This summer has been a bit strange. The weather has been more suitable for a late autumn rather than summer with only few exceptions. Due to many circumstances I had to stay at home during the few days of sunshine and great weather. However this changed a tiny bit as yesterday we could go for the very first time this year to the beach at the Baltic Sea here in Germany. Granted it was just a very very short visit but still I enjoyed this bit of ‘freedom’ and Nathan also had more than enough fun there.
What is all this stuff around me? Doesn’t taste good!
On a side note I must say that the Germans showed some great skills when naming the area close to the beach as there were villages called Kalifornien (California), Brasilien (Brasil) and even Bali! Seems that there is no need anymore for us to visit those places and spend much money on them as they are just around the corner.
Germans just love “Ordnung”
The tongue!!
The dike just behind the beach. The entire German coastline is protected by dikes as there have been bad floodings in the past
Nathan testing the ocean
Have you been already at the beach this summer?
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Next to our building is a big square which is usually only visited by people taking their dogs out for a walk. But few times a year some events are taking place such as a circus stopping there, some puppet shows or a fair. Three times a year a fair is opened for several days with food stalls, some games and amusement rides. Depending on the season the size varies especially now during summer as most people are in holidays the fair is rather small.
The Polyp in Action
I still remember the fair during my childhood days. It was a huge event and the square was filled to the maximum and there were so many people on the pathways that it took a long time to go around. There were even sometimes rollercoaster and other thrilling rides but this all changed. We went to the fair few days ago and it was shocking for me to see how few people were going around. Only half the square was used and there were so few food stalls and amusement rides that it was like a different world compared to my youth. At first we had planned to let Nathan try out some of the rides for children but we realized that there were barely any rides for him to try out. I guess this just shows how the world is changing and how the interest of people shifted as well. I must say ‘back in the day’ it was a major event in this city and people came even from the surrounding countryside but now it is just some small thing and barely anyone considers going there.
Nathan in the ‘Crazy Carpet’
So we went around the fair watching together with Nathan few of the amusement rides. This was one of the time were we wished MIL would be here so we could go on one of those as Nathan is still too small to join us. Towards the center of the fair we finally found one ride my wife could go together with Nathan. The “Crazy Carpet” was basically similar to a small ferris wheel spinning around and around for a while. Nothing too exciting but it was surely very exciting for Nathan as he even was a bit scared. Back in June during the city festival we went to the big ferris wheel and he didn’t care at all but I guess he got scared now as the whole thing was moving faster than the slow ferris wheel. The entire time the smell of grilled food was in the air and in between the sweet smell of sweets such as honey glazed almonds. We surely wanted to eat some of these delicious foods however we just couldn’t as we just ate dinner before going there.
Barely any people these days
Nathan was amazed by everything there. Watching the amusement rides, the music, the strange sounds and of course the people around. For me this fair was always a wonderful place and I used to watch how they build everything up within a couple of days. I guess it will be similar for Nathan later but then again the fair is just not such a big thing anymore and who knows how it will be in another five years. I also realized that the people changed compared to my younger years. There were many people drunk or on their way getting there by drinking the booze they brought there. Police was present, security guards everywhere and medics as well.. I remember last year they were announcing that it had been a good fair as there were only a couple of fights and not too many people needing medical attention due to drinking too much. I checked then what they wrote 15 years ago about the fair and oh wonder, no fights, no one needed medical attention however they wrote that once again a visitor record had been broken, things just change…
Today I asked a boy we give English lessons about going to the fair. His response was ‘Why would anyone go there? It’s just boring’
One of the rides for children, sadly Nathan is still too young
Crazy Carpet in Action
Father with his child…
Scooter!
Are there fairs around your area and did they change also over the years as in my hometown?
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Now I’ve reached the last city we visited with my Chinese mother-in-law. We wanted to go to Hamburg already much earlier during her three months with us but it never worked out. However this time we really managed it as it was just a few days before she would be flying back to China. Another important reason for this city visit was to get for little Nathan his Chinese travel document so he can go ‘Visa-free’ to China. But the most important reason for the two women was of course shopping…
Alsterarkaden
Our first destination was the Chinese Consulate General located at the Elbchausse. The Elbchausse is a street which is a bit different from most others as it is full of old villas and framed by ancient trees and parks. From there you also have a good view over the river Elbe and part of the container port. The Chinese Consulate General is in one of those huge villas but sadly the area we had to visit was located next to the villa in some small side building. Everything went without problems when applying for this travel document except that they were surprised or lets say confused about the Nathan having two nationalities. After this short visit we headed to the city center for the shopping and of course for some food.
To find the right place for our lunch wasn’t that easy even though we passed by many restaurants. The reason behind it was that we spent rather much money on food in the other cities and wanted to keep it a bit more simple this time. Thankfully I had just recently read one blog post by CL (RealGunner) about his Europe trip and eating out well in the train stations. This gave me the idea to find out what Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (Hamburg Main Railway Station) has to offer. Lets just say the amount of restaurants and snack bars is just stunning! Within short time there we found some Asian food for the women and I went to the snack bar right next to it to eat something more German: Currywurst and beer. Though my food was pretty decent the women were not so fond of their lunch, well they had to take again some Asian food and of course it won’t be as good as in China but I guess they will never learn.
Busy railwaystation
Now came the prime time for both MIL and my wife as we headed to Mö (Mönckebergstraße) one of the main shopping streets in Hamburg and with enough stores to keep MIL busy for a few weeks. At this point I need to say that crazy mother-in-law had some bad day or something similar as she lost her shopping mood after just a few stores, something what had never happened before. This gave me the opportunity to take them a bit around the city center to visit some tourist sightseeing points. The first place I took them was the Hamburg Rathaus (Hamburg Town hall) which is a very impressive building. On that day there was some kind of event as the plaza in front of the town hall was filled with a South German styled market offering food and drinks from that region. The town hall is located next to the Binnenalster another tourist spot and of course leading into another shopping street, Neuer Wall. This shopping street is full of those luxury stores and MIL was going around video taping everything. This is just her, filming a shopping street even though the same stores she can also visit in Xi’an.
Landungsbrücken
From the shopping street I took them to the Finnish Seamen’s Church in which Nathan and me were baptized. There we had some Finnish snacks and drinks and went on to our last destination the Landungsbrücken/ St. Pauli Landing Bridges. Back in the day big oversea ships landed at those piers but these days only the harbour cruise ferries and some other small vessel are stopping there. By now both women were exhausted from this little walking around and wanted nothing more than heading back home again and thus our few hours in Hamburg ended. Just two days after this trip we drove to Hamburg again but this time it was to send MIL to the Hamburg Airport for her journey back to the east.
Even a Finnish store in the shopping street
What the women ate
and my grand lunch
part of the railwaystation
Railwaystation from the outside
at the landungsbrücken
randomn bridge
Have you tried before to do a sightseeing tour with only a few hours time in a big city?
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Crazy Chinese Family 