Be Still and Hike: Exploring Hamburg, Deutschland Part 2

Silvester (New Year's Eve) 2013 in Hamburg, Deutschland

Typically New Year's Eve is a simple affair for us, we head to a neighbor's for a small party with Chinese food, keep the TV on in the background to watch the ball drop in NYC and play board games. Andrew and I were fortunate to celebrate an unforgettable New Year's Eve, known as Silvester, in Hambug, Germany for 2013. That morning Andrew and I were tasked with errands to shop at a local open market called Isledorf at the Eppendorfer Baum just one train stop away. The market itself was under the tracks about the length of two train stops. We were to look for Blumenkohl (cauliflower) and Walnusse (walnuts). We found both and perused the many tables and stalls. There they had mostly food, but some tables had scarves, household items, and trinkets. There were people playing music on either end of the market which added to the atmosphere. We then returned to the apartment for lunch. Just after lunch, Andrew and I went back down stairs to the nearby supermarket called Penny's to pick up some more souvenirs. The store was loaded for the festivities with lots of fireworks and champagne right alongside your traditional groceries. All throughout the day you could hear fireworks around the city. Christine and the girls joined up with Andrew and I to head over to a local park, stadtpark in Winterhude. It was quite large, big open fields, a water park for the summer, large playground, waterfront and biking trails along pretty gardens. I was able to capture more Munzees and join the girls for playing on different types of see saws. The playground equipment differed from those in New England in that they were not as "safe" but rather encouraged more risk taking which I liked but could be dangerous if you're not watching out for the children. The swings went very high up and you climbed a hill of old tires to reach the launching point for the swings. After it grew too cold we headed back to enjoy a great fish dinner. Andrew was happy to offer Kyra a piggy back ride back to the train station.

Just after 8 pm Andrew and I headed out to celebrate Silvester 2013. The bus was decked out in streamers and folks were all pretty energetic. The sites and sounds of fireworks increased in frequency and we grew cautious of where we walked. We took the train headed to Landungsbrucken but got off in St. Pauli to avoid getting off in the thick of things. Even a few blocks away from the main festivities, people were setting off fireworks from balconies and sidewalks. The mood was loud and festive as many were drinking right out in the open, laughing, cheering, and quite jovial. Andrew and I were quite cautious where we walked to avoid being in the line of fire, literally. We explored some of the crowded spots right along the harbor, ordered some coffee and french fries then found a spot across from the Hard Rock Cafe up some stairs with a great view and not too many people setting off fireworks. It grew crowded quickly and soon fireworks were being set off all around us. Traffic had stopped as people were setting fireworks off in the streets. At midnight it grew especially crazy, loud, fireworks everywhere, singing, and Andrew even gave me a hug and a big smile as he enjoyed this New Year's more than any previous. Definitely one I will not forget. It was only 32 degrees Fahrenheit out but people were too excited to notice. After 30 minutes we began a slow and cautious walk towards the St. Pauli train stop where the train cars were sardines. We made it home safely amid even little children lighting off fireworks in nearby neighborhoods and Andrew fell asleep quickly. I lay wide awake for some time listening to the fireworks echo among all the tall buildings of Hamburg. Here is a brief video taken just after midnight:
http://youtu.be/mfOS4CR4AQw

January 1, 2014: Celebrating a New Year in a foreign country which is pretty cool! The bummer was this would be Andrew and my last day in Germany with family. We had all slept in and then headed out after breakfast to explore the city's mess. This was at a nearby park we went to hang out at..they were still setting off fireworks in parts of the park:

Alina played in the canal and then climbed trees with Andrew, Kyra was still tired and went home early with Christine. A bit later we headed back to the apartment to enjoy lunch. Christine definitley kept us well fed! The fish and pineapple from the fishmarkt was delicious! Andrew and I squeezed in as much exploring as we could on our last day and traveled by bus, train and foot to as many parts of the city as we could. The city was cleaned up pretty quickly. We walked from the Rathaus to an "American" Diner 30 minutes away, enjoyed a good meal and then had to head back to pack and rest. These are the stairs we had to climb during each trip to and from the 5th floor apartment:

Thursday morning we woke up before the sun, and the girls said their good byes as we headed down the stairs for the last time and brought two extra suitcases with stuff to go back to America for Christine. We caught the 39 Schnell bus to the airport and had plenty of time at the airport before the ticket window even opened. Security was quick but awkward as a woman guard was very personal in my "pat" down. Then we waited in a lower level gate before being bused to our small Brussels airlines plane. I had changed suitcases last minute when I saw that our luggage requirements were more restrictive. This plane trip was short and brought us to the Brussels Airport in Belgium and included free chocolate. Andrew and I went through the customs window and received another stamp for our passports! We had time to explore and I went to admire all the Smurf supplies in the gift stores as Belgium is their home. We spent the last of our Euros on a smoothie and chips to hold us over until the plane. We enjoyed a rather large plane to head home in which was nice since it was the longest flight we've ever had. It was just over 9 hours and Andrew and I both managed to watch 3 movies and enjoyed nice meals with ice cream treats.
Back home on U.S. soil, we went through customs and then received news that due to a snow storm our flight to Boston had been cancelled. We waited in several lines and went through several options to try to find a way home. We could fly back home three days later! Or my son Joe had offered to drive 3 hours to pick us from his place in VA. Lastly, the airline offered to pay for us to take the train back. Andrew and I really do like trains and it would get us home sooner. We did end up paying an extra $100 each plus money for a shuttle to Union Station. We grouped up with 6 others in the same situation to split the cost of the shuttle. It was kind of neat to meet up with others and go on this adventure together. Three of the passengers were all students at Northeaster and from Spain that didn't know each other before college. One was an older gentleman in the Army who had just returned from Poland, and a younger gentleman who had spend his holidays with family in Paris. Though it was stormy, the ride through DC was very pretty in the snow late at night. I was enjoyed the van ride until I realized we were going in circles. Our van driver did not know how to get to the station! I pulled out my phone and directed him much to the relief of all of us in the van. We found the huge, antique station to be very quiet. So quiet in fact, it was hard to find staff. Finally found some police who admitted there was a chance the train wouldn't go to Boston. I had faith though that I would get there somehow. Andrew and I bought our tickets and boarded the train an hour later. This was 3:00 am now and we'd been up since 6:00 am Hamburg time--over 30 hours! The train was super comfortable, had power outlets at our seats and wifi. It was such a peaceful and beautiful ride up to Boston without any incidents! Mike drove safely to Boston to pick us up and we finally arrived home only 12 hours later :)

Andrew on the deck of the apartment on Erikastrasse: