Random Bunny (in cage)
Andrea in familiar photographer’s pose
Resting during our Alster hike
Laubfrosch (leaf frog) pretending to be leaf
The old Elbtunnel (built 1907-1913)
Hamburg’s Harbor with the soon-to-be-opened Elbphilharmonie (new philharmonic)
L to R: Antje, Kai, Peter, Andrea, Karsten, and Finn Willi
This was the hottest day to date in Germany, with highs over 90 and very high humidity–we have clearly become temperature wimps and were very hot and sticky through part of the day. Thankfully, the walk Andrea and Peter had planned was through a very shady area–a hike from some of the ponds at the area where Hamburg’s river, the Alster, originates, along the banks of the Alster through beech forests and parks–all within the city limits, and within blocks of city streets. It was really lovely, Andrea and Mark both took lots of pictures, and we did start early enough that it wasn’t quite so hot yet. We had a brought a picnic lunch and then had iced coffee in a very expensive cafe at a park with a major lock/sluice gate of the river (Poppenbüttler Schleuse). But we did take the bus home from there–the way to the bus stop leading us, somewhat surreally, through a full-fledged mall after all that green space not five minutes earlier! But the upside was that there was air conditioning–and an Ecco store. I had been wanting to replace my rather run-down Ecco sandals for the past two weeks, and it took me 2 minutes to find the right pair. Very handy.
Kai had stayed home and still wasn’t really in the mood to be sociable, so we all spent the remainder of the afternoon just napping/reading and trying to stay cool (no airconditioning in German homes, just in stores). We had a lovely pasta dinner and then took off around 7 for an evening out. We took the subway to the harbor and checked out an amazing place that I had never visited–the old “Elbtunnel” or tunnel under the river Elbe, which was built in 1907-1911 as a 450-meter tunnel between the two banks of the river, which IS, at that spot, the actual river harbor and North Sea access for the city (the oceans is quite a ways away). It has elevators for pedestrians and bicyclists, and normally also three car elevators that are currently being renovated, but the tunnel will be available again for limited car traffic (there is a ”real” freeway tunnel and a major bridge for the actual, heavy, traffic in the area). We walked down inside the huge cupola and looked down the tunnel (we didn’t have time to walk to the other side) and then took the elevator back up. The gigantic old machinery for the elevators and the tile work are really something to see–and I still cannot believe I never knew about this in forever r years of living in this city. Afterwards, we walked along the pier and then turned north to meet an old friend and his son at the famous Hamburg Michel, Hamburg’s most famous church. Afterwards, we walked along the pier and then turned north to meet Andrea’s and my old friend Karsten and his son Finn Willy at the famous Hamburg Michel, Hamburg’s most famous church. (Karsten was not only part of Andrea’s and Ingrid’s and my high-school friend group, but my boyfriend through most of my high school and German college days, and we were actually married for about two years–but there are no bad feelings now and we have stayed in touch, off and on, over the years. We lived in Hamburg together in 1990-1991, and he ended up staying there, working as a programmer for various banks and software developers. We sat down, still in the sweltering heat, at a Bavarian pub (I had an alcohol-free concoction that I really liked–for the record because few beer-based drinks ever meet with my approval–it was half alcohol-free wheat beer and half Sprite) and talked for a few hours, telling funny stories on each other (Karsten is a master story teller and can be hilarious, but has also done some interesting things with art and music, so he’s really fun to talk to. Of course we talked a lot about events that go 25+ years back and that Andrea, he, and I all remembered but that we had to fill the others in on–but even without the talk about our high-school days, the most intriguing thing was that Karsten these days strikingly resembles not HIS dad, but MY dad, another master story teller, both in physique and mannerisms. When we were on our way back, around 11 pm, I said something about this to Andrea, and she blurted out “I wasn’t going to say anything if you didn’t bring it up–but yes, he so reminded me of your dad!” It was still hot and sticky when we got home, but at last there was actually a big thunderstorm around 3 am that broke the heat and the humidity a bit.