Day Two: July 27, 2011

Today was a long, but fun day. I managed to get to sleep around 12:30- 1am (which was about 3pm Tucson time. I slept well--the bed was comfortable. A bit firm to the way that I did not even sink in, but it was still comfortable nonetheless.  I woke up at 6:30 am. I was happy to hear that Peter’s mother had a spare hairdryer for me to use. Mine sounds as if it will die and go on fire when used with my power converter. I don’t need that happening. I went over to Anne’s apartment around 9 for breakfast and to get ready for the day. I accompanied her to her Mommy & Me class at the local hospital. She first asked the nurse that directs if it I could sit in and she said yes, but her English wasn’t so good. I managed to tell her in German that my German wasn’t as great either, but I understand it better than I can speak it. But I don’t think my German is THAT bad; I’m just embarrassed about my pronunciation I think. 

The babies in the class were so sweet. Henry has a friend named Lenny (notice the “non-German” names haha), Lenny is a month younger. He is so cute. Then there was an 11-week-old baby named Jennifer. She was quite the talker and had a full head of hair. Someone else came with a two-week-old baby that was soooo tiny. Adorable. Henry had fun with his friends he’s crawling all over the place and really, really, really wants to stand up. He pulls himself up and stands on his tippy toes in his playpen. He also places his feet under him and sticks his tush up in the air as if he’s ready to stand up and run. So cute.

After class was over we went back to Anne’s apartment and gave Henry lunch. Soon after we went to the city center of Hamburg by train. There is a train station not more than a 5-minute walk from Anne’s apartment and the ride in was about 30 minutes. But the hardest part is these stations aren’t very baby friendly. Strollers are not allowed on the escalators and some stations have NO elevators. One man was kind enough to help us carry the stroller (empty) up three levels of stairs to the platform. When we returned, Anne and I carried the stroller with a sleeping Henry inside it down those three levels of stairs.

It was another beautiful day. It must’ve been 75 or so. Too warm for sweaters for me! I thought I’d be cold! We walked by the lake in the middle of Hamburg and then we visited the Europa Passage Shopping Mall. Germany has sure built up since I was last here! This place was 5 level shopping mall with high-end shops, restaurants, and your typical mall stores. We had lunch (Chinese…very good!). Let me tell you it’s very strange to see an Asian speaking German. (Rini, I saw a couple Filipinos when we were outside and they were speaking German…..what? Yes.) Anyway I managed to order my own lunch and pay for it too. You don’t have to leave a tip, you can just round up your bill. Mine bill was 7.80 and so I paid 8.00. I felt bad leaving the waiter with 20 cents. But that’s just the way it is.

After lunch we did a bit of walking around and I did some shopping.  We stopped at a bookstore and I purchased some items, and as I was getting my change I see a coin with the Lincoln Memorial on it. How the heck did I manage to get a penny while in Germany? Only me. I was very amused. After walking around some more, we stopped at a coffee shop and I went to order. I was smart enough to ask if the cashier spoke English and thankfully she did. I needed COLD water, I was so thirsty.  You’d think a wetter climate would have me less thirsty.

The evening was rather uneventful. I called mom and dad, and then we watched a DVD of Henry that Peter made. It was very sweet. My Godson is just too adorable and he is extremely active.

And so ends the summary of Wednesday.  I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed living it. Until tomorrow!!