Beginning the European Christmas

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After a veeeeeeeery long flight, I arrived in Frankfurt and wandered around the airport for two hours before catching the next flight to Bremen. It was great to be welcomed by Phillip and Nadine (who were waving madly through the doors on the other side). I met Nadine’s father who presented me with a bunch of flowers and we braved the wintery weather to go to Delmenhorst (their home, which is like Eltham from Tullamarine) but it is quite a way from a large city, such as Hamburg. So a rough equivalent would be Bremen would be Frankston and Hamburg would be Melbourne - and Delmenhorst would be Mornington (apart from the fact that it is inland, not by the sea).



I received a warm welcome from Maria, Nadine’s mother and although to me it seemed like very late at night (around 8.30) we had a nice dinner and went to bed. The next day, firstly, I went for a bike ride! that is right, me, riding a pushbike - a sight to behold. After an hour you can guess which part of me was a little sore! After lunch, we braved the very wet weather and went into the town of Bremen. I got to see Pierre’s hospital where he had worked before he retired, then into the centre of town, particularly the old section called the Schnoor (which is descriptive of the houses being so close together they are seen to be built on a piece of string). The houses are tiny, but 4 floors high. There is one called the marriage house - it is one room on the bottom and steep stairs lead to the bedroom. People hire it for their wedding night. We were walking around the town, and went to go to the Christmas market, but it started to pour with rain.



The next day, Phillip, Nadine and I went into Bremen city and saw the old market which is from the middle ages. The people all dress appropriately in medieval garb. They have food which is medieval too - lots of meat, onions and bread - delicious!



We then walked around the town, and back through the Christmas market - I think I could spend a week there (for those who know me). We walked for about 6 hours, came home and we had some great fish and vegetables. Today, it has been a quiet day - Last night we women all started knitting (my contribution was a teddy bear) and I finished it today. We then went for a long walk in the countryside and home to cake and coffee. Phillip and I are preparing to head to Lapland tomorrow

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