hendstedt and got ice-cream. We arrived back at the house early in the evening, and made our plans to go and get Mara's friend Gerrit and drive to Kiel, where Mara lived in an apartment for uni.
I am now debating as to whether to break this post up as I still have two more days to report, but I think I shall persevere...
When we arrived in Kiel it was late, but having only just gotten dark it didn't feel as such. We dropped Gerrit home and then made our way to Mara's apartment where we had a quick bite to eat and then relaxed as I did Arabic homework (yes, I am still studying whilst travelling) after which we slept. The next morning Mara had university from 2, so after breakfast we went for a quick drive and she showed me the Port and the Beach before dropping me home and heading off. I spent the next few hours catching up on blogs and family news (time differences are a bitch) before Mara got home. We had no plans for the evening, but Mara had spoken to Gerrit and decided that we would do something.
We got to talking. I had met Mara in Australia and she was missing Australian food, so naturally we decided to do some cooking. Although it had been a while I made a pavlova. After a quick message to Gerrit we picked up some drinks and went to his place for the evening, as apparently, I needed the true "Kiel experience". This involved a box of 30 small drinks called "Kleiner Feigling".
Kleiner Feigling, for those who don't know, is a deadly drink. It comes in a range of bottles, but you buy the small ones as there is a ritual for drinking it. You tap the bottle three or four times the right way up, then again upside down, before taking the cap off and putting it on your nose (don't ask). You then say cheers (whilst looking each other in the eyes-very important *giggles*) and down the bottle, which is basically equal to a shot.
Now, Gerrit is a fantastic musician, and after a bit of a challenge from me (I had found his lyrics and wanted to know what the music sounded like) he picked up the guitar and started playing. This set the tone for the rest of the night, however as his room-mates were trying to sleep we decided that we would take the bikes and go back to Mara's place. Many hours and a few jams later Gerrit left before Mara and I quickly fell asleep.
The next day I took it easy. Not because of a hangover (there wasn't one) but as exhaustion has this funny habit of creeping up on you and then pouncing when you stop moving quickly. Mara had Uni again and I took it easy until the afternoon. Mara had spoken once again to Gerrit, and apparently he felt like cooking, so we did the logical thing and invited him to cook for us. Mara had made a strawberry cheesecake (which was absolutely delicious) and he bought the ingredients, and we settled in for a long nigh of chatting, a few drinks (understatement) and card game shenanigans. We hadn't planned much apart from some music in the morning, so why not?
The next day was actually one of my favourite days out of my whole travels. When I awoke Mara had left for uni and Gerrit was eating breakfast, and so after a quick pack up we headed over to Gerrit's. The plan was to record vocals on top of Gerrit's already recorded music for a cover of "White Blank Page" by Mumford and Sons. The plan was successful and we produced a fairly good (if I do say so myself) recording by the end. I'd post it here but I'm not actually sure how to, so when it's on Youtube I'll link it. Promise *smiles*.
The afternoon was over as quickly as it started with Mara arriving and Gerrit and I finishing the recording. We had to return to the apartment for a little while to pack our things; Mara was going to Hendstedt for Youth Group and then on to Hamburg the next day, and I was meeting Ron and his family that night in a place called Lubeck to commence my time with them. Mara drove me to Lubeck and we said our goodbyes before we both continued on our travels once again!
Once again we come to the end of another blog post! I still have much to catch up on, however my story takes a different direction with new friends and new destinations from this point on! As always,
Until next time,
Love Love!
Clem xx
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| Cruise Ship! |
I arrived after my 3 hour bus ride tired but altogether fairly excited. I hadn't seen Mara since NCYC'11 and was keen to have a good catch up and see both Hamburg and Kiel with her. As I disembarked from the bus I saw her and her friend Katrin walk up and all my nerves dissipated as they both gave me a big hug and said hi. I quickly collected my bags and we started walking towards Mara's car to drive back to Katrin's place where we were staying for the next couple of nights.
