I went to Germany and then I came back!
I went to Hamburg, Germany. Obviously, I survived. This is a bit later then I expected, but I haven't had much time to sit down and write all at once. Things came up, some of it I knew about, some of it unexpected. It's still a bit surreal on how all of this was only three weeks ago!
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First off, before anything else, I want to introduce a question that I asked myself on the plane ride home. It was an innocent, random question at first, something that just popped into my head as I reflected on the trip, but it quickly took a life of its own. "Did I like Hamburg or Düsseldorf better?"
In the end, I decided that the question was completely unfair and cannot be answered. Both trips had their highlights and their downsides. Both are totally different cities. But what makes it unanswerable, is me. I was in a different place last year, mentally. Düsseldorf was my very first international plane trip, my first time on another continent, and the first time traveling all alone. I had no idea what to expect, other than "Germany". I was also just beginning to find my independence and break away from the dependence that I had cocooned around me as protection from abuse since I was a child. My anxiety levels were uncontrolled and I was on the wrong medication, with the wrong diagnosis. It was the start of my "Year of ADD-is-trying-to-kill-me".
By contrast, Hamburg was simpler. I knew what to expect, more or less. I had experienced the travelling alone and the airplanes and airports. My anxiety and uncontrolled thoughts had turned into brief moments rather than drawn out dramas. For example: In Düsseldorf, my anxiety was hitting out of control thinking. I was absolutely terrified of saying the wrong thing in German, because that would surely get me jailed in some kind of international scandal. (And that isn't an exaggeration. That is the honest line of thinking that my brain took. It was running wild at that point and unable to be controlled.) By contrast, in Hamburg, I was attempting to speak as much as I could, even if it was with German tourists and we were all trying to find our way to some other place.
That's a big difference.
Another difference was the language practice itself. Last year, if a shopkeeper noted that I was a native English speaker and switched to English, I was inwardly grateful and switched as well. This year, it gave me some mild annoyance and I spoke German for as long as possible. A couple of times, I pretended to be a jet-lagged, tired German tourist, just to keep the German going. (And it worked!)
In short, I spent less time in panic and worry, and more time with enjoyment and practice.
So to compare the two is impossible for me. Düsseldorf was the absolutely best place for me to get my feet wet. It offered enough to see and do, without overwhelming me. Hamburg was a great place for me to practice, as it offered a large selection of things to do and was more laid back.
So, onto my write-up!
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I'm going to start with the basics: the weather. Apparently, I brought strange weather again. It wasn't a heatwave, for which I am eternally grateful. It was an odd mix of humidity, sunshine, cool mornings and warm afternoons. The sunshine could be intense at times, with a cold breeze off the river. I'm not quite sure how this weather was different from normal Hamburg weather- everyone talked about needing layers of clothes as a common thing. It was definitely sweaty there, a strange sort of sweaty. It wouldn't feel hot, but I'd feel extremely sweaty. Sometimes cold-sweaty.
All in all though, the weather cooperated. There were some mornings of rain and a few afternoon moments as well. The day I visited Neuengamme, it apparently rained all day in Hamburg, but only cloudy where I was, with maybe 15 minutes of light rain. Most of the time though, it was great and I can't complain.
Of course, now I miss it. I miss 28C. It's a lot hotter here.
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The plane ride there wasn't as anxiety ridden as last year, which is good, because it was a little more exciting. I've determined that there are two things I hate about air travel: take off and those turns that planes do before landing. (You know, when the plane goes kinda sideways as it adjusts, right before it starts landing) I'm also not a fan of "pond skipper" small planes, which is what my Detroit to Newark plane was. I dunno, I'm just sensitive at feeling the speed slow down and I can feel that more on the smaller planes. In any case, that portion went fine.
My 6 hour layover in Newark wasn't the highlight of my life, but not bad either.
Now, my plane to Hamburg was aggravating. We all boarded and settled in. I got lucky, as the middle seat was empty. Then, we proceeded to sit on the tarmac for 3 hours. Apparently, our water tank had sprung a leak and we had to wait for it to be fixed. Then, we had to wait to be refueled, but the refueling truck broke down on the way. So instead of being on a flight for 8 hours, I sat on my flight for 11. I guess I'd rather the plane break while still on the ground, but it wasn't exactly fun.
To top it off, my in-flight entertainment broke. I was flying United, and they have individual touch screens on the back of seats, so you can choose your own movie/tv-show to watch. However, someone had broken my headphone input, so I couldn't enjoy that feature. Lucky I had my book, although I did sleep most of time.
Obviously, we landed three hours late. I emailed my host, telling her what happened. I then started my journey on the S-Bahn. I was tired from travel, and attempting to jump-start my brain onto German default, while navigating a new transportation system. When I reached my host's house, she had indeed read my email, although AFTER she had prepared breakfast for us, since I was coming so early. Ooops. Totally not my fault though.
Now, as for my host, I can and will complain.
Okay, in reality, it wasn't terrible. I don't like living with other people that aren't Tim or Josie, so I'm somewhat predisposed to complain about it. I ended up thinking about it like this: I am paying for a room and bathroom use. Unless I am acting completely outside of reasonable boundaries, my host can be annoyed or not annoyed all she wants.
There must be something about middle-aged women with grown children becoming hosts. I talked with Schnee about it, and we agreed that perhaps it's a bit of an empty nest syndrome thing. In any case, there were several situations where I was treated like a child. She was extremely concerned about what I was doing, what I was eating, and my general life. For example, she was extremely interested when I mentioned that I was visiting Schnee in Kiel. ("Does your husband know you're meeting a man? Don't worry, I won't tell him. Call me if you plan to stay overnight, I don't want to worry!")
She also tried to talk me out of visiting Neuengamme Concentration Camp. As she put it, she spent too much time learning about it in school. Why wouldn't I want to visit a more respectable place, like a museum for immigration? (She was strangely convinced that America doesn't really have museums and that Americans don't like museums. It gave her great confusion when I explained that our Smithsonian museums are free to visit and that it is a popular tourist spot.)
She also had an obsession with the door being locked. She kept stressing that we were in a safe area, but an unlocked door was just inviting us to die at the hands of hooligans.
Other than that though, she was nice and left me alone after she realized that I was a competent adult. She did talk about previous students, younger students, that she had hosted, whom had stayed out all night getting drunk and nearly trashed the bedroom, so perhaps that had something to do with her attitude at the start. She was slightly disturbed by my pattern though- I went to school in the morning and then just stayed out until around 8 or 9pm, with only a few minor variations. I'm not sure if that sat well with her, although it doesn't matter. There was a lot to see and do and, once I was up and out, I was up and out. I didn't see a point in spending time riding all the way back to my room unless I really needed to do it.
