Well, I left you last Friday night, before going to the movies, so I will fill in the gap from there till now.
It seems we ride our bikes everywhere here, and late night movie trips into town is no exception. So, after a short ride to the train station, Anja and I caught the train (well, two trains) into Hamburg, picking up a friend along the way. We got to the cinema early for pre-drinks, aka non-alcoholic cocktails, and met up with some others. Then we made our way to the actual theatre, with a pit stop for snacks, and got ready for the 3 hour long movie that is Mocking Jay: Part 2. It was all in German (duh), so it's probably a good thing that I have read the books, which meant that I could understand what was going on and piece together the german. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I could actually understand all of it, but it was good all the same. One weird thing was that there was a 15 minute pause half way through, a chance for some to rush to the loo, but kinda boring for the rest of us. By the time the movie had finished and we were back at the bus stop, it was 11:20, and we discovered there was over half an hour until the next bus to the station - not good in freezing weather. Things were not to happy, and we were contemplating getting a taxi, when the bus we were catching went past on the other side of the road. Shrieking (Schnell! Schnell!), we ran across 4 lanes of traffic (at 11:30 - there was only one car) and an almost red pedestrian crossing, but we managed to get on the bus, and in two stops we were at a train station. The first train was only a 5 minute wait, then we caught a second train, and finally, after the third train and a bike ride, Anja and I were back home and embraced by the heater and our warm beds.
On Saturday night Anja and I went back into town to the Dom, a big carnival in Hamburg that opens in summer and winter. It's massive, with carnival games, and big rides, and food stands everywhere. I swear there were over 20 stands selling Lebkuchenherzen - gingerbread hearts with frosted writing. We lapped the carnival a couple of times - which is a long walk - and went on several rides, including the dogem cars, and a rollercoaster. For a light dinner, we had mushrooms in a delicious sauce, and we ended the night with a ride on the ferris wheel, which showed a beautiful view of Hamburg and the Dom. We caught the train back, but at the next station we had a wait until our next train came. It was another late night, as even though it was only 12:20, the ride back always makes it feel later.
The late night made it hard to get up in the morning, but I managed. Sunday morning I went to church with Lorenz, my host father. It was a cool experience, because the church was so old. Even though I couldn't understand the sermon, I was able to sing along with the hymns (from a hymn book - it's pretty surreal). I explained to Lorenz afterwards about how different my church back at home was, about how it's much more modern and inviting, unlike the dark cathedrals here in Deutschland. It was good to go anyway, I felt much better after going and experiencing a familiar, but unique, part of my life.
In Germany, there is a tradition where four Sundays before Christmas you celebrate the first Advent, a time where the family sits together and enjoys sweets and chocolates, a time for bonding. You continue this every Sunday up until Christmas, lighting a new candle each time. This was the first Advent, and after church I helped Ute decorate the house in preparation for Christmas. All of the old general decorations went away in the cellar, that meant saying goodbye to the normal candles, pictures, and random stone hearts. We brought up large boxes from the cellar then, which contained all of the Christmas decorations - stars and Santa's galore! It was really fun putting them all up, and the house felt very festive after we had finished.
We went to Anja's volleyball game then, which was long but exciting, because her team won. It was here, at the treat table in the corner of the school gym, where I had my first pretzel of my trip - I can't believe it took me so long! Then, it was back home for our Advent meal, sehr lecker!
Bis später!!
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