Black Friday

I soon tired of deleting what seemed like hundreds of “Black Friday” offers in my email box and didn’t buy a thing.  Instead, we jumped in the car and headed east.  To Heathrow.  To Berlin!

A couple of hours later, we’d arrived at Tegel airport, hopped in a cab and by 5.30 ish, we were comfortably settled into our hotel on Marlene Dietrich Platz.

I’m not sure if they expected a pair of erudite readers this weekend or what, but my hero has a choice of classics to read – a good cure for insomnia, I think.

I have a couple of business texts and this – auf Deutsch, of course.  That might be anything but a cure for insomnia…no sleepless nights wanted here, thank you!  (A good job I brought my kindle and my current read, Let the Great World Spin)

Anyway, a quick unpack, a few thoughts of Ellis and Mary in Thousand Oaks Mall (on Black Friday!!  aaaagh!) and we were out in search of dinner.

It’s Advent weekend here and yes, Christmas has begun.

No problem in finding the perfect start to the weekend!!

The Lindenbrau bierstube was buzzing, the beer was great and the food terrific.  Our weekend was off to a fine start.

Comfortably stuffed (or, in my hero’s case, uncomfortably stuffed!) we took the longer route back to the hotel, groaning at the mere thought of more food.

We stood and admired the “windmill” coffee and gluehwein kiosk outside the shopping mall.

Resisting the temptation to go and look inside – shopping can wait until tomorrow.

Instead, we strolled along the little market stalls selling gingerbread hearts

and chocolate tools (yes, don’t they look real?!)

Taking a peek at the ice rink and the brightly coloured Christmas tree before retreating from the cold night air to the comfort of our hotel.

Goodnight from room 703.  See you in the morning for more adventures!

Before we went home

Our last morning here and there remained a couple of things we’d intended to do.

Quieter than usual shopping streets on this Wednesday morning meant it was a good time to take a look at some of the department stores, not really in search of anything special but, well, the birthday boy was hoping for a new overcoat.  Since we Thomases come “traditionally built”, the German fit suits us well and sure enough, Peek und Cloppenburg had the perfect style.

Whilst we’ve been here, our feet have taken a battering on these hard pavements and cobbled streets too and a couple of days ago I decided to treat mine to a pair of Falke socks.  Expensive, yes.  But though those two-pairs-for-£3 from ASDA might do OK at home, the seamless toes and perfect fit of the Falke socks don’t rub or pinch in quite the same way and I decided my feet are worth it!  One family collection of “best socks” later, we were nearly done.

Fortunately, I remembered just in time that I’m tea girl at my WI meeting tomorrow and would surely not have time to bake any biscuits.  Instead, my WI friends will have the chance to try some Echte Braune Kuchen

Someone likes them!

And that was that.  We enjoyed a hearty lunch at the hotel before taking the S bahn to the airport and heading home.  After collecting our luggage, we went our separate ways; the birthday boy went home to Finsbury Park and we headed back along the M4. 

It’s always good to be home!

Everywhere in Bremen

Our first stop in Bremen was the Tourist Information office, to collect a detailed map and seek advice about the must-see places.  Outside the shop was this curious model.

Inside, cute soft toy variations were on sale.

In the window were displays of all kinds of interpretations of what appeared to be the “Bremer Stadtmusikanten” – the Bremen Town Musicians, of which we knew nothing.

Of course, having discovered them, we couldn’t move for seeing yet more variations on the theme.

The souvenir shops had plenty of them.

There were books and bags with what appears to be the city logo on them.  We learned it was from a Grimm’s fairy tale and quickly read the story to satisfy our curiosity.  The book we read was illustrated by our favourite Janosch which was a timely reminder of other birthdays, when we read how beautiful Panama is.

Walking along the river, we enjoyed seeing the theme stretched further, like on the cycle path sign here.

Then in the Schnoor, we smiled at the “Bremen Musicians by night” T shirt, too.

