We are still waiting to start our next bike tour, and still awaiting Stu’s visit (this Friday.) Since the last entry we have been 
enjoying the unseasonably warm and dry weather in the Harz mountains (where I’m writing this now) and spent a weekend in Bremen visiting Katja and Thorsten. They were great hosts, showing us the best of Bremen – home of Becks beer and the Werder Bremen football club. We had loads of fun touring the old town, drinking Becks (regular, Gold, and Limon) at the riverside beer garden (and at home), riding bikes along the Weser and rowing a rented boat through the park. A highlight of the visit was our side trip to the Fish Market in Hamburg. Matthias has always talked about this market as something special, and it was. It’s only open on Sunday mornings (around 3AM until around 9AM), so we left at 5AM for the one-hour drive to Hamburg. Many of the people there were out all night – partying around Hamburg’s famous Reeperbahn (a red-light district) but there were also quite a few serious shoppers doing their grocery shopping for the week. They sell everything there, from fresh and smoked fish, to fruit, meat, candies and souvenirs. What makes the market really special (besides the live band in the market hall) is the way items are sold. Hawkers yell out to the crowds, making jokes and telling stories, as they fill up a bag or basket with loads of goodies and then offer it at a lump sum (cheap!) For example, the smoked fish guy would take a newspaper and load it up with smoked salmon, some trout, three eels, etc., etc., and then offer the huge package for 15 Euros and wait for someone to bite (kind of like the opposi
te of “fishing” I guess.) Then, the transaction wouldn’t be complete without ribbing the customer a bit. We ended up buying about 3 kilos (about 7 pounds) of fresh fish filets for 15 Euros – and cooked up just a bit of it for dinner the next night. Katja also bought a huge basket full of fruit and vegetables for 10 Euros. Great deals, and lots of fun!
After our three-day visit (after all, fish and visitors begin to smell after three days) Matthias’ parents picked us up in Bremen and we were once again off to Hamburg. We visited Matthias’ cousin Sonja in the afternoon and in the evening went to see the German production of Mamma Mia. It was a good thing I had seen it before, because the whole thing (including the Abba songs) were in German. Still, it was great fun! (Yes, Mamma Mia is still Mamma Mia in German. Same goes for Waterloo….)
We got our bikes back last week and have done a little bit of riding around the area – but unfortunately, we are far from being in shape for our ride. Hopefully all of that will work itself out once we start (as it did last year.) In the meantime, countdown to Stu’s visit….2 days to go! Looking forward to showing him the sights, and hoping the weather stays as good as it has been.
enjoying the unseasonably warm and dry weather in the Harz mountains (where I’m writing this now) and spent a weekend in Bremen visiting Katja and Thorsten. They were great hosts, showing us the best of Bremen – home of Becks beer and the Werder Bremen football club. We had loads of fun touring the old town, drinking Becks (regular, Gold, and Limon) at the riverside beer garden (and at home), riding bikes along the Weser and rowing a rented boat through the park. A highlight of the visit was our side trip to the Fish Market in Hamburg. Matthias has always talked about this market as something special, and it was. It’s only open on Sunday mornings (around 3AM until around 9AM), so we left at 5AM for the one-hour drive to Hamburg. Many of the people there were out all night – partying around Hamburg’s famous Reeperbahn (a red-light district) but there were also quite a few serious shoppers doing their grocery shopping for the week. They sell everything there, from fresh and smoked fish, to fruit, meat, candies and souvenirs. What makes the market really special (besides the live band in the market hall) is the way items are sold. Hawkers yell out to the crowds, making jokes and telling stories, as they fill up a bag or basket with loads of goodies and then offer it at a lump sum (cheap!) For example, the smoked fish guy would take a newspaper and load it up with smoked salmon, some trout, three eels, etc., etc., and then offer the huge package for 15 Euros and wait for someone to bite (kind of like the opposi
te of “fishing” I guess.) Then, the transaction wouldn’t be complete without ribbing the customer a bit. We ended up buying about 3 kilos (about 7 pounds) of fresh fish filets for 15 Euros – and cooked up just a bit of it for dinner the next night. Katja also bought a huge basket full of fruit and vegetables for 10 Euros. Great deals, and lots of fun!After our three-day visit (after all, fish and visitors begin to smell after three days) Matthias’ parents picked us up in Bremen and we were once again off to Hamburg. We visited Matthias’ cousin Sonja in the afternoon and in the evening went to see the German production of Mamma Mia. It was a good thing I had seen it before, because the whole thing (including the Abba songs) were in German. Still, it was great fun! (Yes, Mamma Mia is still Mamma Mia in German. Same goes for Waterloo….)
We got our bikes back last week and have done a little bit of riding around the area – but unfortunately, we are far from being in shape for our ride. Hopefully all of that will work itself out once we start (as it did last year.) In the meantime, countdown to Stu’s visit….2 days to go! Looking forward to showing him the sights, and hoping the weather stays as good as it has been.
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