After going to bed late we slept in again this morning and took our time getting ready. Once we were up at put together we all decided to go out for a walk. Doris took us into the nature preserve again near her place although this time we walked a different route and came upon a large enclosed pasture full of deer. They looked like caribou or reindeer in the way that they were small but had impressive, fuzzy antlers. Doris said that they weren't reindeer but something else that she didn't know the name of in english.
Anyway we watched the deer for awhile before heading back to the apartment but rather than go straight in we decided to take a walk around in her neighborhood. We found a little corner ice cream shop. Feeling adventurous I tried a double scoop of Zitron and Waldmeister. Zitron was lemon and was delicious - I love lemon ice cream and I don't understand why it isn't popular in the states. Waldmeister was unidentifiable. It may have been vanilla and lime or it may have been vanilla and irish cream, whatever it was the flavor got lost in the lemon. It looked pretty though.
After our walk and ice cream we all piled into Doris' car and headed out to meet her son Norbert and her sister Renate for dinner at a Turkish restaurant. It was a pretty good meal although there was a snafu with the ordering and I think the waiter got confused and put a plate of calamari in front of me when I thought I had ordered the curried chicken. I asked if there was some sort of mixup but no one seemed to know so I started eating it thinking it was my dinner. It turned out that Norbert had ordered the calamari in addition to his dish but wasn't sure if I had ordered it too. Stupid language barrier! I felt bad but everyone else thought it was pretty funny. Luckily I didn't eat ALL of it.
After dinner we spent a quiet evening at Doris' place because Kirsten and I had to be up the next morning at 4 to catch our flight home.
Fast forward to the next morning. Up with the sun. We sleepily say our goodbyes to Hedda and Kendra who were leaving on Wednesday and sleepily make our way to the airport. Many thank yous to Doris for driving us. I slept for the flight to Amsterdam and we made our connection to Newark there without any problems. I was surprised to see that they are still doing the additional screening and containment of passengers at the gates for all flights to the US. They have TSA agents manning metal detectors and xray machines and asking each passenger questions about their carry ons. Yes it's as inefficient and annoying as it sounds. But we did make a stop at the duty free shop to purchase a bottle to declare to customs and this time we thought Aquavit would be a good choice since we drank so much at the wedding reception and before with Roland and Susi at their place.
Our Continental flight to Newark was just as bad as it was coming. No delays this time but we did get split up again - I don't know if it's because we keep using the site like travelocity or because it was a codeshare with Lufthansa but getting split up keeps happening to us and for some reason we aren't given the opportunity to switch our seats around. I got an aisle seat with a broken tv monitor a restless infant next to me and a restless leg behind me an overactive bladder next to me and a headrest all the way down in front of me. Fortunately I had a book to read, sudoku and crosswords to do and sleep to catch up on or it would have been a completely miserable flight.
We arrived in New Jersey about 11:30, survived the severe scrutiny by our customs officials, and caught the train into the city. Since the train took me to Penn Station, I just went upstairs to work for five hours while Kirsten went home.
So that was our awesome trip to Germany! We had a great time traveling around with Hedda and Kendra as well as with Ingrid and Doris in Berlin. Also extra special thanks to Doris and Roland and Susi and their kids for putting us up, feeding us, and taking us around Hamburg, out to Heide Park, the soccer game, and to the Hofbrauhaus. Hopefully we can return the favor to you someday soon. And of course best wishes to the newlyweds, Volker and Christine who probably are not reading this since they're on their honeymoon but we hope we'll see you again soon too.
Until our next adventure. . . Prost!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Germany Day 9: White Wedding Part Zwei
Okay, so obviously we're back home now and getting caught up with our normal lives but that doesn't mean that I've forgotten about the conclusion of our German trip! Nope, far from it! So now to relate our last two days in the Hanseatic State of Hamburg:
We all slept in after our night out with Susi and Roland and then spent most of the day packing up and getting ourselves ready for the reception. After the reception, Roland and Susi along with their kids were heading off on an international journey of their own to Denmark so Kendra, Kirsten, and I would be spending our last two nights in Doris' living room.
So by three we were all dressed and loaded into the car and went over to Doris' place, dropped off our luggage and picked up Hedda and Doris and headed to the reception, which was being held at a nice banquet hall overlooking a pond somewhere south of Hamburg. The first half of the reception was standard fare. There were drinks and mingling out on the terrace before hand and then we all went inside for the dinner. Kirsten and I were seated at a table with some of Volker and Christine's english speaking friends which was nice of them, their friends were also very nice and mostly spoke in English so we could follow along even though they were not completely confident in their abilities in the language. And as the night went on our table seemed to become party central with our new German friends ordering round after round of schnapps. Mostly a liquor called Aquavit which is actually Scandanavian and has a very odd aging process. The load it up onto boats and ship it to Australia and then back. Apparently the length of time at sea and the motion of the ocean help give the liquor it's unusual flavor.
The dinner was very nice, we started with a white tomato soup with truffles followed by a main course of steak, potatoes, and vegetables in a red wine sauce, and a hazelnut mousse type dessert. One thing that was interesting was that before and after each course was served a representative from one of the tables would stand up and give a speech or toast to bride and groom and room at large.
After dinner the DJ put on her music and there was dancing and more mingling out on the terrace. At one point the Hamburger SV soccer mascot came by so everyone could get a photo with him and everyone sang the HSV Forever and Ever song. Volker and Christine also did this thing where they sat back to back with one of their shoes and one of the other person's shoes in their hands and were asked questions that they had to respond to by raising the corresponding shoe. Questions like, who is the jealous one? Who does the dishes? Who is good with money? Who is messy? Etc. If they agreed most of the time it was said that their marriage would last. Volker and Christine got a 75% so pretty good odds.
They served cake and currywurst at midnight and we finally left to go back to Hamburg at about 1:30 while the party was still going strong and got back to Doris' place an hour later. Another late night for us!
And I'm sure you're wondering, "Currywurst? What's that?" Well we've been told by quite a few people that it's the junkfood of choice in northern Germany and we had tried it in Berlin and prior to the soccer game with mixed results. The stuff in the crock pot at the reception was quite good though. Essentially it seems that it is summer sausage (or whatever the equivalent is) is cut up and stewed in hot cocktail sauce with curry powder mixed in. Now obviously there are some nuances to making good currywurst and it seems to be similar to getting a coney dog in Detroit or a slice of pizza here in New York - there are lots of places out there selling it and most aren't very good, but when you find a good place you don't go anywhere else.
We all slept in after our night out with Susi and Roland and then spent most of the day packing up and getting ourselves ready for the reception. After the reception, Roland and Susi along with their kids were heading off on an international journey of their own to Denmark so Kendra, Kirsten, and I would be spending our last two nights in Doris' living room.
So by three we were all dressed and loaded into the car and went over to Doris' place, dropped off our luggage and picked up Hedda and Doris and headed to the reception, which was being held at a nice banquet hall overlooking a pond somewhere south of Hamburg. The first half of the reception was standard fare. There were drinks and mingling out on the terrace before hand and then we all went inside for the dinner. Kirsten and I were seated at a table with some of Volker and Christine's english speaking friends which was nice of them, their friends were also very nice and mostly spoke in English so we could follow along even though they were not completely confident in their abilities in the language. And as the night went on our table seemed to become party central with our new German friends ordering round after round of schnapps. Mostly a liquor called Aquavit which is actually Scandanavian and has a very odd aging process. The load it up onto boats and ship it to Australia and then back. Apparently the length of time at sea and the motion of the ocean help give the liquor it's unusual flavor.
The dinner was very nice, we started with a white tomato soup with truffles followed by a main course of steak, potatoes, and vegetables in a red wine sauce, and a hazelnut mousse type dessert. One thing that was interesting was that before and after each course was served a representative from one of the tables would stand up and give a speech or toast to bride and groom and room at large.
After dinner the DJ put on her music and there was dancing and more mingling out on the terrace. At one point the Hamburger SV soccer mascot came by so everyone could get a photo with him and everyone sang the HSV Forever and Ever song. Volker and Christine also did this thing where they sat back to back with one of their shoes and one of the other person's shoes in their hands and were asked questions that they had to respond to by raising the corresponding shoe. Questions like, who is the jealous one? Who does the dishes? Who is good with money? Who is messy? Etc. If they agreed most of the time it was said that their marriage would last. Volker and Christine got a 75% so pretty good odds.
They served cake and currywurst at midnight and we finally left to go back to Hamburg at about 1:30 while the party was still going strong and got back to Doris' place an hour later. Another late night for us!
And I'm sure you're wondering, "Currywurst? What's that?" Well we've been told by quite a few people that it's the junkfood of choice in northern Germany and we had tried it in Berlin and prior to the soccer game with mixed results. The stuff in the crock pot at the reception was quite good though. Essentially it seems that it is summer sausage (or whatever the equivalent is) is cut up and stewed in hot cocktail sauce with curry powder mixed in. Now obviously there are some nuances to making good currywurst and it seems to be similar to getting a coney dog in Detroit or a slice of pizza here in New York - there are lots of places out there selling it and most aren't very good, but when you find a good place you don't go anywhere else.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Germany Day 8: White Wedding
Today was Volker and Christine's wedding day so we got all dressed up and drove into the city. The ceremony was being held at the Town Hall or Rathaus which was built in the late 1800s and is very ornate - equivalent to many state capitol buildings and more richly decorated than even some of those. The ceremony itself was held in a special room upstairs which has to be reserved a year in advance. Although the ceremony was in German and was fairly brief, Hedda, Doris, and Susi all explained the gist of what was said and it was all fairly standard although the officiant did take a little bit of time to explain some of the artifacts in the room. Of interest was an unexploded bomb that would have destroyed the Rathaus if it had gone off.