We thought that the people of Bremen could well be fed up of seeing the image all over the place, because really, everywhere we looked it was there.

Or at least, it was referenced.

Of course, we saw the original too!

And one last parting shot in the mural in the railway station on our way back.

Enough!

(Thank you, Bremen)

A Birthday in Bremen

We gave the birthday boy his choice of how to spend his day today and as a result, we went by train to Bremen.  It’s an easy hour’s ride away and the trains are comfortable and frequent.  Good decision!

So, we caught the 1015 from the Hauptbahnhof, just five minutes walk from our hotel.

It’s a busy station and both public transport professionals in the family were agreeably interested whilst we waited for our train to arrive.

Arriving in Bremen, the outlook was a little stark – railway stations seldom have the best approach, we find.

Until we turn around, that is.  What a great building – true Playmobil-style, suggested the youngest member of the family!

From there, we caught a tram around to the old town.  Our rail tickets were valid on the local transport too, which was useful.

We are a little worried about the poster advertising Cornwall, however and fear tourists may be a little disappointed when they find the White Cliffs of Dover are not to be found there.

Anyway, we are here, in the Rathausplatz, outside the Dom and all is looking good so far!

Inside the cathedral, we are immediately captivated by the beautiful interior.  It’s solid, Northern European in character, the vaulted ceilings and patterned archways are lovely and we like the quiet, unassuming atmosphere in here.  It’s grand but not ostentatious and there’s nothing showy about the place.

The floors are pretty amazing too.

The way out takes us through the Bible Garden, where this small figure is in keeping with the whole place.  I’m so pleased we came here.

Out into the square, then, and time to have a mooch around “Bremen’s Parlour”.  I rather liked this knight’s moustache and the detail of his features, too.

There weren’t so many people around on this Tuesday morning, so we could wander about without hassle, taking photos, admiring the buildings and generally enjoying being here.

In the centre of the square there is a Hanseatic Cross in the cobbles and a group of people were meeting there, watched by a group of four policemen standing on the town hall steps.  Were they expecting trouble?  I thought it funny that all the women stood together and all the men stood a few steps away.  Maybe they were planning something!?

Our eye had been caught by “a gold thing” over there, so we followed it up and found ourselves in the Böttcherstraße.

This small passageway was a curiosity and another example of brick expressionism – of which I’d never heard until I came to Hamburg!

Our guidebook offered some information to be going on with, then we read some more on the way home later.  I’ll leave you to read about it for yourself though!

Suffice to say there were some interesting corners.

A small carillion up there between the gable ends which chimed the half hour as we passed.

A few interesting architectural details.

Some colourful stained glass.

And possibly the weirdest brick wall you ever did see.

At the other end of the street is the River Weser, where a broad promenade invites a walk along its banks.

A simple bit of graffiti made me smile.

We were soon at another quaint old district, the Schnoor

Here were more little streets to explore and small shops to peer into. 

No doubt these small corners are packed in summertime, but on a day in early January, we had plenty of time and space to enjoy and appreciate them.

I really loved being here and was delighted we had come to Bremen.

My favourite small house/shop, perfectly proportioned and beautifully decorated, too.

The door had a splash of blackboard paint perfectly placed for the three kings to record their 2015 visit – the only such door blessing we’ve seen during this visit.

After a short exploration of the shopping streets in the modern city centre and a stop for coffee, our feet were complaining again.  Keeping up with a youngster is a challenge!

So we found our way back to the tram,

went back through the station, noticing murals we’d overlooked whilst walking in the other direction

and caught the train back to Hamburg.

There was another feature of Bremen that was everywhere we went – I’ll share it in a separate post.

Hamburg Monday morning

Every morning as we’ve left the hotel, I’ve admired the Christmas decorations.  All variations on a theme of straw stars, twigs, huge fur/wool snowballs and small lime green baubles, this one in particular hits the spot for me.  Sadly, this is possibly the last day we’ll see it, for I expect all signs of Christmas will disappear very soon.

