WASHINGTON, DC TO HAMBURG, GERMANY—Thursday and Friday, May 15 & 16, 2014

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Washington, DC to Hamburg, Germany--Thursday, May 15^th

Christina and Paul dropped us off at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC and we caught our flight to London and then caught our flight from there to Hamburg, Germany. Both flights had some air turbulence and we were really beat by the time we were finally at the hotel. Took a very nice taxi ride to the hotel through the very lovely, old (founded by Charlemagne in 808) green city of Hamburg. It has been a major port city from the beginning and is now the 2^nd largest city in Germany.

Hamburg, Germany (Holiday Inn)--Friday, May 16^th

I napped/rested/read while Valerie worked on her lectures until about 5 when we got a taxi in front of the hotel and went to meet Valerie’s former Moldovan student and his wife, who now work in Hamburg. We met in front of the large Apple Store downtown, which is situated on the shores of a lake formed by the damming of the River Alster.

While we waited for them, we admired the ornate building fronts that obviously were reconstructed façades, for these were very modern stores. I guess some of the front façades could have been rescued or salvaged from the demolition of the old store or building. It was very interesting people-watching as this seemed to be “the place” to meet people. This store is also situated right in front of a busy metro/subway stop.

After meeting and greeting, the four of us walked to a Munich beer garden for dinner as we were interested in eating some traditional German fare. Sorina and I had roast pork with beer gravy served with the German mashed and then boiled, sticky, golf ball size, potato balls, and a sort of slaw. Valerie had a huge piece of Wiener schnitzel with potato salad that had thinly sliced cucumber added. Pavel had a roasted pig knuckle that reminded us of the ones we ate in China.

The four of us then walked around the other side of the lake and saw ducks and Greylag geese in the water and on the side of the bank. We crossed the main road and continued to walk a couple of blocks inland to the large imposing Hansa-era Rathaus. It did not look like it was damaged during WWII even though Hamburg, because of the shipyards and munitions factories, was heavily bombed by the Allies. In front of this building, was the large square once known as Hitler Platz. We then crossed the square, said our goodbyes, and caught a taxi back to the hotel for the night.

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