This week, as you can imagine, has been busy and fun! Lanie, one of my best friends ever, came to visit which was incredibly nice. She arrived Sunday, 29 March and stayed till Saturday, 4 April.
Sunday I picked Lanie up from the airport and we discovered the box of American goodies my mom had sent hadn’t quite made it all the way to Bremen. It was either in New York or Paris. Thus began a week of calling Air France every evening checking for updates on where the box was. Fortunately Lanie had packed her clothes and other things in a carryon so she wasn’t missing those.
After the baggage/Air France adventure, we headed back to the Blue House to get Lanie settled in and called her parents to let them know she arrived alived. We had döners for dinner then played several hands of nickel till around 8:30 when Lanie went to bed and slept for 14 hours – jet lag is so fun!
Monday was relaxed. We slept late then headed to downtown Bremen and went on a walking tour. I enjoyed learning more about the history of the town I’ve been living in and I think Lanie enjoyed it as well. We also walked around the Schnoor, the oldest part of town that has very narrow streets and had a snack of kuchen, German pastry.
Monday night we hung out and watched movies. It was nice to just relax and be silly.
Lanie braved Contemporary European History class with me Tuesday morning and hung at the Friseur with some of my friends. We went to Bremerhaven to the Deutsche Auswanderer Haus/German Emigration Museum which I had previously been to with my class last semester. Amazingly we stopped at a town called Lübberstedt that we are pretty sure Lanie’s ancestors came from. It’s such a neat museum and I am glad I had a chance to go back. Lanie also really enjoyed it and teased me about how I got sea sick on the replications of the boats used to take immigrants from Germany to America. (Yes, I really did get sea sick.)
Tuesday night we cooked a yummy dinner of pasta, salad, and garlic bread with chocolate torte for dessert. It was pretty darn amazing.
Wednesday was quieter day. I had my three hour long class in the morning which is always a little painful, so Lanie wisely skipped it. She met up with my classmates and me at the Friseur afterwards. In the afternoon, we went back downtown so Lanie could start buying souvenirs and take some more pictures. I headed back a little earlier to go to an evening class.
I had to get some work done on Thursday during the day so Lanie ventured to Knoops Park by herself. We actually got on the same bus back to my house which we put down to best friend timing and got ready for the Easter Egg Dying Extravaganza (which I will describe in it’s own post later today) by going grocery shopping and introducing Lanie to some of the differences between German and American grocery stores.
Friday we journeyed to Hamburg to hit some of sites there. We started off at the Hamburger Kunsthalle (Hamburg Art Museum) which I LOVED. We saw a special Degas exhibit and found paintings by Van Gogh, Pissarro, Renoir, and Rubens in the permanent collection. I was enthralled.
Coming to Europe has given me a new appreciation for art. I don’t need to speak the language to enjoy looking at the art and it’s something I can do on my own no problem. Since I’ve discovered this I’ve been seeking out art museums in most of the cities I go to.
After the kunsthalle, Lanie and I made our way to the famous Hamburg Harbor where we toured the museum ship Rickmer Rickmers. On the ship I got sea sick again (yeah, I know – I’m talented). We wandered through the shopping district and got gelato at a little kiosk (sehr lecker – very delicious).
Lanie and I headed back to Bremen Nord and had dinner at a biergarten where we feasted on schnitzel, kraut salat, and pommes frites (french fries). Lanie also indulged in a Bremen specialty: Beck’s beer.
Back home for Lanie to pack after the biergarten. We watched one more movie together and finished our chocolate torte from Tuesday night.
Saturday morning we headed to the flughafen (airport) bright and early at 7:55 am where we finally got the box my mom had sent with Lanie. I was really touched by all the goodies my momma had sent – peppermint patties, Reese’s cups, pancake mix, a can of Skyline, thin mints, Rolos, Crystal Light, cheddar cheese, and my favorite granola bars.
I am so glad Lanie came to visit. There’s nothing like old friends to reminisce with and to create new memories with. It also meant a whole lot to me to see a face from home.
I hope this past week had been peachy for you!
Love,
Elizabeth
A pretty stained glass window in a Bremen church
Lanie in the Schnoor
Bits'n'Lanie
Smiling through my sea sickness on board the Rickmer Rickmers
Yay! Goodies from home! Thanks Mom!
1 comment:
How nice! What a great experience to have a good friend share that time and adventure with! Sometime when you are home I'd like to talk with you both about your memories. It's wild how I still remember little things about when I was in Germany. You'll probably never forget either. Bye!
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