A trip to Germany would not complete without visits to family and friends, so we start our trip with an afternoon in Waibstadt near Heidelberg, then take the train to Hamburg where we will visit my sister and my friend Gabi.
It was great to see my sister and her partner (who, we found out, is now her fiancee!) and they were such gracious hosts. Because they knew we wanted to be active during our time in Hamburg, they had planned an outing to Travemuende, where we had breakfast and went for walk. We thoroughly enjoyed the delicious rolls, coffee, hot chocolate, and more. Then we strolled along the boardwalk for a bit, and had the good fortune of finding a hat for James (he'd left his at home).
Then, we started walking in earnest and covered the distance between Travemuende and Niendorf in record time. My sister's fiance is a serious hiker and has done a number of climbs as well, and he wasn't going to let us get off easy. Besides, we enjoyed the scenery, such as the Strandkoerbe.
A strandkorb is a big wicker chair with a roof that is used for hanging out in the summer. People rent one, and can then sit and read in the shade, leave stuff there, and in general have a little home away from home. For families with kids, it's great to have the kids get used to knowing where the parents are. Of course, with the weather being what it is, there wasn't much demand.
We had a photo taken in front of the strandkorb area - yes, it was a cold day.
The next day, my niece and her husband joined the group and we all went for a bike ride. Regrettably, not all of the bikes were really good fits, but it was a fairly nice day, and it's quite flat around Hamburg so it was perfect for biking. My sister's fiancee had planned an outing that led us through a natural area to a cafe that featured Spaghettieis - ice cream pressed through a pasta maker, smothered in strawberry or raspberry sauce, with white chocolate on top. It really looks a lot like spaghetti with marinara sauce and is quite tasty as well. Here's a picture from Wikimedia.
The bike ride was very enjoyable, with wildflowers and a special swampy area. We even heard some frogs. And it didn't rain until maybe 1 mile before we got back home. Who'd ask for more?
(Here we all are, my niece is taking the photo).
