Hamburg - more than 30 years later

Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday 5-21-08

Got up and took the train to Hamburg. That is where Kathy and I first went in Germany over 30 years ago. I can´t believe it has been that long. We each lived with separate families for that time.

My first impression was how strange it seemed without fog and clouds - very unfamiliar, since that is mostly how it was during the January we spent there. It is not far off the coast of the North Sea and very far north, so its winters are mostly like that. The second thing was that it seemed so commericalized. Mönkebergstrasse, the main shopping street, used to have a little bit of everything. That is where I spotted my very first Konditorei, a specialized bakery that makes fancy cakes. Mm-mmm. Now it is just more like a fancy mall that has mostly expensive women´s clothes you can´t afford. Oh well, that is progress for you!

A few other impressions: so much is in English now - ads etc. Despite what people say about not liking America´s policies with the world, American English seems to be the cool language and people wear T-shirts with American slogans and buy American brands. It is quite a bit different in Germany now when even stop signs no longer say ``Halt!``

Everyone rides bikes, too. There are special paths all over and they take them on the subways and everywhere. It is interesting to see so many older people on bikes. We need to get one for you, Mom!

I think that, so far, I´ve only heard about 10 people speak English. I guess the low value of the dollar has something to do with it, as does the time of year - the vacation season hasn´t really started yet. The weather the past week has only been in the 50s, too.

One of the days I went back to the little town I lived in outside of Hamburg called Aumühle. I used to have to take the train into Hamburg for our classes and group meetings and to do other things. The train ride took about half an hour. It looks so different in the sunshine! The picture of Oberförsterkoppel is the street I lived on. The house is still there, but the trees seem larger. I debated whether or not to see if Frau Schönfeld was home - the lady who was my host ``mother`` but I decided against it. It was nice to see that little town was still there and very similar. One change is that they´ve added a high-speed train line through town to Berlin and parts east. It used to end only about 10 miles away, where it hit the East Germany border and stopped - not much train traffic then.

I tore something in leg on Monday - a muscle or ligament. It has made it harder to get my 5-10 miles per day in! But I´m doing it anyway. It just hurts. I guess it will be going away soon. I bought a 3-day train and subway pass in Hamburg, so I was able to ride a lot.

Hope everyone who reads this is happy and well. Tschuß! (By the way, it seems like Guten Tag (Good day) is being replaced by Hello here (said more like Al-low). More changes here in Germany toward a one-world world.