Oh, but she had a shelf toilet. Seriously, if I ever meet the guy that invented that damned thing...
~~~
Onto the school. TANDEM Language School in Hamburg.
Smaller than Goethe and a heck of a lot less expensive. Very, very good though, well worth it. There was a noticeable emphasis on speech, which is exactly what I was looking for. I was the only short-term international student- most others were living in Germany and aiming for University admissions or specific jobs. I was the only American. Two students were from Brazil, one from Argentina, one from Sweden, one from Turkey, and one from Malta. All were very nice and the whole class was relaxed and easygoing. Early on, I think my teachers recognized that I knew my grammar but faltered with speaking. It's hard to explain that I've written a 12 page formal essay on the linguistics of American Amish German, all in German, but I stuttered at explaining the weather. Still, the class was VERY good for that. Unlike my University classes, we weren't discussing German Literature before the fall of the Berlin wall, or political complications in post-WW2 Germany. We discussed average, everyday things, while incorporating grammar. I'd like to think that I gained confidence from that.
To be honest, I could probably catch up in speaking with a month or two of those classes. Too bad I can only do 2 weeks. Ah well, thus is family life. I know that, if I find myself needing to become more fluent for a job or career move, Tim and I would work out a longer-term solution.
The school was great though. The other students were nice and very curious about me and America. I felt very comfortable. Everyone was open and helpful, students and staff.
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I spent a lot of time on the River Elbe and in churches. If you know me, you should know that I love water, I love old, historical things, and I have an especially large fondness for old cathedrals and old church art. That was something that was missing from Düsseldorf, something that I found in Hamburg and Lübeck.
Hamburg has about 6 major churches and I visited them all, plus a few smaller churches. One of them, St Nikolai, is mostly ruins. It's left as a memorial to the horrors of war, as it was destroyed during the WW2 firebombing. Visitors can still travel to the top of the church tower, although I didn't. However, I did visit the top of St Michaeli and St Peter (in Lübeck). Oh, it was beautiful up there. St. Peter's was especially windy, considering it was a windy day as a whole. But looking out over the orange topped houses was just something that I had been waiting for. In some ways, it felt a little bit like the elevator scene from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" movie (The Gene Wilder one).
St. Michaeli's was just as beautiful, although slightly more expensive. I went up in the evening, when it was 10 euro. However, I could ride the elevator (Hamburg has enough stairs, I didn't need any more exercise on them), I got a free drink at the top (nothing fancy, just a Coke), and I could see the top of Hamburg at night. I went up when the sun was still setting, so I got to see the city with the sun barely over the horizon, twilight, and then just short of absolute night. The river was gorgeous and I could see the start of the carnival being built.
I spent hours just wandering the churches and staring at the artwork. I took pictures, but only after I had gotten a good look. To be honest, I don't understand the people who just take pictures, but never really experience the art for themselves. Pictures are nice. They're a great way to relive a moment in time. But they can't replace that feeling of standing in front of an altarpiece and just taking in the details. Some of the church art was created long before Germany was Germany. Some of it was created before my great-grandparents were ever born. Some of it was in the time of my own grandparents. I could stand there and imagine that these were the same things that my grandparents saw in their own churches as children. Of course, these weren't the same things, but that's the power of imagination. Much of my fascination comes from the almost mythological status that my grandparents gave the European Catholic Church*.
Of course, these were all Lutheran churches, but I think most used to be Catholic. Still, very impressive. I also visited the Art Museum (Kunsthalle) in Hamburg. I was slightly disappointed, as the main museum was under construction and so the collection on display was limited. But from what I did see, it was wonderful. I can finally say that I have stood in front of Rembrandt, Monet, Warhol, and Picasso. I also was surprised to see some Caspar David Friedrich. One of my Professors, Professor Ferguson, is obsessed with his paintings. I learned a LOT about Friedrich in my culture class.
The rotating exhibit was also quite interesting. It was mostly modern photographs based on immigration and movement of people between cultures.
Once again, I was kind of annoyed by how many people were just taking photographs instead of actually looking at the paintings. Perhaps it's because most of these paintings are already well represented online and, to me, taking a photo won't change much. I guess it could "prove" that I've been there in person, but showing the photos to others won't change the fact that they aren't there and I am. I'd rather stare at a painting and marvel at the details and the history that I am standing in front of. Then again, I am a history geek. I like to look at things and imagine all of the history behind it, all of the things that have gone on behind the scenes to produce such things.
~~~
I loved the water, especially the Elbe. I took a boat ride down the Elbe, courtesy of Hamburg Public Transportation. There were so many ferries and tours on the docks, but I found that the Public Transportation system operated its own ferries, all free with my weekly ticket. There weren't any tour guides to talk about what you were seeing, but I managed a spot on the open top and got to see a good portion of the river on the industrial side. It was really fun and cool. I saw lots of big ships and some beautiful shoreline scenery.
The tour boats would have been cool to ride as well, but they cost money, money that I figured would be better spent on other things. If I had unlimited funds, perhaps a tour that went through the city canals would have been fun, or a trip around the Alster lakes. Still, I didn't feel like I missed anything.
The docks on the Elbe were a great place to explore as well. Loads of tourists, but also some yummy little eateries and touristy shops to explore. There were places to sit and just watch the water and the world go by. On the last day, I ate a Fischbrötchen, basically a specialty fish sandwich. It was different, but not bad. Pretty hearty and probably not something for people who don't like fish.
Outside of the Elbe, there were also the inner and outer Alster lakes, as well as a large amount of canals through the city.
The inner Alster was a busy shopping walk area, surrounded by stores and restaurants. It was also close to the city Rathaus.
I spent many lunches by the water, most notably because there was an inexpensive Döner stand nearby and I liked watching the swans.
To be honest, whenever I got hungry and wanted to be off my feet for a rest, I would grab a snack and people watch. I am a big fan of people watching and I think it's a great way to observe culture. Germany isn't a terribly different culture from the United States, but it can be very interesting. For example, on some steps by the Elbe one afternoon, I observed a woman with her kitten. It was a little black kitten. She took it out of the carrier, spent some time photographing the little guy, and then cuddling with it. It was a little strange, but very sweet. You can observe so many things just by watching. I also eavesdropped a bit on conversations, trying to listen to the German and see how much I could understand. However, that got interesting in cases when I realized that the language spoken was French.
