Hamburg and Heidelberg

Hello Dear Most Great Ones,

I spent a few days in Hamburg, the city of my birth, catching up with relatives, eating well, and seeing some sights.  Sven and Celia were with me making the time more fun. 

The house my mother grew up in.  Its owned by an uncle and has been part of the family for decades.

Hanging with my God mother and relatives for an amazing meal.

Hamburg without strawberry torte is not Hamburg.

Deluxe Abend Brot.  Germans eat evening bread rather than a large meal in the evening.

Hamburg flag in the foreground.  In the back is the Hauptbahnhof.  The main train station.

Hamburg has been called the Venice of the north due to its many canals near the harbour.

A landmark of Hamburg: St. Michael's Kirche.

A huge statue of Luther is near the church.

Inside are several loud and large organs.

452 steps take you to the top of the tower.

A view from the top of the tower.

Near Hamburg is Travemunde; located on the Baltic Sea.  I spent a lovely time with some excellent ones there.

It has a beach covered with traditional covered beach coaches, protecting you from the wind, and a place to store your stuff. 

Great people hanging by the Baltic sea.

Some parts of the beach at Travemunde were rugged indeed.

Visiting was also a big part of Hamburg.

An afternoon spent with relatives, mother's cousin's family, was fun.  Traditional coffee time with Tortes.

A good luck ladybug on a floor.

Later we had a great meal at Blankenese by the Elbe.  The restaurant did not look like much, but the food was awesome.

A big container ship from China eased by.

My final days in Germany were spent in Heidelberg with my excellent friends Michael and Sabine.

The Heidelberg castle.

Germans love to have coffee and cake outside.  So do I.

Part of the fortress is a ruin.

Great views from the top.  The Holy Ghost Church is below, while the "Old Bridge," spans the Necker.

The Heidelberg castel has a famous keg of considerable size.

Germans do not normally dress this way, in traditional German garb, but when they do it is always worthy of a picture.

What incredible luck.  I witnessed the Germans winning their fourth World Cup in Germany.

The neighborhood came alive when Germany won.  Fireworks, yelling, horns honking, and one guy kept repeating ," wir sind Weltmeister, wir sind Weltmeister,  we are World champions, we are World champions…."  Great fun.

The next day I went biking with Michael and Celia through the countryside of Heidelberg.  Awesome.

A view from a castle.

In the background are three castles.  

This castle is inhabited.

Biking though a corn field with a ruin of a castle in the background.

Amazing.

  Biking through this town was like biking through a fairy tale.

I love Germany especially the people.  It is great and I plan to go again and again as long as I can.

Have a great week.

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk