IKEA, A WINDMILL, AND A SOUVENIR KEY

After work today, Dan drove the kids & me to Ikea, a Swedish furniture store. This pair of lamps represents the style of furniture and housewares they sell. I was impressed that these were only 18 euros each. We had a snack at the hotdog stand while we were there. Everybody here seems to love sparkling apple juice. They mix half juice with half club soda. We actually mix it ourselves at the table, but today we bought it already mixed. I like it in bottles at holidays, but I'm starting to get used to drinking it every day.

On our way back from Ikea, we took a long drive around the countryside surrounding my brother's apartment. This is the second old windmill we've seen since I've been here. This one has almost completely been rebuilt as a meeting room where locals hold marriages and other events.

This old well marked the corner of a big farm. This country scene reminds me of a print my dad used to have in his home office.

The moss growing on the roof of this half-timbered barn is common around here. See the unmelted snow lining the street?

Right by this farm there was a little cottage that was being completely redone. A great pile of debris lined the curb beside the house. Mixed in with the old wood and carpet was an old chest. The antique trunk was way too big to salvage from the trash pile, but we pulled over so that I could remove the old skeleton key still stuck in the lock. I popped it into my pocket to keep as a souvenir of the day.

When we got home from our outing, David and I both pulled out our little gifts for Annette. In the store, most of the time I wandered around separately from David, so I was surprised that he and I both decided to buy his mom a little happy, since she didn't come with us. But I was even more surprised when, out of all of the things in that huge store, we both picked out exactly the same gift for her! What are the odds? I thought it was rather remarkable, to be sure.

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.