Frühling

Hallo Fruende!

Hello Friends!

It's been too long since I last wrote. I suppose I was in mental hibernation during the long winter season. When Clarke and I were doing our research on German cities, we learned that the winters in Hamburg are relatively mild compared to other major cities like Berlin, Munich, or Frankfort. So naturally we had the worst winter in 15 years with record snowfall. Go figure! But we survived, and now that Spring (Frühling) has arrived, the city is awash in flowers and budding trees. This is my favorite season as it signals the rebirth of nature and the promise of new life.

Other than continuing my German classes and Clarke looking for work, we've had a fairly quiet winter. We spent New Year's Eve at home, which was always our tradition when we had dogs in order keep them calm during the loud fireworks. But as we get older, we prefer a quiet night in rather than staying out late partying.

On January 17, we visited the Emigrant Museum Hamburg (Auswanderermuseum) with our dear friends Claudi and Eberhard. This is an amazing venue that showcases the history of migration in and out of Hamburg during the last couple of centuries. The museum is actually inside the immigration buildings used during that time (similar to Ellis Island but on a smaller scale). Here are some photos I took:

Replica of a typical boat used for immigration (there are numerous displays inside that can be viewed through the cutouts on the sides of the ship).

One of a number of displays on the walls depicting things like hats and suitcases that would have been seen in the immigration halls.

More wall displays of various items. The Pride Flag repesents the movement of LGBTQ immigrants around the world trying to find safe places to live.

A number of the wall displays also include texts from letters describing the experiences of people going through the immigration process (both good and bad). 

Later that day we walked down to the harbor to see the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. This iconic building along the waterfront is the major concert hall in Hamburg. There is a walkway that circles the building and gives you an amazing view of the harbor and surrounding venues.

Exterior view of the building (the wavy shape represents the water below). The indented section in the middle between the stone and glass portions is the walkway that visitors can use for a 360° view.

There was still a lot of ice on the Elbe when we visited. That little boat in the middle of the picture is actually a tour boat complete with a restaurant, which shows just how large the Elbe river is. Across the water are a series of entertainment venues, and behind them is where the cruise ships come in and out.

We've been able to get together with friends for meals and/or games a few times over the past couple of months. It's nice to be developing a social network here. It seems like everyone we get to know is so nice and friendly, and they all seem to be very welcoming of us as outsiders. We were warned before moving here that it's difficult to make friends with Germans, but that has not been our experience.

A few weeks ago, we helped a family from the Mennonite church move to their new home they just had built (we couldn't resist doing the typical Mennonite service project 😊).  Through that activity we made a number of new friends and have been taken into their circle. In fact, we plan to spend tomorrow evening with some of them for a games night.

On March 6, I received my offical Residence Permit, which allows me to remain in Germany until the beginning of June. This buys us more time for Clarke to find a job which will allow me to tag on to his visa. However, in order to make sure we don't run out of time (I don't want to get deported! 😱), I applied for a Special Exception visa, which is based on my financial ability to provide for my needs without relying on any government assistance. I just received an email yesterday letting me know they have scheduled an appointment for me later this month to make my case. Prayers and crossed fingers are appreciated, as this will take the pressure off of Clarke to find a job before the clock runs out.

Last week I  had an apointment to get my German Führerschein (Driver License). Although I have no intention of driving here, it will be uuseful for identification purposes. Because my US license is from Maryland, I am able to trade it for a German license without having to take any tests (not the case for all US states). We also opened a German bank account for me last month, so my Germanification is almost complete! 😀

On Wednesday we visited our teenage fish dealer and acquired 6 more fish for our aquarium, doubling the current population. I really enjoy watching the fish swim around and find it very relaxing.

Finally, on Wendesday Clarke and I rode our bikes to the Ohlsdorf Cemetary about 2.6 km (~1.6 miles) from our apartment. This cemetary is the largest park cemetary in the world, covering 389 hectares (~961 acres), and is also the largest green space in Hamburg. Over 400,000 people are buried or interred there. We rode our bikes throughout much of the cemetary, admiring the beautiful landscaping and unusual layout of the graves and monuments. We intend to go back for a more extensive photo tour of the place. One of the features that really intrigued me was a Holocaust memorial, commemorating the lives takes between 1933 and 1945. It is both haunting and beautiful.

I'm not sure what each of the cylinders represents. I'll have to see if I can find out more information about the design.

"Injustice brought us death
Living ones, recognize your duty"

"Remember our distress
Consider our death
Be brother to mankind"

A list of the German concentration camps where millions of Jews, Gypsies, Queers, and others were murdered.

There was also this cool bench with an insightful inscription.

"A person is only truly dead when no one thinks about them anymore."

That pretty much catches us up on my life as an expat. I'll try to write more frequently in the future, especially now that the weather is more cooperative and I expect that we'll spend a lot more time out of the apartment.

Frohe Ostern!

Happy Easter!

David