Also, I was all by myself in a big city. People watching makes me feel less lonely.
I found the Nivea store by the inner Alster. I may have spent a little bit of my fun money there. On the other hand, I own German deodorant now and that face mask really brightened my tired tourist skin.
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Speaking of shopping, I did spend a good chunk of time exploring the shops. I had a couple of reasons, mostly because I wanted to find a birthday present for Tim. He's hard enough to shop for in the USA, and Germany didn't change that. I ended up purchasing him a German DVD of "The Big Bang Theory". It's something he likes, plus it had settings for English, German dub, English subtitles, and German subtitles. I figured that it could be something we could enjoy together and, with the English setting, he could also enjoy alone. He really did appreciate it too. We watched a little together this week, and the German dub is great. He finds it hilarious and I can get some listening practice into my day. (The only downside is our DVD player. We were certain that our player was region less, but apparently that was our OLD DVD player. However, we can play it on the computer and just project it onto the TV.)
I bought Josie a cute dress and myself a "Downtown Abby" DVD. I also purchased a few Kinder Eggs. In the end, Tim decided that the summer Kinder Eggs should be able to pass customs (since the toy isn't surrounded by the chocolate), so I chanced it with a few. I also bought a few imitation Kinder Eggs with Disney toys inside, although I did eat the chocolate before packing. Josie loved them.
I also got Josie a "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" comic book, all in German. Once again, practice for me and hopefully more exposure for her. She adores it so much.
All in all, I did like walking around the shops. I do wish we had more of that here, or, at the very least, more of the small cafe-type shops. I did get sucked into many stationary shops. My love of paper and office supplies knows no border.
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One thing that did disappoint me was the beer. My original plan for Tim's birthday was to bring back some local beer or liquor. Hamburg though, doesn't really have a special regional beer. Well, they do, but it's not one that Tim likes. Not one that I like either, actually. What disappointed me were the popular brands: Becks, Heineken, and Corona. All three are widely available in the States and nothing special. While I REALLY enjoy the beer being so inexpensive and so widely available, it just never felt like anything special or different. A bit of a letdown. The liquor was slightly similar. I found many local styles, but none that Tim would ever want.
What didn't disappoint me was the bread. Mmmmm, bread. Bread everywhere. I can now fully appreciate the inadequacy of American bread. Sure, we have it and we have lots of varieties. But I will miss my little Lidl store with the wall of rolls.
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I visited Schnee on Friday, in Kiel. I must admit, the whole thing felt a little strange. I suppose it's normal to feel awkward when meeting a friend from the internet, although we did meet in person in 2006. Still, ten years. Wow. So much has changed since then.
It wasn't an "action packed tourist adventure" visit, but I preferred it that way. I was visiting a friend, not power walking my way through Germany. I had enough to see and do when I was alone, so I didn't feel a pressing need to run around as a tourist in Kiel. Besides, it isn't like I didn't see anything. I had a happy little surprise with some seals and jellyfish. The seals were housed in an aquarium and we peeked into their outdoor space. But the jellyfish were right in the fjord. To me, it was quite astonishing to see the little white jellyfish floating around, and then thinking on the idea that I was standing at the edge of the Baltic Sea. My little heart of wanderlust was going crazy with excitement.
I also got to see the HUGE ferries that travel between Germany and Sweden. They are massive.
The best part of the day though (besides visiting with Schnee) was practicing my German. The first half of the visit was pretty much German between us. It felt nice to have no pressure, as well as talking to someone who knows that it isn't my first language. Best of all, he complemented me on my language skills...and I was able to take it to heart and use it as a confidence booster. If this trip taught me anything, it taught me that my confidence is holding me back. It felt great to be told that I am good at German, and it felt great that I can now see that within myself.
Plus, we did have some enjoyable English conversations for the second half of my visit. Yes, I went to speak German, but there is something quite comforting about speaking in my native language when I'm surrounded by German. It keeps the homesickness at bay, especially when with a friend.
Hopefully, it won't be another 10 years until we see each other again.
~~~
I saw Lübeck on Saturday. It is a wonderful, magical place, the kind of "Germany" that one thinks of when thinking of old-world Europe. So much history and so much charm. Once again, I made the round of churches, especially to St Marien. The Rathaus had a lovely town square, complete with a few shop tents set up. I bought myself an ice cream and sat down by the river shore, as well as I had my precious Döner mit Pommes for dinner. The pride of my day was that I managed to get by in Lübeck without the accent barrier. I also had extra confidence in my speaking skills from Schnee the day before.
I visited Niedereggers, a famous marzipan store. I love marzipan. It brings back memories of Christmas, when my Oma would buy the little marzipan fruits for us. So I went a little wild. I bought a chocolate covered marzipan stick, three marzipan piglets, a marzipan owl, and a box of orange flavored marzipan. Turns out, Josie likes it just as much as I do, so we've been sharing our treats. Tim isn't a huge fan, but I guess that means more for us.
I loved wandering down the little streets and poking my head into some of the small shops. I found a lovely little tea shop and bought myself some tea.
St. Marien's was massive and astonishingly beautiful. (Beautiful enough to have an entrance fee!) Well worth it though. I felt so tiny underneath the gothic ceiling. There was artwork everywhere one looked, from statues to paintings to stained glass. Lots of Christian death motifs and, if you know me, you know I love those. There was also a huge astronomical clock, which I presume is to keep track of the Saint Feast Days. When I say huge, I mean huge, just like the rest of the church. I felt so small in comparison. I also enjoyed the display on the Danse Macabre. It was just a great place for someone like me to see, as it invoked absolutely all of my senses and wonder.
I did see a tiny portion of a Lutheran service at the Lübeck Cathedral. Tourists got shoo'ed out eventually. But I found it to be fun. I do wish that our American Lutheran services still included the black robes and funny white collars.
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On Sunday, I visited the Neuengamme Concentration Camp site. It was an odd, somber visit, as one would expect. There was almost no one else there. I went for about an hour without seeing another person when I left the museum portion and walked the grounds. It was generally creepy.
However, I did see a few storks in the field and a deer leaping around. It was a strange, hopeful juxtaposition.
