DAY TRIP TO HAMBURG

Dan got off early from work again today, giving us more time for our escape from the house. Given the larger allowance of time, we decided to skip driving into Buchholz and caught the train to Hamburg.

At a deli in the train station, I noticed these open faced sandwiches made with raw ground beef. According to reputable sources, they are amazing popular around these parts. I think I'll stick to my standard cheese-bread. Thanks, anyway.

When we arrived at the city park, I couldn't believe how green the grass was, considering that the water was still frozen over, and small unmelted piles of snow were scattered around.

After walking in the park for a few minutes, we came upon a huge greenhouse.

The greenhouse was filled with all kinds of plants in different habitats. Here's David in the desert section.

We left the greenhouse and crossed the park to the rink. The girls planned to skate; we guys ended up setting off on an adventure of our own, rather than wait on a bench for two hours. More about that in a minute...

Ellen snapped this one.

Ellen and her friend Solvi

When we got to the rink, they were taking a break to resurface the ice, so we killed time eating a snack and playing on the adjacent playground.

Ellen shows off her mega jungle gym skills.

Doesn't every little kid dream of driving the Zamboni?

The skaters started making their way onto the ice, while the three of us made our way up to the balcony for a better view.

The little kids could skate holding onto little gnomes. I wonder if they have those in adult sizes? Can you tell why I wasn't out on the ice?

After watching the skating for a few minutes, we said goodbye to the girls and headed on a quest to find a church. We could see the tower in the distance, so we had a good idea of the direction we needed to travel. We started our walk and found the streets were pretty much deserted.

On our walk toward the church tower, we stumbled upon a block of old-looking houses. One was really old - from the 1770's; the rest were built in the 19'70's by a private foundation to resemble houses from that time.

We stopped by one of the buildings on that block so I could nab this photo of a window in an old door. Dan read the sign by the door and realized it was a museum or something and that it was still open for the day, so we knocked on the door, and a guy unlocked it and let us in.

The building ended up being a library owned by the foundation that rebuilt the block of historic houses.

The library was filled with books written in an old form of German. Dan had fun talking to the librarian. Dave and I amused ourselves looking at the display cases and paintings.

After we left the library, we kept on walking toward the church tower as the sky grew darker.

The church is named after the Angel Michael and has a statue of him over its front entrance.

I wasn't supposed to take a picture in the church, but, oh well, I read the sign after I'd already snagged this one.

When we got back to the rink, it started snowing! We guys stood on the balcony overlooking the rink and caught snowflakes on our tongues until the girls were ready to leave. Then we all made our way to the mall.

Can you imagine an American mall with a fruit and vegetable stand? I've never seen one, anyway. It's hard to believe the Germans are this into healthy eating.

I can't believe that German malls have real bakeries either. It's like I've died and gone to Bread-lover's Heaven.

A shopper bundled into winter clothes eyes the new Summer 2006 collection.

A cup of chai hit the spot before our train ride home. Thank God that coffee houses are something the US has in common with Germany.