After the wedding and all the photos were taken, there was a champagne toast out on the plaza in front of the Rathaus followed by a brief reception at Volker and Christine's apartment. The official reception will be tomorrow.
The rest of the afternoon was spent being lazy. Roland, Kendra, and I watched Shoot Em Up - a ridiculous, over the top, action movie while Kirsten napped. Roland tried to teach me how to juggle - not successful, at least not yet, and in general we just putzed around.
Later, Roland, Susi, Kendra, Kirsten, and I went out to the Beach Club on the Elbe while Chrissi, Caro, and Karden went to stay with Susi's parents for the night. It was a nice little beach area with cabanas and a large deck with tiki torches, a bonfire, and lots of chairs and benches from which to watch the big container ships cruise up and down the river while drinking beer and eating pizza. So we did that for awhile. Then we left to go back downtown for a bit but not before I took a trip down a giant slide we found just outside the parking lot.
The drive back into the city took us through the Reeperbahn - the red light district which mostly looked touristy and a little predatory. However Roland did point out this back alley that was all walled off with a lot of neon red light coming from the other side and a huge pack of people surrounding that was for men only. The fact that it was walled off was rather creepy and disturbing. But eventually we settled for having drinks at the Hofbrauhaus - an outpost of the Munich original. Aside from Susi - who was our driver for the evening - we all ordered giant liters of beer that came in enormous mugs that at first we wanted to buy but then realized it would take a lot of bottles of beer to fill. We also ordered some sort of delicious dessert that was sort of like a coffee cake but was cut up and jumbled with some nuts and other things. So we ate our dessert, drank our beer, listened to the band play German folk music (with a few American songs thrown in) and watched some of the people around us - making up stories for them and just generally having a great time.
After our liters of beer we were feeling quite full so we drove back to the house and sat around for a bit trading stories and laughs until we finally went to bed after 2am.
After the wedding and all the photos were taken, there was a champagne toast out on the plaza in front of the Rathaus followed by a brief reception at Volker and Christine's apartment. The official reception will be tomorrow.
The rest of the afternoon was spent being lazy. Roland, Kendra, and I watched Shoot Em Up - a ridiculous, over the top, action movie while Kirsten napped. Roland tried to teach me how to juggle - not successful, at least not yet, and in general we just putzed around.
Later, Roland, Susi, Kendra, Kirsten, and I went out to the Beach Club on the Elbe while Chrissi, Caro, and Karden went to stay with Susi's parents for the night. It was a nice little beach area with cabanas and a large deck with tiki torches, a bonfire, and lots of chairs and benches from which to watch the big container ships cruise up and down the river while drinking beer and eating pizza. So we did that for awhile. Then we left to go back downtown for a bit but not before I took a trip down a giant slide we found just outside the parking lot.
The drive back into the city took us through the Reeperbahn - the red light district which mostly looked touristy and a little predatory. However Roland did point out this back alley that was all walled off with a lot of neon red light coming from the other side and a huge pack of people surrounding that was for men only. The fact that it was walled off was rather creepy and disturbing. But eventually we settled for having drinks at the Hofbrauhaus - an outpost of the Munich original. Aside from Susi - who was our driver for the evening - we all ordered giant liters of beer that came in enormous mugs that at first we wanted to buy but then realized it would take a lot of bottles of beer to fill. We also ordered some sort of delicious dessert that was sort of like a coffee cake but was cut up and jumbled with some nuts and other things. So we ate our dessert, drank our beer, listened to the band play German folk music (with a few American songs thrown in) and watched some of the people around us - making up stories for them and just generally having a great time.
After our liters of beer we were feeling quite full so we drove back to the house and sat around for a bit trading stories and laughs until we finally went to bed after 2am.
Germany Day 7: Kirsten and Kyle's Hansa Park Adventure
Today Kirsten and I woke up early and caught the train up to Lubeck where we transferred to a train to Sierksdorf to visit Hansa Park – yep, more roller coasters. Everyone else was going shopping so this seemed like a fun alternative.
The park is built on the shore of the Baltic Sea and is also very beautiful and well landscaped. We started off our day with a ride on their star attraction Fluch von Novgorod. The ride is heavily themed and there is some sort of story but it was all in German so we didn’t understand it but it was fun to see all the special effects and atmosphere. The ride itself was very cool with spook house sections going into roller coaster sections back into a spook house section, back into a roller coaster and so on. It may have been our favorite coaster of the trip which was a surprise. You also exited the ride via slide into a dark maze.
