Day Eleven: Friday August 5, 2011
It was a bit rainy today, but we didn’t let that dampen our plans. We started the day with brunch at a local strawberry farm called Karl’s. It was about a 20-minute ride from us. They had brunch for 2,50 Euros. It consisted of two rolls, or two slices of bread, two little cups of either Nutella, butter, or fresh strawberry jam, tea or coffee, and of course the traditional German cold cuts and cheese. Well, I thought that wasn’t filling enough for me so I grabbed some scrambled eggs and had toast, jam, Nutella, and the tea. The jam was amazing. This was also my first time using a tea strainer. I had no clue what to do, but I suppose I got it. Haha. The store was HUGE. It was like a German Cracker Barrel. They had so many tea pots in the store on display and it turns out they hold the 2009 Guinness World Record for the most tea pots (I’m not sure how many, but I can bet you there are at least a thousand). After breakfast we walked around the store and outside in the kiddie area. They had rides, a petting zoo, and a corn maze. It was like I was back home on LI out east at Lewins Farm or some Windy Acres…only filled with Germans…? It was nice though.
After that we took a trip to downtown Rostock. First we hit a traffic jam due to traffic. We must’ve sat in it for at least 10-15 minutes. It must’ve been backed up a mile or so. We found parking and walked around the main street that had a bunch of shops. I didn’t buy anything, but it was nice to look around and sight see. It rained a bit harder, so we stopped in Burger King for lunch (not our first choice…McDonald’s was packed and there was no place to sit…it’s that German “rudeness” I spoke of before. Nobody offered their seats for us and the stroller). By the time we were done eating the rain had stopped. It was very muggy today but not too hot (not the Tucson sauna that we experience after it rains!). We walked around a bit more, saw a “mime” dressed in “Mozart clothes”…Peter said he’s lazy…stands and does nothing all day and gets money. Haha. I didn’t give any money. We also stopped in one of the nearby churches (St. Mary’s). We saw it from the road and it was right by where we were shopping. It was huge. We went in and I was astonished at the size of it inside. It was under renovation inside. I walked around a bit then turned around and I noticed the organ. HOLY COW! Wait to till you see the size of it! They have organ music for a half hour every Wednesday evening. Too bad we missed it. I think this church’s organ is bigger than the St. Michal Church in Hamburg. It’s also eerie looking because it’s painted green.
One thing I have to express is my shock of the amount of smokers there are here. Or that it’s just more noticeable since they can smoke in public here. Not in the mall or restaurant, but they’re all over the sidewalks and the beach. They smoke around babies and children it’s gross. I’m so glad my parents quit. Ok my rant there is done. After 2-3 hours of walking around Rostock we came home and of course the stupid sun comes out. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice and sunny, but a bit cooler. I believe we are visiting Peter’s sister and her fiancé at his new apartment in Schwerin. There’s a castle there that they are getting married at next month that we may visit. That should be fun!
Day Twelve: Saturday August 6, 2011
I’m tired today, not sure why. I slept well the night before, and Henry was quiet. I was very slow moving this morning. I think I got in the shower around 10, finally was done and had breakfast by 10:30-10:45. We didn’t leave until around 11:30-12 to head to Schwerin. It was a nice drive there with a few drops of rain. It was sunny and warm when we arrived around 1 or so. Jens’ (Isabelle’s fiancé) apartment is huge and really, really nice. Tall ceilings and big rooms and even a terrace. They have a lovely view of a church steeple (I bet it’s hundreds of years old) from their living room. The view from the terrace isn’t that great at the moment since the surrounding buildings are being renovated on the exterior so it is currently filled with dirt and crumpled concrete. Their building is centrally located between the castle and the mall. Strange configuration huh? New and old? Or maybe old and new?
That aside, after a brief tour of the apartment, Anne, Isabelle, Henry and I went to the mall. Anne wanted to check out a children’s store for some things for Henry. Sadly she was unsuccessful. Too many things for girls. Henry can’t wear dresses. So we walked around on all levels and browsed. As we reached the third floor I looked up and saw it was pouring rain…the sun was just out when we entered the mall. It looked like someone was aiming a hose on the roof it was coming down in buckets. We stopped in a store and came out and looked up again because it was so loud to see it was hailing (I think it was about nickel sized). Who thought it hailed here? Not more than 10 minutes later it was done and the sun was out. Just like Tucson. We stopped for lunch (McD’s….I was craving a burger…sad.) Then we walked to the castle. It was bout a 10 minute walk. As we walked through town I spotted a bride and groom getting their picture taken. I took their picture too. It was very pretty.
I felt as if I were in Disney World. The castle is on an island in a lake. It’s beautiful. Jens and Isabelle are getting married there in about 6 weeks or so. She gave Anne and a mini tour of where her celebrations will be. After we walked through it’s gardens and took some pictures we stopped inside to get a pamphlet for information. Turns out the castle—which was built in a Renaissance style—was only built in the mid 19th Century. That killed the fascination for me a little. Haha. It now is a museum, restaurant, and houses the state’s parliament; the city is the state capitol.
We went back to Isabelle’s apartment, and then later returned to the gardens with Peter and Jens to show Peter where they are getting married and to walk around a little. First we browsed through a renaissance festival they were having in front of the castle. Nothing to write home about, but it was cute. I had Anne take my picture with Henry in front of the castle. Suddenly, a dude dressed as Elvis in all gold came up and was selling junk. I didn’t understand what was going on then Anne told me it was a bachelor party. Apparently they drag the groom to be around town to sell things. Poor Elvis had a ball and chain on him. As we walked around some more, there was another bachelor party. This time the men were dressed as doctors, but they were doing the same thing. Selling stuff. I suppose that’s better than going to Vegas for a weekend.
We headed back to the apartment again so Peter can have dinner and suddenly it started to pour buckets again. We waited for it to calm down and headed to the car. As we were driving back to Rostock we got stuck is several down pours. No Rain-X on the windshield made it difficult to see. And the Autobahns only have white lines on the road, no yellow line or reflectors, so it’s difficult to see even in the evening rain. As we reached Rostock, the rain calmed down enough for us to get out of the car without getting soaked. It’s nearly midnight now and it’s still thundering a bit. The rain has stopped at the moment. This is my first full on German thunderstorm. It seems different to me, I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I’m not in the desert. The lightening was mostly in the clouds (there were some ground strikes) and the thunder sounds different. Could it be because I’m at a lower altitude? Or do those Tucson Monsoons just have a special feeling to them?
Let’s hope I get some sleep tonight. Tomorrow we are heading back to Hamburg and in the evening Anne and I are meeting her sister Sonja for a drink somewhere in the city. Funds are running low (I have about 10 Euros left! Haha), I better get a cheap drink.
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