Grüße, Freunde!
Greetings, Friends!
I have now been in Hamburg for three and a half weeks. It’s been a whirlwind since I got here. The first couple of days were spent recovering from the flight over here from Baltimore. After that, Clarke began showing me around our neighborhood. We visited all of the stores he had been shopping at prior to my arrival so I could become familiar with them and start to learn how shopping in Germany works.
One of the differences that I appreciate here is that the grocery stores sell alcohol, something unheard of in Baltimore. Even when we lived in Houston, we could only buy beer and wine at the grocery stores. For anything else, we had to go to a liquor store.
One of the differences here which I’m still getting used to is that there are drug stores (Drogerien), and there are pharmacies (Apotheken). You can’t buy drugs at the drug store – those are only sold at an Apotheka. The “drug” stores are more like variety stores (think of a bodega on steroids).
The first Monday after I arrived, Clarke and I both started classes at the Deutsch Akademie. I’m taking the beginner course (A.1.1), and he’s taking a more advanced course (A.2.2). We both need to become more proficient in our German — me so I can get my visa to stay here, and he for finding suitable work. For three hours a day, four days a week, we are in class, and there’s always homework, so we haven’t had a lot of time to start exploring the city outside of our neighborhood. I’m hoping that will change soon as I’m itching to get out there and see all of Hamburg.
I thought I would catalog a few of things that I really like about living in Hamburg this week, so here goes (I expect the list will get much longer as time goes on).
Stadtpark Hamburg – The Hamburg City Park is only about three blocks from our apartment, and is absolutely gorgeous. If you follow Clarke on FB or IG, you’ve probably seen a lot of his photos and videos of the park. It’s a massive green space with a large lake, rose gardens, walking and biking trails, a planetarium, sculptures, a huge field that people use for picnicking, grilling, and playing volleyball, and so much more. It’s an outdoor treasure practically in our back yard. Here are a few photos I took last week.
Recycling – Germans take their recycling very seriously. We were used to single stream recycling in the last three places we lived (Phoenix, Houston, and Baltimore), but here, most of it is sorted into separate streams for paper, glass, and plastic, along with composting. Even the glass is separated by color – white, green and brown. These large collection bins are scattered around the neighborhood.
If you don’t do your recycling correctly, expect someone to politely but firmly correct you. 😁
Public Transportation – Germany is famous for its train systems, and the local S-Bahn (commuter train) and U-Bahn (subway) do not disappoint. We decided before moving here that we would not own a car, and so far, we have been able to get anywhere by train, bus, biking, or walking. We take the trains to and from school everyday, and they are almost always on time. Even if you miss one, another one is less than ten minutes away. We have no less than than five grocery stores within walking distance, not to mention dozens of restaurants and other shops. There really is no good reason for us to have a car here, not that we want to try to learn how to drive in Germany!
Bread – we knew that bread was an important part of German culture, but living here has really brought that home. There are bakeries everywhere, and the grocery stores are filled with dozens of different types of bread, along with so many varieties of Brötchen. To the uninitiated, Brötchen is a generic term for all sorts of rolls, pretzels, sweet breads, etc. We usually have some sort of Brötchen for Frühstück (breakfast) each morning, along with whatever else we’re eating. Because most food here doesn’t have any preservatives, we will eat a loaf of bread within 3 or 4 days before it goes stale. Some German households will go through a loaf a day. Fortunately, because the grocery stores are so accessible, we usually get fresh Brötchen every couple of days. We usually buy the bread whole and slice it ourselves or have the bakery slice it for us. You can buy pre-sliced bread here, but I don’t think it’s as fresh.
Ruhezeit (Quiet Hours) – We heard about this before moving here, and were actually looking forward to experiencing it. Basically, from the hours of 10PM to 6AM, and from 1PM to 3PM (hours depend on location), people are supposed to refrain from loud activities (loud music, parties, mowing lawns, using power tools, etc.). This extends to Sundays and holidays as well. Most businesses are closed on Sundays so people can have a day of rest. If you forget to get your bread for Sunday, you’re out of luck until Monday! I really like the idea of Sabbath rest, but it’s hard to practice in a place where everything is open on Sundays. I’m certainly enjoying having a quiet day every week not filled with activities.
If I sit here long enough, I’m sure I’ll think of a dozen more things, but those will need to wait for another day.
As an announcer on the Baltimore classical radio station always says, be sure to take care of yourselves and each other.
Blessings,
David
David is a retired banker and pastor, who now lives in Hamburg, Germany, with his husband Clarke. When he retired, he wasn’t sure what he would do with his time. Now, he is looking forward to his great big European adventure, exploring the vast wealth of architecture, history, and culture to be found on the other side of the pond.Follow David & Clarke’s adventures on David’s blog, Adventures of an Expat in Deutschland.