After that we went for a ride on their wild mouse which was themed to a mine and had an audio animatronic jug band entertaining the people in line, their starflyer which is a standard swing ride that you find at any park except it goes up a 200 some foot tower. We were very nervous waiting to ride this since I’m not a fan of spinning around and Kirsten isn’t a fan of high heights. It actually ended up being a lot of fun and really wasn’t too scary. We also jumped on their giant trampolines for a bit and rode their other two coasters Rasender Roland which is a mine train which was pretty good, and Nessie their old signature coaster which was showing its age a bit but was still a lot of fun and we got right back in line to ride it again, and their panoramic sky tower. After that we decided to go for one more ride on Fluch von Novgorod, check out their log flume and then head back to the train and try to spend a little time checking out Lubeck which looked very cool. Unfortunately the line for Fluch von Novgorod ended up being over an hour and the log flume took a little too long as well and we missed our train. The next train back was an hour later and by then it would be too late to see Lubeck. Oh well, something to do next time.
So we made another loop around the park but decided we were done and leisurely strolled back to the train station and made our way back to Hamburg where we had a nice barbecue out in Roland and Susi’s backyard.
The park is built on the shore of the Baltic Sea and is also very beautiful and well landscaped. We started off our day with a ride on their star attraction Fluch von Novgorod. The ride is heavily themed and there is some sort of story but it was all in German so we didn’t understand it but it was fun to see all the special effects and atmosphere. The ride itself was very cool with spook house sections going into roller coaster sections back into a spook house section, back into a roller coaster and so on. It may have been our favorite coaster of the trip which was a surprise. You also exited the ride via slide into a dark maze.
After that we went for a ride on their wild mouse which was themed to a mine and had an audio animatronic jug band entertaining the people in line, their starflyer which is a standard swing ride that you find at any park except it goes up a 200 some foot tower. We were very nervous waiting to ride this since I’m not a fan of spinning around and Kirsten isn’t a fan of high heights. It actually ended up being a lot of fun and really wasn’t too scary. We also jumped on their giant trampolines for a bit and rode their other two coasters Rasender Roland which is a mine train which was pretty good, and Nessie their old signature coaster which was showing its age a bit but was still a lot of fun and we got right back in line to ride it again, and their panoramic sky tower. After that we decided to go for one more ride on Fluch von Novgorod, check out their log flume and then head back to the train and try to spend a little time checking out Lubeck which looked very cool. Unfortunately the line for Fluch von Novgorod ended up being over an hour and the log flume took a little too long as well and we missed our train. The next train back was an hour later and by then it would be too late to see Lubeck. Oh well, something to do next time.
So we made another loop around the park but decided we were done and leisurely strolled back to the train station and made our way back to Hamburg where we had a nice barbecue out in Roland and Susi’s backyard.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Germany Day 6: All Kinds of Awesome!
In the morning Kirsten, Kendra, Hedda, Doris, and I took the ferry into Hamburg. The trip took us past all of the cargo terminals along the River Elbe where the cranes were busy loading and unloading the huge container ships. Apparently it’s one of the biggest harbors in the world and it’s crazy to think of how much goes into shipping like that, everything has to get to its destination correctly and all the ships have to be loaded in a way that they’re balanced with an appropriate center of gravity. I guess that would be industrial engineering? Maybe packaging engineers? Perhaps structural. . . I wonder who does that.
Anyhow we landed at the wharf and walked along to water until we came to the dome of the Alter Elbtunnel. Constructed in 1911 it was the first tunnel under the Elbe and features two tubes that terminate in silos or caissons that are identifiable on the shore by their domed tops. We took the stairs up and down but there are six elevators to take you to the underground level, one for passengers, one for bicyclists, and four for cars. Each of the tubes is only one lane wide with sidewalks on both sides and one tube was out of service this morning so there was a policewoman down at the bottom directing traffic. Fortunately most of the automobile traffic uses the other tunnel and we saw only a few cars come and go from this tunnel.
We didn’t walk through the tunnels but only checked out the big elevators and the portals and all that stuff within the dome before heading back up to street level. This time we headed over to the Hafen City which is an enormous urban building project on land leftover from when the cargo port moved to deeper waters. The land is enormous and consists of several islands where lots of new development is going on. The crown jewel of the area will be the Elbphilharmonie – Hamburg’s answer to the Sydney Opera House. We’ll definitely have to come back to take in a show when it’s completed. The rest of the area had a nice mix of standout architecture and infill structures that mixed well with the existing warehouses that line the canals in the area. We walked around for a good while before sitting down at a small café on a plaza where we had some deli sandwiches. Kirsten and I ended up with these meatloaf sandwiches, I’m not sure what they were called but they were pretty good.