It was a very different crowd on the street this morning, the first day back to work for many and unfortunately, it was a grey morning lacking any of yesterday’s sunshine.

We were heading for the station again, this time to catch the S-bahn to Altona, where our guide book promised an interesting walk. 

Unfortunately, first impressions didn’t suggest much, though we understood that Altona used to rival Hamburg as a fishing port.  This morning, it simply felt like a pretty ordinary suburb.

We set off optimistically, following the route as set out and soon found ourselves in a small garden with this monstrosity of a fountain.  Two centaurs fight with one another over a fish – they represent the two cities, of course.

Apparently in summer, water spouts from the fish and from several places elsewhere but for now, we were happy to let this one go and to move right along to the next attraction.

Dear old Kaiser Wilhelm 1 stands placidly in front of the Town Hall, flanked by all manner of figures representing business and culture of the area.

Then just to one side, on the edge of the park stands Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, who appears strangely small in stature here.

Did we come all the way for three statues, then?  For a while, it seemed so, but following the pathway a little further we found ourselves within sight of the Elbe again, so of course, we continued.

The waterfront here is referred to as the Altona Balkon – the Balcony – since it overlooks the river and all the passing traffic.  Homes along this stretch of the riverbank/coastline fetch high prices and this particular part of Altona is the place to reside, it seems.

I rather liked the fishermen standing with their oars aloft, even if they did look like bats!

Having absorbed the atmosphere of the riverside pathway, we chose to follow it back towards the city, to St Pauli.  It was a fine morning and the signpost suggested it wasn’t much more than 1km to walk.

Soon we found ourselves heading back towards the Fischmarkt, where we had been so very early yesterday morning (was it really only yesterday!?)  We noticed a large ship over there in the dry dock too – had that been there before?  We hadn’t spotted it, if it had.

Actually, the Fischmarkt Auction Hall looked rather nicer this morning, in the daylight and we were pleased to see where we’d been in the dark!

For now though, we were spotting other landmarks, such as the Elbphilharmonie there in the mist behind the …oh, isn’t that a U-boot?  How easily overlooked it was

In no time, we were back at the Landungsbrucken, where we sat down with coffee and the guidebook to plan our next activity.

Harbour ferry number 62 would take us on much the same route as the pricey harbour tour ships, and since our Hamburg card gave us free travel on the ferries, it seemed like a no brainer.  Having finished our drinks, we made our way to jetty 3.

A #62 was waiting, more or less ready to leave, so we hopped on board and took our seats.  We’d worried that a harbour cruise might not be a comfy option on such a chilly morning but oh my goodness, we needn’t have worried.  The whole cabin was superheated to sauna level!

We passed several candidates for my Tugs of the World Flickr group, and quite a few smart riverside apartments.  Easy to see why this would be a desirable place to live.

The whole journey was punctuated with interesting sights – an icebreaker ship here, in a collection of old ships available to visit.  We were far too comfy to get off the ferry though, so sat tight and stayed on board all the way there and all the way back again!

We sailed close enough to the Blohm und Voss drydock to spot the Cunard Queen Victoria undergoing some repairs and refurbishment, too.  But then it was time to leave our warm and cosy haven and venture out onto the U bahn again and back into town where we planned a little shopping.

We’ve found Hamburg to be a very walkable city and the shopping areas are interesting and rather attractive.  I was in search of the OSKA store, which was not so far from here in a smart shopping street.

My hero is good at spotting such things, thank goodness, or else I’d have missed it completely, having been distracted by all the grey things for sale in this shop on the corner.

Shopping complete, then, the only challenge remaining was to identify where to eat dinner tonight.  Once again, my hero rose to the challenge, finding Das Dorf where we have just enjoyed one of the most memorable meals in a really atmospheric building.

The end of another marvellous day here – and the boy’s birthday to look forward to tomorrow.  Oh yes, thirty years ago this evening we were at home in Avening, taking down the Christmas tree when…you can guess the rest!