A German Holiday

Kind of like a Roman Holiday but totally different in every possible way. And Audrey Hepburn would've probably called me a lush, a glutton and a heathen after she heard about my trip to Deutschland.  I went for 5 days to visit a good friend of mine, Ricarda, whom I met on my first day in Turin.  She did a semester abroad at my university then went to Austria to do an internship at Sony and she'd just returned to her homeland when she insisted I come visit for a few days.  Naturally, as you all well know by now, I couldn't resist an opportunity to collect more passport stamps.  Plus Ricarda flew in from Austria to surprise me on my birthday, I simply had to return the sentiment and go see her in Germany.

Rathaus on the Elbe River in Hamburg, Germany.

Reuniting with Ricarda in Deutschland!

Due to the near impossibility of direct travel to Germany from Italy, I chose an out-of-the-way flight leaving from outside Milan and arriving in a town outside Hamburg.  Ricarda met me at the airport and accompanied me on the bus ride into the city - we spent that time catching up on summer happenings and dishing about everyone from school (as is necessary between friends).  Once in the center we took a short walking tour and sat down near the Elbe River for a drink.  Later we made our way to her friend Meike's (pronounced like our Micah) house and had an amazing dinner of grilled meats, kraut and potato salad.  Meike was a bit shy to speak English with me, but once we opened the second bottle of prosecco she'd opened up a treasure trove of vocabulary and had the most adorable 1940s accent.

Hamburger!  I'm American so of course I think that's funny.

Being silly with some Urkel glasses.

We sat around her cute patio for a few hours just chatting, me often just listening to their German and trying to imagine what they were saying.  We had plans to go out on the town as Hamburg is apparently well know for its nightlife.  And when did we leave the house, you ask?  1:30AM!  How European is that?  Back home if we'd left at 1:30 the next 30 minutes would be looking for parking and we'd have to head home once we arrived downtown.  But not in Europa.  1:30AM translates to party o'clock over here.  We took the metro to the Reeperbahn, which was (if you want a blunt and rather accurate description) the equivalent of Bourbon Street if it had a lovechild with The Red Light District.  Did anyone else know that prostitution is legal in Germany?  Yeah not me.  In Italy that's a no-go.  So that was a Hamburg experience I'll never forget.  We found some non-shady places to dance and toward sunrise o'clock we popped into a karaoke bar to sing the night away, much to my delight.  Awesomely bad song selection of the evening: Backstreet Boys, Quit Playin' Games with my Heart.  Legendary!  I really felt like I was back in America for a second because it reminded me of all the fun times I had singing with my friends at Ego's on SoCo!

I love that Germans know all the words to BSB greatest hits.

I'll spare you the true hour of my return from the Reeperbahn, mainly so my parents don't have a heart-attack.  The next day when we woke up we had brunch then rode the ferry up & down the Elbe and did some window shopping in central Hamburg.  I happened upon a cute turquoise maxi dress at H&M for 3 euros, score!  We then rode the train to Oldenburg, which is Ricarda's hometown.  Once we arrived her lovely parents greeted me with open arms and fed me with so much good food.  I felt like an exotic houseguest and I tried my few key German phrases as to impress her parents which I think worked quite well until I ran out of phrases.  I know it's silly but I felt almost guilty for not knowing German and being able to fully communicate with them even though they understood my English.

you know, riding horses in Germany.  just your standard Sunday afternoon.

really though, couldn't this be Texas?

Day 3 we had breakfast on the terrace in her lovely backyard - a large corner lot with lots of green, blooming flowers, chairs for lounging.  The day was spent in the neighboring town of Rastede where Ricarda's horse, Stella, lives in the summer.  We took her out and I hopped on a horse for the first time in what must've been 8 or 10 years.  All the Germans were surprised a Texan didn't have more horseback riding experience, haha.  The land was beautiful and picturesque, a small pond, green grass, giant trees and horses walking around in the sun.  Heck it could've been Texas if you didn't know the context.  So there I was, riding a horse in North Germany, thinking that this trip couldn't get much better.  But it did!

Getting some sun on the North Sea inside a Strandkorb!