We then parted ways with Kendra, Hedda, and Doris and walked up to the Hamburger Dom (the fair) and went in. It hadn’t quite opened yet so we were able to walk around a bit before our ride on Olympia Looping Bahn. The size of these portable rides and pavilions is staggering. I couldn’t imagine hauling all of this stuff around. They had a spook house with three levels, and a huge log flume ride. The fair also had two other roller coasters but due to time constraints I didn’t ride them.
Olympia Looping Bahn was the main attraction though. It’s the largest portable coaster in the world and can be assembled and disassembled in a few days due to Anton Schwarzkopf’s, the chief engineer, cone plug system of supporting the whole structure and large tanks of water acting as the foundation. It is also still the only coaster in the world with five vertical loops. Other coasters might go upside down more times but they usually rely on quick one-two inversions which in my opinion don’t match the loop for sheer thrill and appearance. The five loops are also laid out and colored in a way as to look like the Olympic rings when viewing the coaster from the side. And because it only stays in Germany and is never in one place for more than a few weeks, it’s a very hard roller coaster for an American to ride so it has achieved a sort of mythical status. So we rode it three times and then headed back to the S Bahn.
Oh you want to hear more about it? Well if you must know I thought it was amazing. Not number one but 95th percentile for me. Kirsten wasn’t feeling it so much for some reason although I think she was a bit alarmed by the filthy Russian carnies operating the ride who when the train returned to the station they greeted you with a gruff, “Get off!” And the shoulder harnesses have a tendency to tighten during the ride. The five loops were amazing and I was pretty apprehensive about the ride since loops tend to make me dizzy. And yes after my three rides I was feeling pretty dizzy and high from the high g-forces. However, the first drop, loop, turn, and then two more loops in a row is one of the best opening combinations I’ve experienced.
By the third ride it began to rain pretty hard so we trudged our way over to the U-Bahn and took the train from St. Pauli to Landungsbrucken then transferred to the S-1 to Othsmarchen where we met up with Roland, Susi, Kendra, and Chrissi to go to the Hamburg soccer match against Chelsea. Now granted it was a preseason exhibition game but still we were pretty excited to go to a fussbal match in Germany. We took the bus from Othsmarchen Station out to the Arena and met up with Volker and his fiancée Christine at a biergarten nearby.
The game itself was a blast, Everyone did a good job explaining all the traditions in cheering on their team and seeing as how we had tickets for the bleachers it was good to be able to participate. It was akin to sitting in the student section of a college football team that has particularly rowdy fans. Lots of noise, lots of singing together and waving flags, lots of camraderie It was a great time. And the bratwursts sold at the stadium were exceptionally good as well. Hamburg defeated Chelsea 2-1 and we all piled into the bus and headed back to the house.
Anyhow we landed at the wharf and walked along to water until we came to the dome of the Alter Elbtunnel. Constructed in 1911 it was the first tunnel under the Elbe and features two tubes that terminate in silos or caissons that are identifiable on the shore by their domed tops. We took the stairs up and down but there are six elevators to take you to the underground level, one for passengers, one for bicyclists, and four for cars. Each of the tubes is only one lane wide with sidewalks on both sides and one tube was out of service this morning so there was a policewoman down at the bottom directing traffic. Fortunately most of the automobile traffic uses the other tunnel and we saw only a few cars come and go from this tunnel.
We didn’t walk through the tunnels but only checked out the big elevators and the portals and all that stuff within the dome before heading back up to street level. This time we headed over to the Hafen City which is an enormous urban building project on land leftover from when the cargo port moved to deeper waters. The land is enormous and consists of several islands where lots of new development is going on. The crown jewel of the area will be the Elbphilharmonie – Hamburg’s answer to the Sydney Opera House. We’ll definitely have to come back to take in a show when it’s completed. The rest of the area had a nice mix of standout architecture and infill structures that mixed well with the existing warehouses that line the canals in the area. We walked around for a good while before sitting down at a small café on a plaza where we had some deli sandwiches. Kirsten and I ended up with these meatloaf sandwiches, I’m not sure what they were called but they were pretty good.
We then parted ways with Kendra, Hedda, and Doris and walked up to the Hamburger Dom (the fair) and went in. It hadn’t quite opened yet so we were able to walk around a bit before our ride on Olympia Looping Bahn. The size of these portable rides and pavilions is staggering. I couldn’t imagine hauling all of this stuff around. They had a spook house with three levels, and a huge log flume ride. The fair also had two other roller coasters but due to time constraints I didn’t ride them.
