Paisano European Tour 2010 - Day 15

Day 15 is September 21

I know, you're surprised but today was another great day.  Momma and I got to spend the morning with Frank and Heike.  The day started off a bit cool, but then turned out great.

After we get the kids off to school, the four of us head to a great area along the coast. It was very nice and relaxing out there.  There's a nice little walkway that runs quite a good distance along the shore, well, OK, so it's actually raised over the river area.  There's a cool section where the flags of the ships' country are raised and also a "welcome" recording.  It was pretty interesting to see and while we were out there we got to see several boats and ships go by.  We even got to see the "Heike" and the "Jana".  I'm a firm believer in the idea that everyone should have "something" named after them.  Oh yeah, and while we were walking along I saw topless critters enjoying time on the beach.  It was fun to see them enjoying themselves.

After our time at the beach, we drove around Hamburg.  We saw the really great old buildings and the warehouse areas along the river.  It was cool to see the OLD buildings and the new ones pretty much right next one another, or at least across the channel.  You could almost visualize the old sailing ships pulling into the warehouse area and using the old school block and tackle and pulley systems to unload all the freight.

After our drive around the city, we head back home for a nice lunch with everyone.  Today was salmon and spinach.  Very good!  Later on, Marc, Jana, Momma & I head to the Pinneberg train station to head "downtown".  At the station we met Nina and Teo, Marc's friends.  The young ladies are Great!  We had a wonderful time hanging out.

While we were in Hamburg, we got a chance to see more cool stuff.  One of our first stops was our trip to St. Michaels.  St. Michaels is a really great old church in the heart of Hamburg.  The views from the top of this church are absolutely amazing.  The 4 kids have been Absolutely amazing and has been wonderful about showing great things around the city and have been very cool when we need to stop and take a break.  You know, at this age, we get tired.  :)


Besides the views from St. Michaels we also visited Hamburg Parliment.  It's pretty amazing how cool the "offices" are here in Germany.  The architecture is beautiful.  Out in front of Parliment was a "map" of the city.  That was very interesting as it was a 3D map that has Got to be a Pain to fold up and put in the glove box of the car.


We continue our walk around Hamburg and end up at a great cafe right on the shore of Alster Lake.  Between us, we had a cappuccino or two, macchiato, ice cream and even a banana shake.  It was a bit chilly, but this cafe does some really cool stuff.  They have blankets in all the outside chairs.  What a Great idea!  Seems like they had some heaters as well, but I'm not quite sure.  I'm not quite sure that ice cream & a banana shake made a whole lot of sense, but then again, I'm FAR removed from being a teenager.

Of course, as we were walking around, we  got lots more pictures.  I'm having a Blast taken pictures everyday.  I must say that even I'm impressed with some of the shots I've been able to take during this trip.  We take a little side trip past a square that Heiner told us about where they purchased several redwood trees from the USA.  Beautiful  area and now we're on our way back "home".  Bless Heike for being our chauffeur, expecially since she dropped us off and picked us up, too.  Danke Heike!

Just one more day and we're our way again.  It's hard to believe that our time in Germany is almost over.  Hard to believe how fast this has been going.