This morning, we had a “Sunday breakfast” complete with hot rolls and soft-boiled eggs, and then the four of us set out for a longish walk together while it was still cool. We walked the 5 km (3 miles) from Andrea and Peter’s house all the way to the banks of the Aussenalster, where the river that runs through Hamburg forms a large lake (and a smaller one called the Binnenalster) near the city center. You can walk along a tributary called the Wandse under trees and on paths that are mostly not concrete or pavement, and sometimes you dip into little parks along the way, so it is quite lovely. We walked along the Alster for a bit further, talking about work and movies and family (the four of us never run out of things to talk about), and then took the subway back. 7 km / 4.5 miles was about enough and it was starting to get warm–today was the hottest day since we got to Europe, and I believe we hit 90 before a series of thunderstorms cooled things back down!
Then we had ice cream with rum raisins (“Malaga ice cream”) and cookies instead of lunch (because we are grownups and we can!), Mark and I packed one of our suitcases and one of our backpacks, and after some rest time and a little work, he and I set out around 3:30 to visit our friend Uschi in Oldenburg, a small city about an hour and a half southeast of Hamburg by (the total trip from door to door, walking, bus, subway, two trains, and another walk, took about 3 hours but went very smoothly!). Uschi greeted us at the train station and we walked across downtown Oldenburg (which is not that large) to her house, where we had a simple evening meal with bread and wonderful cheeses, and a creamy salad with apples and celery and walnuts on top. The storm front moved through with several big but short downpours, and we decided NOT to risk getting wet to get ice cream. Uschi had made an apple strudel, and we had it with warm vanilla sauce instead–the most traditional way to have strudel. We sat and talked for a bit longer, but eventually set up the guest bed and called it a day. So happy to see Uschi and to chat about everything under the sun!