Olympia Looping Bahn was the main attraction though. It’s the largest portable coaster in the world and can be assembled and disassembled in a few days due to Anton Schwarzkopf’s, the chief engineer, cone plug system of supporting the whole structure and large tanks of water acting as the foundation. It is also still the only coaster in the world with five vertical loops. Other coasters might go upside down more times but they usually rely on quick one-two inversions which in my opinion don’t match the loop for sheer thrill and appearance. The five loops are also laid out and colored in a way as to look like the Olympic rings when viewing the coaster from the side. And because it only stays in Germany and is never in one place for more than a few weeks, it’s a very hard roller coaster for an American to ride so it has achieved a sort of mythical status. So we rode it three times and then headed back to the S Bahn.
Oh you want to hear more about it? Well if you must know I thought it was amazing. Not number one but 95th percentile for me. Kirsten wasn’t feeling it so much for some reason although I think she was a bit alarmed by the filthy Russian carnies operating the ride who when the train returned to the station they greeted you with a gruff, “Get off!” And the shoulder harnesses have a tendency to tighten during the ride. The five loops were amazing and I was pretty apprehensive about the ride since loops tend to make me dizzy. And yes after my three rides I was feeling pretty dizzy and high from the high g-forces. However, the first drop, loop, turn, and then two more loops in a row is one of the best opening combinations I’ve experienced.
By the third ride it began to rain pretty hard so we trudged our way over to the U-Bahn and took the train from St. Pauli to Landungsbrucken then transferred to the S-1 to Othsmarchen where we met up with Roland, Susi, Kendra, and Chrissi to go to the Hamburg soccer match against Chelsea. Now granted it was a preseason exhibition game but still we were pretty excited to go to a fussbal match in Germany. We took the bus from Othsmarchen Station out to the Arena and met up with Volker and his fiancée Christine at a biergarten nearby.
The game itself was a blast, Everyone did a good job explaining all the traditions in cheering on their team and seeing as how we had tickets for the bleachers it was good to be able to participate. It was akin to sitting in the student section of a college football team that has particularly rowdy fans. Lots of noise, lots of singing together and waving flags, lots of camraderie It was a great time. And the bratwursts sold at the stadium were exceptionally good as well. Hamburg defeated Chelsea 2-1 and we all piled into the bus and headed back to the house.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Germany Day 6: Triple Colossos
Today was our trip out to Heide Park, an amusement park an hour south of Hamburg. Roland, Susi, Chrissi, Caro, Kendra, Kirsten, and I met up with Doris' other son Volker, the one getting married on Friday and rode out there. This was our first experience on the German Autobahn and all of the stories about it are true. At times the traffic moved very, very schnell. It's truly a testament to German engineering that the cars and highway can routinely operate at that speed. I know ol' Bernie back at home would shake himself to pieces if I ever attempted that. And the highway etiquette was very impressive as well. No one got in the left most lane unless they really meant it and they accelerated enough to get back out. There was no one cruising in the left lane at ten miles below the speed limit yakking on a cell phone for sure.
So anyway, Heide Park was amazingly beautiful. You have to go to Disney World or Universal Studios to see the level of detailing in the states that they have. All of the grounds and rides were so immaculate and so richly decorated and appointed. Clearly Heide Park values quality over quantity (ahem, Six Flags).
Volker and I kicked things off with a ride on their Drop Tower called Scream which had a pirate theme while the rest of our party looked on. Then after that we all piled onto their bobsled coaster which was pretty tame but quite long and had some great curves. This was Kendra's first coaster since she was in college but she enjoyed it.
So naturally we went to their biggest coaster next, Colossos. It's one of the new breed of precision built wooden coasters and was a precursor to my favorite, El Toro. The line was already at ninety minutes at this point so we decided to plunk down nine euro and get three skip the line passes for their most popular rides. Once we were up in the station, Kendra and I paired up for the front seat.
And the verdict: Kendra thought it was a ton of fun. . . but once was enough. I loved it! Granted it wasn't as good as El Toro but easily a 90th percentile ride. Is that nerdy enough for you?
After that we went for a spin on Grottenblitz - their mine train coaster with wild horses engaging in combat, Mountain Rafting - their whitewater rafting ride, Wildwasser Bahn - their log ride, Big Loop - their looping coaster, a gentle boat ride through a garden and then back in time to see some cavemen, and also a stop at their biergarten for some beer and pretzels. Finally their other big ticket ride, Desert Race, opened after having some mechanical problems.
Desert Race is one of those rocket coasters that accelerate from a standstill to a high speed in a very short amount of time using cables, winches, and the power of hydraulics. Usually these rides accelerate and then go straight up but this one made a hard turn to the right and proceeded to do a series of high speed figure eights before abruptly hitting the brakes. This one was also a solid ride - a little short as the rocket coasters tend to be but still a whole lot of fun and one of the better ones I've been on. I really liked the fast turn after the launch.