The next day we went with another girl from the stables and took the newborn philly and her mom, Calista, to be judged and branded by the local jury.  It was a unique event to experience, and I thought it almost comical that I'd be witnessing a horse branding in Germany and not in Texas.  Sometimes it's hard for me to imagine that normal life exists in every corner of this planet.  We then got our bikinis and drove (on the autobahn!) about 20 minutes to the North Sea.  There was a low tide so we didn't see any water but there was plenty of mud which is apparently a well-known, healthy mud because Germans come from all over to walk around in it.  There's even a word in German for wandering around in the mud at the North Sea: Wattwanderung.  And we did it!  I think I'm feeling better already.  They also had these little loveseat beach pods for sunning despite the wind.  In order to really experience the North Sea I was told I had to try matjes, basically a raw herring sandwich!  I took the tiniest bite (he still had a tail, I mean, gross) but I still tried it, and it wasn't bad.

Not sure how she does it, but Ricarda can wear mud and still look great!

Me eating a bite of a Matjes sammie, eeek!

That night after an amazing dinner of roasted ricotta & honey-stuffed figs wrapped in prosciutto and boiled asparagus with honey mustard dipping sauce, we took the bikes to the center of Oldenburg, which was delightful.  In Germany there's such an efficient transportation infrastructure that there are 2-way bike lanes everywhere and everyone is on 2 wheels, at least in the smaller, flat cities.  Ricarda's dapper boyfriend Alexej joined us and gave me a very thorough historical tour of Oldenburg, pointing out the oldest buildings, the sidewalks where only the nobility would've walked, and an old gunpowder tower at the former city walls.  Following the tour we parked our bikes at Franziskaner and ordered a beer at a biergarten (when in Germany, as they say!) and Alexej gave me a history lesson on German beer production.  I learned that Hefeweizen (hefe = yeast, weizen = wheat) is typical of Bavaria, southern Germany, where there was a decree in 1516 that wheat be added to sweeten beer.  In the north they decided to save wheat to make bread so their beer has hops added instead, which is the more bitter Pilsner.

just fyi delicious in German is lecker.

I'm quite convinced they couldn't be any more adorable.

Day 5 we woke up early to get on a bus and head to Groningen, Holland, a mere 1.5 hours away where Ricarda attends university.  Only a short distance away was another world, another language, another way of life.  We walked around this quaint Dutch city and met up with a friend of Ricarda's.  We perused the avenues, stopped in a bead shop for about an hour, and had lunch at a place called Bagels & Beans.  OMG, Bagels!  Where have you been all my life (aka the last 10 months)?  I also ordered some fresh mint tea which reminded me of Grandma's and happily soaked in the familiarities of home.  Funny how just a bagel and beverage can give you such joy when you're across the pond.  It was such a cute university town and even though it's close to Ricarda's hometown, it's different enough to feel a world away.  One thing I remembered about Holland were the stroopwafels, definitely among the best cookies I've ever had in my life, so I got a fresh one and a package to take back to Italy.

everything bagel + chives shmear + avocado + tomato = Netherlandish bliss.

still in awe of the massive bike culture.  this is just in front of ONE building.

There were canals along the city, even more bikes than Oldenburg, open markets, tiny Dutch houses, lots of young people and tons of coffee shops where people actually sit and relax!  Before we departed on the bus in the late afternoon we stopped and had a chai latte.  It was a bit too sweet but I didn't care, I felt like I was back home indulging in normal sized coffee and not the minuscule ones you find in this boot-shaped country.  We arrived back in Oldenburg in time for dinner: pizza with salmon, arugula and caper-berries!

evening bike ride to Bornhorst Am See outside Oldenburg.

On the morning of my last day we took the bikes into the center at met Alexej at a coffee shop.  I enjoyed not one, but two lattes just to make sure I would remember the taste when I returned to Italy.  I got their help in composing a thank-you card to Ricarda's parents who both came home from work at  lunch time to bid me farewell.  Her mom told me I was welcome to come back any time, even the holidays.  Ricarda and Alexej drove me 2.5 hours to the airport (now that's friendship) and we said our goodbyes.  The only thing that went wrong was the efficient German airport security found my smuggled stash from the Netherlands.  Nothing illegal, just a jar of precious peanut butter I was convinced shouldn't be considered a liquid - it's crunchy, people!

typical German farmhouse with straw roof outside Oldenburg

Overall the trip was wunderbar - I got to live it up in Hamburg, ride horses in Rastede, walk around the mud in the North Sea, visit another country for a day, ride bikes around the city, and eat to my heart's content.  What more could you want from a vacation?  It felt like the trip ended too soon, as I was just starting to communicate with her mom in German (albeit via Google Translator) and get the hang of riding a bike with an umbrella in one hand.  I'm hoping there will be another opportunity to visit Deutschland in the future, I would love to go back!