The history behind the camp was fascinating for me. There was more of an emphasis on Eastern European and German political persecutions, especially compared to the museums I've visited in the States. However, that could be because the camp mainly housed those two groups. It also had a complex system of satellite camps, was a DP camp after the war, and then was an actual prison in 1948 up until the 1980s. So the history is very, very complex. Complex enough that I ended up reading a lot of the English cards. I was actually doing pretty well sticking to the German at first, but after a while, my brain just hit a lot of emotions and I switched over for ease of understanding.
The memorial monument gave me a lot of emotions though. I've visited many Holocaust memorials in the States. It felt so much more haunting actually standing on the ground. I can only compare it to the first time I visited the United States Holocaust Memorial in Washington D.C.**
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I had lunch with one of my teachers one afternoon. It was her last day of that week and my last week. She also strengthened my confidence with my skills and we had a good afternoon chat. By the end of lunch, I was really feeling solid with my speaking skills. Maybe I am a bit clunky or slow, but I DO know my stuff. If I can start getting my vocabulary recall in top shape, I can certainly master the language. Or at least be "that American that can speak damn good German"!
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I did walk the Reeperbahn, Hamburg's Red Light District. I walked it during the daytime, however, as I'm not much of a night life person to begin with. Not my style, but I couldn't miss it when I was in the city.
Overall though...eh. Lots of girlie clubs and sex shops and cheap food. Interesting to observe, but not my thing. Mind you, not because I'm some prude American. I'm just long past the age where alcohol, dildo shops, and sex clubs are exciting things to seek out. Now, it is certainly different from America. I highly doubt that many American places have such an extensive collection of dildos in their storefront windows. It was worth it just to take mental notes on little things like that.
Of course, I also saw many advertisements that would never be seen in America (not just in the Reeperbahn area, either).
One fun story: I was walking behind a family with two teen/adult children and a grandmother. I assume they were German tourists, as they spoke German and had cameras. The mother eventually stopped and asked the grandmother about a family picture with the children. So they stopped and smiled and the mother snapped a picture. Grandmother then turned around and saw that they were standing right in front of a huge display of sex toys. Grandmother starts whacking mother with her purse, the kids were laughing, and I think the grandmother had a smirk as well, even through the faux rage. It just seemed like a very family moment.
The St. Pauli/Reeperbahn U-Bahn station was always fun to pass through though. One lovely evening, I witnessed two women, dressed in a very "free-spirit" manner, licking the train windows as we were stopped. One of them eventually mooned us as we left the station.
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Coming home was interesting. I woke up about a half-hour before my alarm went off, so around 4:30am. There was a thunderstorm outside. I quickly checked the weather and realized that Hamburg was under a severe thunderstorm warning. Great. I remembered Düsseldorf. Not something I wanted to think about before I was flying home.
Good news was that the storm wasn't terrible and didn't last long. My flight was delayed by an hour. Considering my three hours on Newark's tarmac, I could deal with an hour in Hamburg's Airport.
My hope of an empty middle seat didn't happen. Luckily, the guy next to me just slept. Bonus: my movies worked this time. Downside: we hit quite a bit of moderate turbulence. We also hit turbulence on my pond skipper flight back to Detroit. I could've done without the pilot announcing that we might hit thunderstorms.
The day I arrived home was Tim's birthday. It felt strange to think across the time zones. I had technically started my journey home the day before and the day of Tim's birthday.
I found my jet lag to be worse this time around. I don't know why, but I spent a week fighting those 6 hours of difference. I slept well, drank water, and ate fairly well. Perhaps medication related. Last year I was taking medication that caused drowsiness. This year, I was on a stimulant. Or maybe just a random occurrence. Who knows? Travel can be funny like that.
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Misc. Things:
I never realized this, but I have a smiley face on the left pant leg of my jeans, made from the fade wash of the jeans. Pretty impressive too. I found this out because my left pant leg was apparently screened as a security threat at Detroit Metro.
On the way home, my right pant leg and sock were the security threats.
I did eat a Hamburger in Hamburg.
There were far too many barefoot people on the U-Bahn for my liking.
I feel naked without a scarf now.
I saw around 6 bachelorette parties.
I navigated the HVV all in German!
Still confused about the guy dressed as the Hamburgler on the U-Bahn.
In fact, I saw many people on the U-Bahn that generally confused me. Usually involving costumes.
The Jehovah's Witnesses followed me to Germany again.
I only got checked for train passes three times. The first time was within an hour of actually purchasing my weekly pass. The third time was on the way back from Kiel and I swear the guy was a German Ninja.
From two trips, I can confidently say that any blog that "tells you what Europeans wear" is full of crap and/or they just mean Paris.
I fawned over a lot of baby ducks and baby geese. I also overheard someone trying to explain Canadian Geese to someone else (while watching Canadian geese on the canal).
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Do I have any regrets? Well, yes. My only regret is that I didn't get to see everything. I wish I had had more time in Lübeck, as there was so much more to explore. I completely forgot about Ohlsdorf Cemetery, something I did want to visit. I wish I had more time and money, so I could have traveled out from the city a bit and sat by the shores of the North Sea. Heck, maybe I would have traveled to Denmark.
Also sad that I missed St Anne’s in Lübeck. I had no idea that it also housed a museum and such an art collection, or else I would have put it on the top of my list, next to St Marien! At least it’s a good reason to visit again! (and gather more marzipan!)
Ah well, I knew I wouldn't be able to see or do everything. Two weeks isn't terribly long, especially if one values things like occasionally resting and eating.
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*Three of my grandparents are German Catholic, with a hardcore Catholic background. I gave it a mythological status as a kid, because I grew up in Assemblies of God fundamentalism, which is NOTHING like the Catholic Church. I only went a few times with my Oma and Opa, and I always was just floored by the ritual and ceremony. It felt much more authentic to me. AoG always felt like a sham, although I never would have admitted it as a kid. Strange to think, but I'm almost positive that I never would have become an atheist if I had been raised Catholic. I could also be completely wrong, but this is all speculation anyway.
**It was with my 8th grade class. The museum is meant to be somber, but I remember feeling a huge wave of something when I walked through. I got an overwhelming feeling that I could not identify, and I may have started to strongly consider past life experiences at that point. It was only a few months later that I learned that Grandpa was a Jewish Holocaust survivor. While I obviously did not experience the Holocaust first hand, it did strongly affect my Grandpa (and dad), and a lot of things about him became so clear.
So that's about all I can think of at the moment. All in all, I had a wonderful time. The city was nice, the sights were great, I practiced a lot, and I learned a lot about myself. I couldn't have asked for a better time, with the sole exception of I wish that I could have shared it with Tim. Being a solo traveler is liberating, but it also has its lonely moments, especially at night.