We ended the day with another ride on Colossos (I actually went twice with three times total) and a spin on their other log flume which had a mine theme. Chrissi, Caro, Volker, and I also took a ride on their pirate themed splash battle ride where you go around this obstacle course in these large boats. Everyone on board has a hand crank powered water gun as do people on other boats as well as people walking by the attraction. Everyone is spraying everyone else with water without mercy for at least five minutes and needless to say we all got completely soaked.
After that we all headed back to Hamburg and a delicious meal of leftover wiener schnitzel. I'm seriously going to have to make it! The rest of the evening was spent hanging around relaxing after the long day at the park.
So anyway, Heide Park was amazingly beautiful. You have to go to Disney World or Universal Studios to see the level of detailing in the states that they have. All of the grounds and rides were so immaculate and so richly decorated and appointed. Clearly Heide Park values quality over quantity (ahem, Six Flags).
Volker and I kicked things off with a ride on their Drop Tower called Scream which had a pirate theme while the rest of our party looked on. Then after that we all piled onto their bobsled coaster which was pretty tame but quite long and had some great curves. This was Kendra's first coaster since she was in college but she enjoyed it.
So naturally we went to their biggest coaster next, Colossos. It's one of the new breed of precision built wooden coasters and was a precursor to my favorite, El Toro. The line was already at ninety minutes at this point so we decided to plunk down nine euro and get three skip the line passes for their most popular rides. Once we were up in the station, Kendra and I paired up for the front seat.
And the verdict: Kendra thought it was a ton of fun. . . but once was enough. I loved it! Granted it wasn't as good as El Toro but easily a 90th percentile ride. Is that nerdy enough for you?
After that we went for a spin on Grottenblitz - their mine train coaster with wild horses engaging in combat, Mountain Rafting - their whitewater rafting ride, Wildwasser Bahn - their log ride, Big Loop - their looping coaster, a gentle boat ride through a garden and then back in time to see some cavemen, and also a stop at their biergarten for some beer and pretzels. Finally their other big ticket ride, Desert Race, opened after having some mechanical problems.
Desert Race is one of those rocket coasters that accelerate from a standstill to a high speed in a very short amount of time using cables, winches, and the power of hydraulics. Usually these rides accelerate and then go straight up but this one made a hard turn to the right and proceeded to do a series of high speed figure eights before abruptly hitting the brakes. This one was also a solid ride - a little short as the rocket coasters tend to be but still a whole lot of fun and one of the better ones I've been on. I really liked the fast turn after the launch.
We ended the day with another ride on Colossos (I actually went twice with three times total) and a spin on their other log flume which had a mine theme. Chrissi, Caro, Volker, and I also took a ride on their pirate themed splash battle ride where you go around this obstacle course in these large boats. Everyone on board has a hand crank powered water gun as do people on other boats as well as people walking by the attraction. Everyone is spraying everyone else with water without mercy for at least five minutes and needless to say we all got completely soaked.
After that we all headed back to Hamburg and a delicious meal of leftover wiener schnitzel. I'm seriously going to have to make it! The rest of the evening was spent hanging around relaxing after the long day at the park.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Germany Day 5: Hamburg From the Water and Air
Paragraph 1 of Day 5: We slept in and had a leisurely breakfast and it was great.
Paragraph 2 of Day 5: Doris, Hedda, Kendra, Kirsten, and I all went into Hamburg with hopes of taking a tour of the Alster Lake which forms the northern boundary of the central city and has many large houses all around it and of the canals which criss-cross the southern part of the central city before reaching the Elbe River. Unfortunately we didn’t get there in time so we had to go with the less popular tour of the canals north of the Alster Lake which wind their ways through the backyards of very opulent houses and apartments. It was neat at first especially going across the Alster with the skyline all around us but eventually it just became a pleasant boat ride as the houses started to look the same. But still, the name of the game was relaxation today so it was nice to sit for a couple hours on a boat and enjoy each others company without running about.
Prior to getting on the boat we had a little bit of time to kill so we strolled about the central area – mainly searching for camera batteries. It was very bustling with people rushing around. It strangely seemed busier than Berlin even though Hamburg is just a bit over half the size. Perhaps it’s because we visited Berlin on a weekend and today was Monday and near lunch hour. Anyway, there were a lot of people about. Not so many bicyclists but just as many dogs as in Berlin.
The dogs here in Germany are so well behaved that leashes seem to be an afterthought. It seems that two times out of five a dog will be off his leash and will be contentedly walking alongside it’s owner without any problems of running around. I don’t think I’ve known any dogs that could be trusted off a leash in a busy urban setting like that so we decided that it was clear that dogs understand German. I mean a whole European country can’t be better dog handlers than I and everyone I know, can they?
