Upon landing back in Germany, I went to Starbucks to wake up and grab some breakfast. I was so glad to be back in a country where most people can speak and understand at least a little English and of course I could understand and sort of speak German. So though Russia was a lot of fun and a cool experience...the not understanding what was going on on top of the sun being always up stressed me out. And maybe it just happened to be when I was most tired anyways.
I left the airport and headed to the Hauptbahnhof where I got on an ICE train towards Hamburg and then took a regional train onto Lübeck (a city 20 min from the sea). There I treated myself to a hotel for the night. This way I knew I would sleep well, be able to repack everything and spread out and eat a very good breakfast.
After taking a much needed nap, I walked around the Altstadt (old city), which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is small and know for its short distances, but I enjoyed the downtown. Saw some pretty nice pairs of shoes, but opted instead to buy some Marzipan and wait until I went back to Berlin to do some shopping. I ate some vanilla ice cream that was literally freshly made mixed in with fresh strawberries (that are in season...makes it even better). In the evening I read and watched the last show of Germany's Next Top Model that is less drama filled actually plus Lady Gaga performed so that was cool.
In the morning I ate some breakfast, checked out and took the train back to Hamburg where I met up with my friend, Sarah, who I studied abroad with in Freiburg back in Fall 2008. We went to our hostel that was in Altona...so a little west to the downtown area. After we put our stuff down we went back into the city and walked along the harbor. We then went to an are east of the Hauptbahnhof and ate at a nice Italian restaurant and talked until after 11 pm.
Saturday morning we got up and went to a Fleamarket in Sternschanze - a really cool neighborhood in Hamburg. We also did some shopping on Mönckbergstrasse (Sarah got some shoes and I bought a fleece jacket from Bench). For dinner we ate at a place called Oma's Apotheke and then went back to get ready to go out for the night. We decided to go out with 2 girls who were also in our room, they were from Halifax, Nova Scotia and starting their 3rd year of Med School. We all ended up tagging along with a group of British guys who were in Hamburg for a bachelor's weeked as one was getting married. It was definitely interesting watching their antics as well as going out to the Red Light district by Reeperbahn.
Sunday morning we slept in and took it easy since I went to bed around 4 am and Sarah even later than me. In the afternoon we sat by harbor near Landungsbrücken - I read and Sarah took a nap. Then we went at 6 pm to the Modelbahns (model trains), which was amazing! It was really awesome! They had so many different types of scenes and landscapes. Plus they had literally just opend their newest section - an airport! They had program airplanes to land, take off and taxi. There was even a car/bus system where there were buses that came around to all the parked planes to pick up and drop off passengers, fuel trucks that refilled and it goes on. On top of that was a departure and arrival screen so you knew which planes were leaving and arriving...honestly just like a real airport. No wonder it took them 6 years to develop and perfect it.
After spending 3 hours there without realizing it, we grabbed some dinner and went back to the hostel. In the morning I repacked and headed off to the train station while Sarah stayed in Hamburg as she was going to Schwerin later for the week. I meanwhile took regional trains down to Düsseldorf, checked into a hostel and walked around their harbor and downtown. I ate dinner at a Brauerei, which was really good and went back to sleep. It was a good thing I didn't stay out as it started to rain a lot that next.
In the morning I went back to the train station to go to Heidelberg and meet with Sinah, my high school german exchange partner. She lives in a little village about 30 minutes away from Heidelberg. It was nice to see her and catch up as well as to see her family. Finally also have a photo of them as a family since I did not before. I stayed there overnight and in the morning Sinah took me back to Heidelberg.
I left the airport and headed to the Hauptbahnhof where I got on an ICE train towards Hamburg and then took a regional train onto Lübeck (a city 20 min from the sea). There I treated myself to a hotel for the night. This way I knew I would sleep well, be able to repack everything and spread out and eat a very good breakfast.
After taking a much needed nap, I walked around the Altstadt (old city), which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is small and know for its short distances, but I enjoyed the downtown. Saw some pretty nice pairs of shoes, but opted instead to buy some Marzipan and wait until I went back to Berlin to do some shopping. I ate some vanilla ice cream that was literally freshly made mixed in with fresh strawberries (that are in season...makes it even better). In the evening I read and watched the last show of Germany's Next Top Model that is less drama filled actually plus Lady Gaga performed so that was cool.
In the morning I ate some breakfast, checked out and took the train back to Hamburg where I met up with my friend, Sarah, who I studied abroad with in Freiburg back in Fall 2008. We went to our hostel that was in Altona...so a little west to the downtown area. After we put our stuff down we went back into the city and walked along the harbor. We then went to an are east of the Hauptbahnhof and ate at a nice Italian restaurant and talked until after 11 pm.
Saturday morning we got up and went to a Fleamarket in Sternschanze - a really cool neighborhood in Hamburg. We also did some shopping on Mönckbergstrasse (Sarah got some shoes and I bought a fleece jacket from Bench). For dinner we ate at a place called Oma's Apotheke and then went back to get ready to go out for the night. We decided to go out with 2 girls who were also in our room, they were from Halifax, Nova Scotia and starting their 3rd year of Med School. We all ended up tagging along with a group of British guys who were in Hamburg for a bachelor's weeked as one was getting married. It was definitely interesting watching their antics as well as going out to the Red Light district by Reeperbahn.
Sunday morning we slept in and took it easy since I went to bed around 4 am and Sarah even later than me. In the afternoon we sat by harbor near Landungsbrücken - I read and Sarah took a nap. Then we went at 6 pm to the Modelbahns (model trains), which was amazing! It was really awesome! They had so many different types of scenes and landscapes. Plus they had literally just opend their newest section - an airport! They had program airplanes to land, take off and taxi. There was even a car/bus system where there were buses that came around to all the parked planes to pick up and drop off passengers, fuel trucks that refilled and it goes on. On top of that was a departure and arrival screen so you knew which planes were leaving and arriving...honestly just like a real airport. No wonder it took them 6 years to develop and perfect it.
After spending 3 hours there without realizing it, we grabbed some dinner and went back to the hostel. In the morning I repacked and headed off to the train station while Sarah stayed in Hamburg as she was going to Schwerin later for the week. I meanwhile took regional trains down to Düsseldorf, checked into a hostel and walked around their harbor and downtown. I ate dinner at a Brauerei, which was really good and went back to sleep. It was a good thing I didn't stay out as it started to rain a lot that next.
In the morning I went back to the train station to go to Heidelberg and meet with Sinah, my high school german exchange partner. She lives in a little village about 30 minutes away from Heidelberg. It was nice to see her and catch up as well as to see her family. Finally also have a photo of them as a family since I did not before. I stayed there overnight and in the morning Sinah took me back to Heidelberg.
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