~~~
First off, before anything else, I want to introduce a question that I asked myself on the plane ride home. It was an innocent, random question at first, something that just popped into my head as I reflected on the trip, but it quickly took a life of its own. "Did I like Hamburg or Düsseldorf better?"
In the end, I decided that the question was completely unfair and cannot be answered. Both trips had their highlights and their downsides. Both are totally different cities. But what makes it unanswerable, is me. I was in a different place last year, mentally. Düsseldorf was my very first international plane trip, my first time on another continent, and the first time traveling all alone. I had no idea what to expect, other than "Germany". I was also just beginning to find my independence and break away from the dependence that I had cocooned around me as protection from abuse since I was a child. My anxiety levels were uncontrolled and I was on the wrong medication, with the wrong diagnosis. It was the start of my "Year of ADD-is-trying-to-kill-me".
By contrast, Hamburg was simpler. I knew what to expect, more or less. I had experienced the travelling alone and the airplanes and airports. My anxiety and uncontrolled thoughts had turned into brief moments rather than drawn out dramas. For example: In Düsseldorf, my anxiety was hitting out of control thinking. I was absolutely terrified of saying the wrong thing in German, because that would surely get me jailed in some kind of international scandal. (And that isn't an exaggeration. That is the honest line of thinking that my brain took. It was running wild at that point and unable to be controlled.) By contrast, in Hamburg, I was attempting to speak as much as I could, even if it was with German tourists and we were all trying to find our way to some other place.
That's a big difference.
Another difference was the language practice itself. Last year, if a shopkeeper noted that I was a native English speaker and switched to English, I was inwardly grateful and switched as well. This year, it gave me some mild annoyance and I spoke German for as long as possible. A couple of times, I pretended to be a jet-lagged, tired German tourist, just to keep the German going. (And it worked!)
In short, I spent less time in panic and worry, and more time with enjoyment and practice.
So to compare the two is impossible for me. Düsseldorf was the absolutely best place for me to get my feet wet. It offered enough to see and do, without overwhelming me. Hamburg was a great place for me to practice, as it offered a large selection of things to do and was more laid back.
So, onto my write-up!
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I'm going to start with the basics: the weather. Apparently, I brought strange weather again. It wasn't a heatwave, for which I am eternally grateful. It was an odd mix of humidity, sunshine, cool mornings and warm afternoons. The sunshine could be intense at times, with a cold breeze off the river. I'm not quite sure how this weather was different from normal Hamburg weather- everyone talked about needing layers of clothes as a common thing. It was definitely sweaty there, a strange sort of sweaty. It wouldn't feel hot, but I'd feel extremely sweaty. Sometimes cold-sweaty.
All in all though, the weather cooperated. There were some mornings of rain and a few afternoon moments as well. The day I visited Neuengamme, it apparently rained all day in Hamburg, but only cloudy where I was, with maybe 15 minutes of light rain. Most of the time though, it was great and I can't complain.
Of course, now I miss it. I miss 28C. It's a lot hotter here.
~~~
The plane ride there wasn't as anxiety ridden as last year, which is good, because it was a little more exciting. I've determined that there are two things I hate about air travel: take off and those turns that planes do before landing. (You know, when the plane goes kinda sideways as it adjusts, right before it starts landing) I'm also not a fan of "pond skipper" small planes, which is what my Detroit to Newark plane was. I dunno, I'm just sensitive at feeling the speed slow down and I can feel that more on the smaller planes. In any case, that portion went fine.
My 6 hour layover in Newark wasn't the highlight of my life, but not bad either.
Now, my plane to Hamburg was aggravating. We all boarded and settled in. I got lucky, as the middle seat was empty. Then, we proceeded to sit on the tarmac for 3 hours. Apparently, our water tank had sprung a leak and we had to wait for it to be fixed. Then, we had to wait to be refueled, but the refueling truck broke down on the way. So instead of being on a flight for 8 hours, I sat on my flight for 11. I guess I'd rather the plane break while still on the ground, but it wasn't exactly fun.
To top it off, my in-flight entertainment broke. I was flying United, and they have individual touch screens on the back of seats, so you can choose your own movie/tv-show to watch. However, someone had broken my headphone input, so I couldn't enjoy that feature. Lucky I had my book, although I did sleep most of time.
Obviously, we landed three hours late. I emailed my host, telling her what happened. I then started my journey on the S-Bahn. I was tired from travel, and attempting to jump-start my brain onto German default, while navigating a new transportation system. When I reached my host's house, she had indeed read my email, although AFTER she had prepared breakfast for us, since I was coming so early. Ooops. Totally not my fault though.
Now, as for my host, I can and will complain.
Okay, in reality, it wasn't terrible. I don't like living with other people that aren't Tim or Josie, so I'm somewhat predisposed to complain about it. I ended up thinking about it like this: I am paying for a room and bathroom use. Unless I am acting completely outside of reasonable boundaries, my host can be annoyed or not annoyed all she wants.
There must be something about middle-aged women with grown children becoming hosts. I talked with Schnee about it, and we agreed that perhaps it's a bit of an empty nest syndrome thing. In any case, there were several situations where I was treated like a child. She was extremely concerned about what I was doing, what I was eating, and my general life. For example, she was extremely interested when I mentioned that I was visiting Schnee in Kiel. ("Does your husband know you're meeting a man? Don't worry, I won't tell him. Call me if you plan to stay overnight, I don't want to worry!")
She also tried to talk me out of visiting Neuengamme Concentration Camp. As she put it, she spent too much time learning about it in school. Why wouldn't I want to visit a more respectable place, like a museum for immigration? (She was strangely convinced that America doesn't really have museums and that Americans don't like museums. It gave her great confusion when I explained that our Smithsonian museums are free to visit and that it is a popular tourist spot.)
She also had an obsession with the door being locked. She kept stressing that we were in a safe area, but an unlocked door was just inviting us to die at the hands of hooligans.
Other than that though, she was nice and left me alone after she realized that I was a competent adult. She did talk about previous students, younger students, that she had hosted, whom had stayed out all night getting drunk and nearly trashed the bedroom, so perhaps that had something to do with her attitude at the start. She was slightly disturbed by my pattern though- I went to school in the morning and then just stayed out until around 8 or 9pm, with only a few minor variations. I'm not sure if that sat well with her, although it doesn't matter. There was a lot to see and do and, once I was up and out, I was up and out. I didn't see a point in spending time riding all the way back to my room unless I really needed to do it.