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| The Old Tunnel under the Harbour |
When we arrived we had a quick planning session. I had somehow, by some stroke of insane luck, arrived in Hamburg on the weekend of the Port Birthday Celebrations. Hamburg is the biggest port in Germany and second biggest in Europe, and as such these celebrations were going to be quite impressive. Mara and Katrin printed out the timetable and it was decided that we would wake the next morning and after breakfast set out to explore the Port.
 |
| St Michel's Cathedral |
As we left in the morning, I was treated to typical Hamburg weather-windy and very, very cold with a very, very high chance of rain. Charming! We had decided to head to the Port and take our Boat Tour as the first activity, so we could see a bit of the Port and Old Town before exploring on foot. However, the boat tour changed routes at the last minute as apparently the water was too high for the boat to pass under the Bridges, which there are, incidentally, more of in Hamburg than in Venice. True Story. As such we were instead treated to an extensive tour of the Port itself, taking in the AIDA Luna, a cruise ship about to be baptised in the celebrations later that night and the dry-docks where the ships were taken to be painted and repaired. I actually found this fascinating as I've had a bit of a fascination with big ships since I was young.
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| But one of the views from the top! |
After the boat tour we made our way through the throngs of people (seriously-like sardines) towards St Michel's Cathedral. Once there we made our way inside and after taking a quick look at the actually worship space, bought our tickets and climbed the stairs (to the lift *giggles*) so we could go to the top. We did walk the entire way down though, after being blown around so forcefully by the wind at the top that I was being physically moved backwards towards the other side of the tower. The views were incredible; we could see the entire city and beyond. Afterwards, as we made our way down the stairs, we discussed out next move.
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| Hamburg Town Hall |
It was decided that we would walk to the downtown area. There we would see the fountain and the "not-a-lake" yet "not-a-river" body of water, as well as the Town Hall and then the shopping district. I quickly decided that the Gummi Bear shop was my favourite (they gave out free samples as you shopped-so good!) after which we moved on once again. We made our way down the the Port and caught a ferry down to the Hamburg Beach, and after a short walk around and deciding that it was too windy and cold, caught the ferry back again. Once back at the Port, we decided that I had to try "Kartoffelpuffer", which are quite like hash browns but saltier and eaten with either sugar or applesauce. We were packed in like sardines as the number of people at the Port had swollen greatly over the course of the day, so after fining our Kartofellpuffer, we made our way back to Katrin's place, quickly stopping at the Gummi Bear shop so that Mara could buy a Mother's Day gift on the way.
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| Party. |
Once back at the apartment we made dinner and cocktails before resting for a while. The port Birthday Celebration were coming to a head that evening with a massive fireworks display after the baptism of the AIDA Luna and we planned to go and see them before we met up with another friend for drinks.
These fireworks were spectacular. I would hazard a guess that they lasted for at least 15 if not 20 minutes, consisting of every shape from golden waterfalls to planets with rings around them to hearts, and then finished by a golden finale. It was almost magical. We sat up on the hill after climbing through stinging nettles and from there we could take in everything. The AIDA Luna had been joined by her four sister ships; all brilliantly lit up and shooting spotlights into the sky, the Russian sailing ship was blasting music (I swear I heard Ai Se Eu Te Pego) and the atmosphere was excited, not dampened at all by the light rain that started halfway through the fireworks display.
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| Best Ice-cream. NO contest. |
When the fireworks display ended, we watched for a while as the many thousands of people (who looked a lot like a swarm of ants) on ground level moved as one towards the S-Bahn.
We made our way down the hill in a different direction, eventually (after a very close brush with a cyclist) ending up in the trendy night district and settling in for the rest of the night at a bar called the Goldfischglas.
The next morning we awoke a little later. I had plans to skype the family, after which we were going to drive to Hendstedt to Mara's family to have a big Sunday Lunch.
It was without the best lunch I had eaten since Morocco, possibly even including Morocco. Mara's dad had cooked us a typical North German winter meal (as it was still very cold weather it was OK) of Rouladen with red cabbage and potatoes, and then Mara's mother had made us this amazing, trifle-like desert with Yogurt and cream and fruit. Needless to say I was incredibly full and content afterwards! We spend the afternoon playing Rumikub before Mara and I took the bikes around Hendstedt and got ice-cream. We arrived back at the house early in the evening, and made our plans to go and get Mara's friend Gerrit and drive to Kiel, where Mara lived in an apartment for uni.
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| Kiel Beach-The Baltic Sea! |
When we arrived in Kiel it was late, but having only just gotten dark it didn't feel as such. We dropped Gerrit home and then made our way to Mara's apartment where we had a quick bite to eat and then relaxed as I did Arabic homework (yes, I am still studying whilst travelling) after which we slept. The next morning Mara had university from 2, so after breakfast we went for a quick drive and she showed me the Port and the Beach before dropping me home and heading off. I spent the next few hours catching up on blogs and family news (time differences are a bitch) before Mara got home. We had no plans for the evening, but Mara had spoken to Gerrit and decided that we would do something.
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| Mara and Pavlova. |
We got to talking. I had met Mara in Australia and she was missing Australian food, so naturally we decided to do some cooking. Although it had been a while I made a pavlova. After a quick message to Gerrit we picked up some drinks and went to his place for the evening, as apparently, I needed the true "Kiel experience". This involved a box of 30 small drinks called "Kleiner Feigling".
Kleiner Feigling, for those who don't know, is a deadly drink. It comes in a range of bottles, but you buy the small ones as there is a ritual for drinking it. You tap the bottle three or four times the right way up, then again upside down, before taking the cap off and putting it on your nose (don't ask). You then say cheers (whilst looking each other in the eyes-very important *giggles*) and down the bottle, which is basically equal to a shot.
Now, Gerrit is a fantastic musician, and after a bit of a challenge from me (I had found his lyrics and wanted to know what the music sounded like) he picked up the guitar and started playing. This set the tone for the rest of the night, however as his room-mates were trying to sleep we decided that we would take the bikes and go back to Mara's place. Many hours and a few jams later Gerrit left before Mara and I quickly fell asleep.
The next day I took it easy. Not because of a hangover (there wasn't one) but as exhaustion has this funny habit of creeping up on you and then pouncing when you stop moving quickly. Mara had Uni again and I took it easy until the afternoon. Mara had spoken once again to Gerrit, and apparently he felt like cooking, so we did the logical thing and invited him to cook for us. Mara had made a strawberry cheesecake (which was absolutely delicious) and he bought the ingredients, and we settled in for a long nigh of chatting, a few drinks (understatement) and card game shenanigans. We hadn't planned much apart from some music in the morning, so why not?
The next day was actually one of my favourite days out of my whole travels. When I awoke Mara had left for uni and Gerrit was eating breakfast, and so after a quick pack up we headed over to Gerrit's. The plan was to record vocals on top of Gerrit's already recorded music for a cover of "White Blank Page" by Mumford and Sons. The plan was successful and we produced a fairly good (if I do say so myself) recording by the end. I'd post it here but I'm not actually sure how to, so when it's on Youtube I'll link it. Promise *smiles*.
The afternoon was over as quickly as it started with Mara arriving and Gerrit and I finishing the recording. We had to return to the apartment for a little while to pack our things; Mara was going to Hendstedt for Youth Group and then on to Hamburg the next day, and I was meeting Ron and his family that night in a place called Lubeck to commence my time with them. Mara drove me to Lubeck and we said our goodbyes before we both continued on our travels once again!
Once again we come to the end of another blog post! I still have much to catch up on, however my story takes a different direction with new friends and new destinations from this point on! As always,
Until next time,
Love Love!
Clem xx
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