After our boat tour we made a beeline for St. Michaelis church to see the inside and check out the view from the top of the bell tower. The church itself dates back to the mid 1600s but has had a few fires and the current building was actually completed in the early 1900s. It is a huge and very bright and airy church. The windows are all clear glass and the walls and ceilings are all painted a simple white or pastel blue. The result is a very cheerful church but still managing to be humbling with its size and beauty. There were a few items that were saved from the previous churches but most of it was from the 1900s.
The view from the top was amazing, you could see that Hamburg is a very low profile city and the skyline is still dominated by church steeples, which was neat to see in a city of nearly two million. We took some great photos and I drooled over the Olympia Looping Bahn roller coaster operating in the distance at the Hamburger Dom. I’ll be hitting that come Wednesday. Hopefully twice! It’s only the holy grail of us American roller coaster nuts.
Kendra, Kirsten, and I took the stairs down and got to see the apparatus that controlled the hands on the clocks and the chime and were amazed that it was just a system of gears, ratchets, and cables. All of which were controlled by a simple pendulum. The whole shebang was stamped 1911 – those Germans and their engineering. . . Completely awesome! We also walked past the swinging bells that play on Sundays and were astounded at how big they were. They were controlled by modern electric motors and rubber belts but I could imagine actually bell ringers jumping up and down on ropes back in the day.
After finally leaving St. Michaelis we hustled back to Roland and Susi’s home for a delicious Wiener Schnitzel dinner. Susi taught Kendra and I how to make it and we’re soooo going to attempt it when we get back. Just delicious!
It was a very relaxing day which is just what we needed after hustling around Berlin for the weekend and a full day at Heide Park tomorrow. Auf Wedersehen for now.
Paragraph 2 of Day 5: Doris, Hedda, Kendra, Kirsten, and I all went into Hamburg with hopes of taking a tour of the Alster Lake which forms the northern boundary of the central city and has many large houses all around it and of the canals which criss-cross the southern part of the central city before reaching the Elbe River. Unfortunately we didn’t get there in time so we had to go with the less popular tour of the canals north of the Alster Lake which wind their ways through the backyards of very opulent houses and apartments. It was neat at first especially going across the Alster with the skyline all around us but eventually it just became a pleasant boat ride as the houses started to look the same. But still, the name of the game was relaxation today so it was nice to sit for a couple hours on a boat and enjoy each others company without running about.
Prior to getting on the boat we had a little bit of time to kill so we strolled about the central area – mainly searching for camera batteries. It was very bustling with people rushing around. It strangely seemed busier than Berlin even though Hamburg is just a bit over half the size. Perhaps it’s because we visited Berlin on a weekend and today was Monday and near lunch hour. Anyway, there were a lot of people about. Not so many bicyclists but just as many dogs as in Berlin.
The dogs here in Germany are so well behaved that leashes seem to be an afterthought. It seems that two times out of five a dog will be off his leash and will be contentedly walking alongside it’s owner without any problems of running around. I don’t think I’ve known any dogs that could be trusted off a leash in a busy urban setting like that so we decided that it was clear that dogs understand German. I mean a whole European country can’t be better dog handlers than I and everyone I know, can they?
After our boat tour we made a beeline for St. Michaelis church to see the inside and check out the view from the top of the bell tower. The church itself dates back to the mid 1600s but has had a few fires and the current building was actually completed in the early 1900s. It is a huge and very bright and airy church. The windows are all clear glass and the walls and ceilings are all painted a simple white or pastel blue. The result is a very cheerful church but still managing to be humbling with its size and beauty. There were a few items that were saved from the previous churches but most of it was from the 1900s.
The view from the top was amazing, you could see that Hamburg is a very low profile city and the skyline is still dominated by church steeples, which was neat to see in a city of nearly two million. We took some great photos and I drooled over the Olympia Looping Bahn roller coaster operating in the distance at the Hamburger Dom. I’ll be hitting that come Wednesday. Hopefully twice! It’s only the holy grail of us American roller coaster nuts.
Kendra, Kirsten, and I took the stairs down and got to see the apparatus that controlled the hands on the clocks and the chime and were amazed that it was just a system of gears, ratchets, and cables. All of which were controlled by a simple pendulum. The whole shebang was stamped 1911 – those Germans and their engineering. . . Completely awesome! We also walked past the swinging bells that play on Sundays and were astounded at how big they were. They were controlled by modern electric motors and rubber belts but I could imagine actually bell ringers jumping up and down on ropes back in the day.
After finally leaving St. Michaelis we hustled back to Roland and Susi’s home for a delicious Wiener Schnitzel dinner. Susi taught Kendra and I how to make it and we’re soooo going to attempt it when we get back. Just delicious!
It was a very relaxing day which is just what we needed after hustling around Berlin for the weekend and a full day at Heide Park tomorrow. Auf Wedersehen for now.
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