Hamburg und Lübeck

Summer is here!! To help celebrate, we decided it was time to explore more of Deutschland. Off to Hamburg and the Baltic coast we went. Once again, we concurred that traveling by train is the best way to get around (followed by biking as a close second, of course). We hopped on an early morning train just days after I finished up my busy school year, and we were in Hamburg in less than 2 hours. Before anchoring in this busy port city, however, we traveled further north for a few days. First stop: Lubeck, a quaint medieval town near the coast of the Baltic Sea. Lubeck is not only an architectural gem on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sights, but is also known for one of my newly discovered confectionery favorites: Marzipan! If you're not familiar with the sweet almond paste deliciousness, a trip to Lubeck would be worth it for this reason alone. While filling up on the various samplings of marzipan coated in chocolate, we enjoyed exploring Lubeck's unique architecture. On one particularly warm day, we took a spontaneous 20-minute train ride to Travemunde, Lubeck's local beach on the Baltic Sea. Our first trip to the Baltic was bathing suit and towel-free, as the beach was not on our original agenda while packing. Since nude bathing, although very acceptable here in Europe, was not in the cards for us timid Americans, we will have to return for a chance to swim in the Baltic Sea :).

Holstentor, one of the original gates in Lubeck

Matt leading the way to the Puppet Museum (definitely a first for us!)

Typical architecture in Lubeck

Travemunde beach on the Baltic Sea.
You can rent these colorful "Strandkörbe" (beach "baskets") when the Baltic winds are
too gusty for your liking but you still want to get a tan!

Soon we were headed back to Hamburg to explore the city for a few days. Hamburg is the 2nd biggest city in Germany (after Berlin, of course :) and is the 2nd largest port in all of Europe. We took advantage of the fact that boat rides were part of the public transport tickets that we purchased upon arrival, and enjoyed seeing much of the city via the Elbe river. We also went on a boat tour that took us through the winding canals of Hamburg, and got a good chuckle at the GPS-guided recordings in English using German grammar ("On the left, will one an old warehouse of carpets observe" What?!)

We've got the train thing down by now!

Hamburg Rathaus (city hall)

Caption anyone??

We stumbled across some live music...in a trailer!

Strandperle, a fun beachbar/cafe on the Elbe

Summer Mumpitz

I'd be lying if I said we were anywhere close to mastering the German language. Stringing words together to form a somewhat coherent sentence is about where I stand. Currently, I am able to hear and understand much more when the language is being spoken, but speaking it myself is a completely different story. (Coincidentally, Matt's German strengths lie in the speaking part, so we do make a great team as we try to communicate auf Deutch!) I do, however, have a knack for picking up random words, getting them stuck in my head, and throwing them in to random English sentences. Recent favorites include "natürlich" (of course), "Schnecke" (snails--often used as an endearing name for someone you love, such as "sweetie"), and "Mumpitz" (shenanigans). Now that you've had your daily dose of Deutsch, I will leave you with a few photos from our own recent Mumpitz!

Some of my fun-loving teacher pals at our end of the year party - Yay for summer!

Riding the U-Bahn, just like we always do

Cousin Jeff came to Berlin! He had just finished a 5 week walk on the Camino trail.
Needless to say, he had a lot of stories and has convinced us to give the trail a try one day!

Matt and Jeff enjoying a late-night Döner Kepab.
It's simple...you come to Berlin, you must eat a Döner!

Strandbars and Schiffparties

This is our first summer living in a big city. I wasn't so sure how we would like it...the sweltering heat, the masses of tourists, the crowded trains. As we enter the month of July, I'd have to say that the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. Sure, the trains are a little stinky (we all know that Europeans have some kind of aversion to deodorant), and the tourists have over-run our favorite cafes (we are spotting American accents left and right!). But Berlin has certainly come alive! Our favorite summer spots have included the many green spaces scattered across the city limits (perfect for BBQs!) and the many "Strandbars" (beachbars) that have popped up along the Spree River. Sure, they're not the sandy beaches of the Pacific, but they definitely have their own unique flair.

LunaStrand in our neighborhood

This month we also experienced our first "Schiffparty". Our Schiff (or boat) took us up and down the Spree River in Berlin....for 5 hours!! The private party was hosted by our friend Yens' field hockey team (yes, men play field hockey in Deutschland. Minus the skirts and frenchbraids). It was a great night of dancing and meeting many new people. A fun way to celebrate the 4th of July in our new city!

A cool view of the Reichstag from the Spree