Oh, but she had a shelf toilet. Seriously, if I ever meet the guy that invented that damned thing...
~~~
Onto the school. TANDEM Language School in Hamburg.
Smaller than Goethe and a heck of a lot less expensive. Very, very good though, well worth it. There was a noticeable emphasis on speech, which is exactly what I was looking for. I was the only short-term international student- most others were living in Germany and aiming for University admissions or specific jobs. I was the only American. Two students were from Brazil, one from Argentina, one from Sweden, one from Turkey, and one from Malta. All were very nice and the whole class was relaxed and easygoing. Early on, I think my teachers recognized that I knew my grammar but faltered with speaking. It's hard to explain that I've written a 12 page formal essay on the linguistics of American Amish German, all in German, but I stuttered at explaining the weather. Still, the class was VERY good for that. Unlike my University classes, we weren't discussing German Literature before the fall of the Berlin wall, or political complications in post-WW2 Germany. We discussed average, everyday things, while incorporating grammar. I'd like to think that I gained confidence from that.
To be honest, I could probably catch up in speaking with a month or two of those classes. Too bad I can only do 2 weeks. Ah well, thus is family life. I know that, if I find myself needing to become more fluent for a job or career move, Tim and I would work out a longer-term solution.
The school was great though. The other students were nice and very curious about me and America. I felt very comfortable. Everyone was open and helpful, students and staff.
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I spent a lot of time on the River Elbe and in churches. If you know me, you should know that I love water, I love old, historical things, and I have an especially large fondness for old cathedrals and old church art. That was something that was missing from Düsseldorf, something that I found in Hamburg and Lübeck.
Hamburg has about 6 major churches and I visited them all, plus a few smaller churches. One of them, St Nikolai, is mostly ruins. It's left as a memorial to the horrors of war, as it was destroyed during the WW2 firebombing. Visitors can still travel to the top of the church tower, although I didn't. However, I did visit the top of St Michaeli and St Peter (in Lübeck). Oh, it was beautiful up there. St. Peter's was especially windy, considering it was a windy day as a whole. But looking out over the orange topped houses was just something that I had been waiting for. In some ways, it felt a little bit like the elevator scene from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" movie (The Gene Wilder one).
St. Michaeli's was just as beautiful, although slightly more expensive. I went up in the evening, when it was 10 euro. However, I could ride the elevator (Hamburg has enough stairs, I didn't need any more exercise on them), I got a free drink at the top (nothing fancy, just a Coke), and I could see the top of Hamburg at night. I went up when the sun was still setting, so I got to see the city with the sun barely over the horizon, twilight, and then just short of absolute night. The river was gorgeous and I could see the start of the carnival being built.
I spent hours just wandering the churches and staring at the artwork. I took pictures, but only after I had gotten a good look. To be honest, I don't understand the people who just take pictures, but never really experience the art for themselves. Pictures are nice. They're a great way to relive a moment in time. But they can't replace that feeling of standing in front of an altarpiece and just taking in the details. Some of the church art was created long before Germany was Germany. Some of it was created before my great-grandparents were ever born. Some of it was in the time of my own grandparents. I could stand there and imagine that these were the same things that my grandparents saw in their own churches as children. Of course, these weren't the same things, but that's the power of imagination. Much of my fascination comes from the almost mythological status that my grandparents gave the European Catholic Church*.
Of course, these were all Lutheran churches, but I think most used to be Catholic. Still, very impressive. I also visited the Art Museum (Kunsthalle) in Hamburg. I was slightly disappointed, as the main museum was under construction and so the collection on display was limited. But from what I did see, it was wonderful. I can finally say that I have stood in front of Rembrandt, Monet, Warhol, and Picasso. I also was surprised to see some Caspar David Friedrich. One of my Professors, Professor Ferguson, is obsessed with his paintings. I learned a LOT about Friedrich in my culture class.
The rotating exhibit was also quite interesting. It was mostly modern photographs based on immigration and movement of people between cultures.
Once again, I was kind of annoyed by how many people were just taking photographs instead of actually looking at the paintings. Perhaps it's because most of these paintings are already well represented online and, to me, taking a photo won't change much. I guess it could "prove" that I've been there in person, but showing the photos to others won't change the fact that they aren't there and I am. I'd rather stare at a painting and marvel at the details and the history that I am standing in front of. Then again, I am a history geek. I like to look at things and imagine all of the history behind it, all of the things that have gone on behind the scenes to produce such things.
~~~
I loved the water, especially the Elbe. I took a boat ride down the Elbe, courtesy of Hamburg Public Transportation. There were so many ferries and tours on the docks, but I found that the Public Transportation system operated its own ferries, all free with my weekly ticket. There weren't any tour guides to talk about what you were seeing, but I managed a spot on the open top and got to see a good portion of the river on the industrial side. It was really fun and cool. I saw lots of big ships and some beautiful shoreline scenery.
The tour boats would have been cool to ride as well, but they cost money, money that I figured would be better spent on other things. If I had unlimited funds, perhaps a tour that went through the city canals would have been fun, or a trip around the Alster lakes. Still, I didn't feel like I missed anything.
The docks on the Elbe were a great place to explore as well. Loads of tourists, but also some yummy little eateries and touristy shops to explore. There were places to sit and just watch the water and the world go by. On the last day, I ate a Fischbrötchen, basically a specialty fish sandwich. It was different, but not bad. Pretty hearty and probably not something for people who don't like fish.
Outside of the Elbe, there were also the inner and outer Alster lakes, as well as a large amount of canals through the city.
The inner Alster was a busy shopping walk area, surrounded by stores and restaurants. It was also close to the city Rathaus.
I spent many lunches by the water, most notably because there was an inexpensive Döner stand nearby and I liked watching the swans.
To be honest, whenever I got hungry and wanted to be off my feet for a rest, I would grab a snack and people watch. I am a big fan of people watching and I think it's a great way to observe culture. Germany isn't a terribly different culture from the United States, but it can be very interesting. For example, on some steps by the Elbe one afternoon, I observed a woman with her kitten. It was a little black kitten. She took it out of the carrier, spent some time photographing the little guy, and then cuddling with it. It was a little strange, but very sweet. You can observe so many things just by watching. I also eavesdropped a bit on conversations, trying to listen to the German and see how much I could understand. However, that got interesting in cases when I realized that the language spoken was French.
Also, I was all by myself in a big city. People watching makes me feel less lonely.
I found the Nivea store by the inner Alster. I may have spent a little bit of my fun money there. On the other hand, I own German deodorant now and that face mask really brightened my tired tourist skin.
~~~
Speaking of shopping, I did spend a good chunk of time exploring the shops. I had a couple of reasons, mostly because I wanted to find a birthday present for Tim. He's hard enough to shop for in the USA, and Germany didn't change that. I ended up purchasing him a German DVD of "The Big Bang Theory". It's something he likes, plus it had settings for English, German dub, English subtitles, and German subtitles. I figured that it could be something we could enjoy together and, with the English setting, he could also enjoy alone. He really did appreciate it too. We watched a little together this week, and the German dub is great. He finds it hilarious and I can get some listening practice into my day. (The only downside is our DVD player. We were certain that our player was region less, but apparently that was our OLD DVD player. However, we can play it on the computer and just project it onto the TV.)
I bought Josie a cute dress and myself a "Downtown Abby" DVD. I also purchased a few Kinder Eggs. In the end, Tim decided that the summer Kinder Eggs should be able to pass customs (since the toy isn't surrounded by the chocolate), so I chanced it with a few. I also bought a few imitation Kinder Eggs with Disney toys inside, although I did eat the chocolate before packing. Josie loved them.
I also got Josie a "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" comic book, all in German. Once again, practice for me and hopefully more exposure for her. She adores it so much.
All in all, I did like walking around the shops. I do wish we had more of that here, or, at the very least, more of the small cafe-type shops. I did get sucked into many stationary shops. My love of paper and office supplies knows no border.
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One thing that did disappoint me was the beer. My original plan for Tim's birthday was to bring back some local beer or liquor. Hamburg though, doesn't really have a special regional beer. Well, they do, but it's not one that Tim likes. Not one that I like either, actually. What disappointed me were the popular brands: Becks, Heineken, and Corona. All three are widely available in the States and nothing special. While I REALLY enjoy the beer being so inexpensive and so widely available, it just never felt like anything special or different. A bit of a letdown. The liquor was slightly similar. I found many local styles, but none that Tim would ever want.
What didn't disappoint me was the bread. Mmmmm, bread. Bread everywhere. I can now fully appreciate the inadequacy of American bread. Sure, we have it and we have lots of varieties. But I will miss my little Lidl store with the wall of rolls.
~~~
I visited Schnee on Friday, in Kiel. I must admit, the whole thing felt a little strange. I suppose it's normal to feel awkward when meeting a friend from the internet, although we did meet in person in 2006. Still, ten years. Wow. So much has changed since then.
It wasn't an "action packed tourist adventure" visit, but I preferred it that way. I was visiting a friend, not power walking my way through Germany. I had enough to see and do when I was alone, so I didn't feel a pressing need to run around as a tourist in Kiel. Besides, it isn't like I didn't see anything. I had a happy little surprise with some seals and jellyfish. The seals were housed in an aquarium and we peeked into their outdoor space. But the jellyfish were right in the fjord. To me, it was quite astonishing to see the little white jellyfish floating around, and then thinking on the idea that I was standing at the edge of the Baltic Sea. My little heart of wanderlust was going crazy with excitement.
I also got to see the HUGE ferries that travel between Germany and Sweden. They are massive.
The best part of the day though (besides visiting with Schnee) was practicing my German. The first half of the visit was pretty much German between us. It felt nice to have no pressure, as well as talking to someone who knows that it isn't my first language. Best of all, he complemented me on my language skills...and I was able to take it to heart and use it as a confidence booster. If this trip taught me anything, it taught me that my confidence is holding me back. It felt great to be told that I am good at German, and it felt great that I can now see that within myself.
Plus, we did have some enjoyable English conversations for the second half of my visit. Yes, I went to speak German, but there is something quite comforting about speaking in my native language when I'm surrounded by German. It keeps the homesickness at bay, especially when with a friend.
Hopefully, it won't be another 10 years until we see each other again.
~~~
I saw Lübeck on Saturday. It is a wonderful, magical place, the kind of "Germany" that one thinks of when thinking of old-world Europe. So much history and so much charm. Once again, I made the round of churches, especially to St Marien. The Rathaus had a lovely town square, complete with a few shop tents set up. I bought myself an ice cream and sat down by the river shore, as well as I had my precious Döner mit Pommes for dinner. The pride of my day was that I managed to get by in Lübeck without the accent barrier. I also had extra confidence in my speaking skills from Schnee the day before.
I visited Niedereggers, a famous marzipan store. I love marzipan. It brings back memories of Christmas, when my Oma would buy the little marzipan fruits for us. So I went a little wild. I bought a chocolate covered marzipan stick, three marzipan piglets, a marzipan owl, and a box of orange flavored marzipan. Turns out, Josie likes it just as much as I do, so we've been sharing our treats. Tim isn't a huge fan, but I guess that means more for us.
I loved wandering down the little streets and poking my head into some of the small shops. I found a lovely little tea shop and bought myself some tea.
St. Marien's was massive and astonishingly beautiful. (Beautiful enough to have an entrance fee!) Well worth it though. I felt so tiny underneath the gothic ceiling. There was artwork everywhere one looked, from statues to paintings to stained glass. Lots of Christian death motifs and, if you know me, you know I love those. There was also a huge astronomical clock, which I presume is to keep track of the Saint Feast Days. When I say huge, I mean huge, just like the rest of the church. I felt so small in comparison. I also enjoyed the display on the Danse Macabre. It was just a great place for someone like me to see, as it invoked absolutely all of my senses and wonder.
I did see a tiny portion of a Lutheran service at the Lübeck Cathedral. Tourists got shoo'ed out eventually. But I found it to be fun. I do wish that our American Lutheran services still included the black robes and funny white collars.
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On Sunday, I visited the Neuengamme Concentration Camp site. It was an odd, somber visit, as one would expect. There was almost no one else there. I went for about an hour without seeing another person when I left the museum portion and walked the grounds. It was generally creepy.
However, I did see a few storks in the field and a deer leaping around. It was a strange, hopeful juxtaposition.
The history behind the camp was fascinating for me. There was more of an emphasis on Eastern European and German political persecutions, especially compared to the museums I've visited in the States. However, that could be because the camp mainly housed those two groups. It also had a complex system of satellite camps, was a DP camp after the war, and then was an actual prison in 1948 up until the 1980s. So the history is very, very complex. Complex enough that I ended up reading a lot of the English cards. I was actually doing pretty well sticking to the German at first, but after a while, my brain just hit a lot of emotions and I switched over for ease of understanding.
The memorial monument gave me a lot of emotions though. I've visited many Holocaust memorials in the States. It felt so much more haunting actually standing on the ground. I can only compare it to the first time I visited the United States Holocaust Memorial in Washington D.C.**
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I had lunch with one of my teachers one afternoon. It was her last day of that week and my last week. She also strengthened my confidence with my skills and we had a good afternoon chat. By the end of lunch, I was really feeling solid with my speaking skills. Maybe I am a bit clunky or slow, but I DO know my stuff. If I can start getting my vocabulary recall in top shape, I can certainly master the language. Or at least be "that American that can speak damn good German"!
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I did walk the Reeperbahn, Hamburg's Red Light District. I walked it during the daytime, however, as I'm not much of a night life person to begin with. Not my style, but I couldn't miss it when I was in the city.
Overall though...eh. Lots of girlie clubs and sex shops and cheap food. Interesting to observe, but not my thing. Mind you, not because I'm some prude American. I'm just long past the age where alcohol, dildo shops, and sex clubs are exciting things to seek out. Now, it is certainly different from America. I highly doubt that many American places have such an extensive collection of dildos in their storefront windows. It was worth it just to take mental notes on little things like that.
Of course, I also saw many advertisements that would never be seen in America (not just in the Reeperbahn area, either).
One fun story: I was walking behind a family with two teen/adult children and a grandmother. I assume they were German tourists, as they spoke German and had cameras. The mother eventually stopped and asked the grandmother about a family picture with the children. So they stopped and smiled and the mother snapped a picture. Grandmother then turned around and saw that they were standing right in front of a huge display of sex toys. Grandmother starts whacking mother with her purse, the kids were laughing, and I think the grandmother had a smirk as well, even through the faux rage. It just seemed like a very family moment.
The St. Pauli/Reeperbahn U-Bahn station was always fun to pass through though. One lovely evening, I witnessed two women, dressed in a very "free-spirit" manner, licking the train windows as we were stopped. One of them eventually mooned us as we left the station.
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Coming home was interesting. I woke up about a half-hour before my alarm went off, so around 4:30am. There was a thunderstorm outside. I quickly checked the weather and realized that Hamburg was under a severe thunderstorm warning. Great. I remembered Düsseldorf. Not something I wanted to think about before I was flying home.
Good news was that the storm wasn't terrible and didn't last long. My flight was delayed by an hour. Considering my three hours on Newark's tarmac, I could deal with an hour in Hamburg's Airport.
My hope of an empty middle seat didn't happen. Luckily, the guy next to me just slept. Bonus: my movies worked this time. Downside: we hit quite a bit of moderate turbulence. We also hit turbulence on my pond skipper flight back to Detroit. I could've done without the pilot announcing that we might hit thunderstorms.
The day I arrived home was Tim's birthday. It felt strange to think across the time zones. I had technically started my journey home the day before and the day of Tim's birthday.
I found my jet lag to be worse this time around. I don't know why, but I spent a week fighting those 6 hours of difference. I slept well, drank water, and ate fairly well. Perhaps medication related. Last year I was taking medication that caused drowsiness. This year, I was on a stimulant. Or maybe just a random occurrence. Who knows? Travel can be funny like that.
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Misc. Things:
I never realized this, but I have a smiley face on the left pant leg of my jeans, made from the fade wash of the jeans. Pretty impressive too. I found this out because my left pant leg was apparently screened as a security threat at Detroit Metro.
On the way home, my right pant leg and sock were the security threats.
I did eat a Hamburger in Hamburg.
There were far too many barefoot people on the U-Bahn for my liking.
I feel naked without a scarf now.
I saw around 6 bachelorette parties.
I navigated the HVV all in German!
Still confused about the guy dressed as the Hamburgler on the U-Bahn.
In fact, I saw many people on the U-Bahn that generally confused me. Usually involving costumes.
The Jehovah's Witnesses followed me to Germany again.
I only got checked for train passes three times. The first time was within an hour of actually purchasing my weekly pass. The third time was on the way back from Kiel and I swear the guy was a German Ninja.
From two trips, I can confidently say that any blog that "tells you what Europeans wear" is full of crap and/or they just mean Paris.
I fawned over a lot of baby ducks and baby geese. I also overheard someone trying to explain Canadian Geese to someone else (while watching Canadian geese on the canal).
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Do I have any regrets? Well, yes. My only regret is that I didn't get to see everything. I wish I had had more time in Lübeck, as there was so much more to explore. I completely forgot about Ohlsdorf Cemetery, something I did want to visit. I wish I had more time and money, so I could have traveled out from the city a bit and sat by the shores of the North Sea. Heck, maybe I would have traveled to Denmark.
Also sad that I missed St Anne’s in Lübeck. I had no idea that it also housed a museum and such an art collection, or else I would have put it on the top of my list, next to St Marien! At least it’s a good reason to visit again! (and gather more marzipan!)
Ah well, I knew I wouldn't be able to see or do everything. Two weeks isn't terribly long, especially if one values things like occasionally resting and eating.
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*Three of my grandparents are German Catholic, with a hardcore Catholic background. I gave it a mythological status as a kid, because I grew up in Assemblies of God fundamentalism, which is NOTHING like the Catholic Church. I only went a few times with my Oma and Opa, and I always was just floored by the ritual and ceremony. It felt much more authentic to me. AoG always felt like a sham, although I never would have admitted it as a kid. Strange to think, but I'm almost positive that I never would have become an atheist if I had been raised Catholic. I could also be completely wrong, but this is all speculation anyway.
**It was with my 8th grade class. The museum is meant to be somber, but I remember feeling a huge wave of something when I walked through. I got an overwhelming feeling that I could not identify, and I may have started to strongly consider past life experiences at that point. It was only a few months later that I learned that Grandpa was a Jewish Holocaust survivor. While I obviously did not experience the Holocaust first hand, it did strongly affect my Grandpa (and dad), and a lot of things about him became so clear.
So that's about all I can think of at the moment. All in all, I had a wonderful time. The city was nice, the sights were great, I practiced a lot, and I learned a lot about myself. I couldn't have asked for a better time, with the sole exception of I wish that I could have shared it with Tim. Being a solo traveler is liberating, but it also has its lonely moments, especially at night.