Kai actually ended up getting up early, because he got to play a videogame on Peter’s Playstation 4 that he had discovered the night before–“Flowers,” very peaceful and pleasant to watch, until we had another sumptuous breakfast, and set out for another day of discovery. We started out with a visit to the museum of Decorative Arts and Design, which I have always liked a lot. Although some parts were closed for renovation, we still saw a lot of very cool stuff–including the entire former pop-art style cafeteria from the publishing house that publishes Germany’s foremost weekly magazine, the Spiegel–all in orange and red. There is also a huge Asian collection, which included some samurai swords and masks that Kai found fascinating, and a special exhibit of the works of an artists who makes microscopic sculptures that fit into the eye of a sewing needle or on top of a pin. You could look at the dozen or so pieces that were exhibited through microscopes; they were amazing. We stayed for a little less than two hours, and then took the elevated train out to Western edge of Hamburg, to an area called Klein-Flottbek, where there is a very nice, rather expansive botanical garden. I had never been there before. We had a simple, quick meal (sausage, bread, potato salad–nothing to write home about) in the outdoor cafe, and then went exploring. There were some really interesting exhibits and unusual plants, and, perhaps most memorably, a pond with some very curious carp that came right up to us when we offered bread crumbs. Kai got to pet them and felt like a “carp whisperer.” We then walked on from the gardens through another park, a former private park with an impressive 18th-century mansion at its center, all the way down to the banks of the Elbe. There is a long promenade along the Elbe that we could have taken along the river, but it had gotten too hot for more walking (upper 70s in Germany always feels quite warm!) and we opted to take the boat back to the harbor instead. This is one of Hamburg’s most fun “secrets” that locals know but tourists typically do not–you can take commuter boats through the entire harbor with regular public transportation tickets instead of paying for a harbor boat tour. We took these ferry boats from Teufelsbrueck to Finkenwerder, on the south side of the Elbe, and then again from Finkenwerder to the harbor. The boats were packed, because it is a holiday weekend, but there was enough room to stand on the edge of the boat and look out at the residential areas and the harbor docks while we were going along. We hit the harbor at about 5 pm and then found our way to the spot where we were supposed to meet Andrea and Peter for dinner at 6 pm, in a restaurant called the “Turnhalle,” or “The Gym,” where we sat very near an open door and had a lovely meal–arugula salad, pizza, pasta, and, lemon risotto which Kai thought was excellent. After the meal, we divided forces–Kai, Peter and Mark went to the movies, since there is a theater in Hamburg that shows movies in the original, and Kai got another one of his heart’s fondest wishes, i.e. watching the new X-men movie that came out just as we were leaving the US. Meanwhile, Andrea and I walked partway around the Alster, found ourselves some ice cream, and then headed home, sat on the balcony, and talked until it got dark. The guys were home by 10:30, and a good time was had by all. Again, it was 11 or later by the time we went to bed.