Same time last year....

At this time last year I had the good fortune to go to Hamburg, Germany to finally meet my husband’s parents. It is still hard for me to believe it has been a year since our adventure. I was waxing nostalgic and decided to give you a little tour of what we did while we were there. Enjoy…


This is my in-law's home. It is quaint and cozy. It is not the home my German grew up in; however, it is on the same road.



Prosit! This is my German and me toasting. We are at a nice restaurant we found on a side trip to Berlin. Excellent food, excellent bier and excellent company as Ambie and the Chef joined us on this excursion.



While in Berlin we did A LOT of walking and "touristy" things... Here I am touching part of what is left of the wall. It was electric to me to touch such a thing...



This is my favorite photo of the entire trip. It is of Brandenburger Tor otherwise known as the Brandenburg Gate.



This is my German and me. This is from St. Patty's day. We are enjoying Celtic music, wonderful food and incredible bier.



This is just a lovely building in Bergedorf. Bergedorf is a suburb of Hamburg and is the largest area near the village my German was raised in.



Here I am catching a little lip action with my German. We are about to enter a courtyard of a castle in Bergedorf. If you click here you will see a bit more about Bergedorf and the Schloss Bergedorf where the photo was taken.



This is my German and I on our last full day in Germany. Unbeknownst to us, my mother-in-law arranged for us as well as Ambie and the Chef to have our wedding vows renewed. She did this in part because she was unable to attend either of our weddings.



Two or three times a year, there is a huge carnival in Hamburg. There are rides, souvenier stands and scrumptious goodies (not to mention bier, gluhwein and many other tasty libations). The food at this is nothing like carnival food here.... No corn dogs and funnel cakes... Instead there are brats, potatoes, yummy pork, crepes, and too many other things to mention for fear of my waistline expanding.



This is a Hummel, the water carrier. These guys are all over the place and we photographed ourselves with as many as we saw. When you see him, you are supposed to say "Hummel, Hummel" and he would reply "Mors, Mors".



Here we are kicking back in an eis cafe (ice cream parlor). We are sitting in a spot where a photo was taken of the arcade style of this shopping center. The photo I am speaking of is in a book about Hamburg that my German brought with him when he moved to the U.S. eleven years ago. I would look at the photo and say "I want to go there". So he brought me



This is the inside of a beautiful church in Bergedorf. Schwester, my German's baby sister, actually got married in this place!! It was built in the 1400's... Awesome!



There was a rule about food whilst in Germany. Thank goodness I am an adventurous eater or I would have been shit outta luck.... This is me kissing the head of a smoked eel. That was the tastiest thing I had while I was there (except for bier, duh!). I am kissing it to thank it for giving the ultimate sacrifice for my dining pleasure. I won't go into detail about the couple of things I would never eat again because it will just make me gag. Suffice it to say, they were quite nasty and I would be fine to never have them again.



My trip down memory lane is complete. Thanks for tagging along!

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

This year I will be celebrating by going to work, coming home and either watching a little TV or playing games on the lap top. However, last year I was in Hamburg for St. Patty’s. We started the day off at 6:00a at the Fischmarkt. This is a huge weekly event every Sunday at the Hamburg harbour. Here is a photo of the Fischmarkt main hall. There are several food booths. There are people either still drinking beer or starting their day with beer… There is music… The song that sticks out for me is “Time Warp” from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”. Even though I was tired, I did the dance (and no, I was not drinking…. Yet…..)




The drinking happened later in the evening when we went to a restaurant in an old water tower. We listened to Celtic music and imbibed... Here I am with the German's baby sister toasting a little St. Patty's day cheer...



So today's celebration pales in comparison... But it is all good!

A few days late.

So I am little behind in my blogging... That and I keep neglecting to download the camera from the Halloween party mein Deustcher and I went to on the 27th. So without further adieu I give you photos of the party...

It wouldn't be a party without a British pirate doing a keg stand... He lives in Germany and works for my German's parent company. What a way to introduce him to an American holiday (they do not celebrate Halloween in Germany).



In case you do not recognize us, this is my German and me. He is the Terminator (although I referred to him as the Germanator). I am Fergie from the Black-Eyed Peas since I am still sporting my shiner from October 6th.



This is a herd of Europeans. All except the pirate are native Germans. Nothing like hanging out with them when the conversation is entirely in German and I try and keep up interpreting the few words I know. I usually just stand there and drink beer and think happy thoughts...


This one is my favorite costume of the evening. Recognize Mary Poppins and Burt? I just loved this as it was awesome!



You know it is a great party when three police cars and a fire truck come. Everything was good... There was a permit to burn for the bonfire and it just made the band that was playing shut down after three songs...

It is already making us wonder what we will be next year.

I was there for the beer....

The German and I met up with 'coma, Squirrel Queen, Badger, and Ivy at South Street for a little grub and a beer... Then we headed over to Cafe Coco to hear Ivy's and Kat's presentation at Bar Camp. I HAD to be part of the "Woot" section for them.

Shortly after their presentation, we sat in the hot, hot, hot and had a bit more beer and talked. I met ghia and so many others that I would be linking all night to get them in!! However, if I did not mention that I met the the awesome Grace I would be remiss. I mean how do you not send a little link love to such a cool person?

After our time on the patio we headed out for some Mexican and more beer... Did I mention there was beer?

The German and I had a blast. Looking forward to the next adventure...

Saucy!!

There is something about a Saturday that gets the German and I rarin' to go do a little something. And there is something about a beer and a cheese plate that revs us up and makes for a good time. It is even better if you get to have said beer and cheese with some wonderful people. I was psyched because I finally got to meet Newscoma and the fabulous Squirrel Queen. I also got to meet the Zombie King. Royalty! The German and I had a blast and we are ready for more conversation, beer and cheese. Okay, it's a little early for beer...

And I always enjoy time with Ivy and Hutch. They are wonderful people.



And Ginger and Sista always make any time a good one.



Anywho, these were the better photos of our time at the Saucer.... For more, go visit the Sista. She managed a group shot that I missed by not passing the German the camera.... Sigh...

Bier, Bier, Bier

I am so sorry that I will be unable to attend this. I have been in the past and it ROCKS.

If you have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it... Oh, and get a room or plan on taking a cab home.

Carry on.