Hamburger DOM

The big Hamburger DOM sets up about three times a year for fun, rides, and standard festival food. We are currently in Summer Dom mode (19.07.-18.08.2013). It's one of those things that you like or you don't and I've always heard mixed results. But, I always like to try things out for myself.

Technically, I visited the Spring Dom in 2012, but I was alone and stayed longer than I intended because I couldn't find a proper exit. [I never told that story, sorry.]

Last Saturday, Alisa and I experienced the real deal.

We started by taking in our surroundings. There was a lot to take in. I wouldn't even know where to start. Mostly you just imagine really strange clothing choices emphasized by even worse undergarment choices. [I never wrote about that either. It continues to irk me.]

Next came a big Alsterwasser (Radler aka shandy) to assist in the people watching.

Then we starting reviewing all of our sweet options. Truly a treat for the eyes and nose.

Smurfs gummies!

 But we decided to have some real food before moving on to the sweets.

A half-meter (circa) Bratwurst

I opted for the Krakauer

Soon we came upon these inflatable balls which are a running joke with my sister. We'd like to do this together someday.

And then Alisa convinced me we should go on a ride. I started to get scared waiting in line. I'm not a big ride person, but then also seem to sort-of change my mind once it gets going.

before

It was super windy up there. I ended up with major tear streaks from both sides of both eyes. I kept screaming, "I'm not crying!"

during ("Don't look down..."

 Next up: sugar.

We decided to share 100g of Schmalzkuchen. They are sort of like donut holes covered in powerded sugar. While enjoying this delightful snack, we also watched this caterpillar ride. I didn't get the money shot, but when they put up this covering, a rider took off her bra and was waving it around every time she passed the crowd. Suddenly, the covering was removed and it started to slow down. I have no idea how this lady put it back on so quickly and went undetected. Extra bra in her purse? Too much planning?

 After this display we decided we could another beverage. While on our way, we got into a great shoe discussion. Then next thing I knew, my head was hit with a force that caused me to stumble forward and thankfully not over. My hands went to head and I must have had the most confused look on my face. I did not know what happened. I looked at Alisa, who also didn't have a clue, and then I saw a group of teenage boys with a "holy crap" look on their faces as they apologized.

My best guess as to what happened, with assistance from Alisa's eyewitness account, is that these boys were playing with some kind of ball-yoyo on a string that happened to go rouge and hit me square on the back of the head and then returned. Seriously, what are the odds? It felt like a mini soccer ball -- it was soft, but with a harder outside. So, that was fun. If I wasn't so shocked/stunned/confused I may have yelled made a face or laughed, but instead I just stumbled forward holding my head looking for answers.

I decided the answer was a shot of Sambuka and Erdbeer-Lime.

Later, when I told my German about what happened, this was his response: I told you not to go to the Dom.

While it was a fun night, I don't think I'll be returning.

Sausalitos | Happy Hour

Bacardi Razz Mojito (look at those berries!)

Thursdays at Sausalitos have eluded me until very recently. I joined a friend in celebrating the end of the semester at the After-Work Party.

Some thoughts:

-It's awesome when the U-bahn stop practically drops you off at the door (Meßberg).

-It's not awesome when you continue to forget to hide your pepper spray and continue to have it confiscated. It can be picked up upon departure.

-You also can't bring in a jar of (unopened) jalapeños in case your friend scored a huge jar on the cheap at the Turkish store and wanted to give it to you. But, again, you can pick it up on departure.

-The drinks are BIG and tasty.

-There are many deal, steals, and happy hour options. Does anyone really pay €14,00 for a jumbo cocktail? I seriously hope not.

-This is where you can find many attractive people in their 20s-30s.

-The place is massive -- even by American standards.

-An 18-year-old German might ask to sit at your table and you say yes thinking he has friends but then he might just listen in on your conversation and later comment that your friend is indeed crazy. But he also might share his chips and salsa.

-The music is really good.

-The line to the bathroom is really long. Reallllly long.

-Ladies also have the option to queue in the men's room. [In the last four months, I have used a public men's room on four occasions. Only the first time was a mistake. The option just keeps presenting itself.]

-Even though you might be having a lot of fun and really want to continue the party at a club on a Thursday when you have to work the next day, it's ok to say no. You won't regret it the next day.

P.S. You can apparently also get cocktails to-go.

10, 10, 10

Living so far from home, and in a foreign culture, truly magnifies every single decision that needs to be made -- large or small, serious or superficial. What might normally be a simple and effortless decision can truly become a major head-scratcher. And, I'm pretty sure it's an expat thing, not just a neurotic, type-A person thing.

I fall into pits where if I buy the wrong scented soap or plan a trip some at the wrong time or skip a party or have a second piece of cake my life will crumble apart and end with me being alone with some four-legged friend and a library of books. (They all seem to end like that...?)

But I try to avoid this. I really do.

And I recently came across an article from a woman I went to high school with, who is quite established to the point where it doesn't seem real or possible (but it's all true!), who has a wonderful philosophy:

Use the 10, 10, 10 rule — which is, how will this decision affect me in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years? 

I really like this. 

It's more of an abridged version of how I get from declining a second drink to not being invited to another party to losing a friendship entirely.

I think it will help me keep my decisions in perspective.

But I am not so sure it will help me decide what to eat for lunch -- which is currently my biggest obstacle each day. Anyone else out there eating soup in July?

Titanenwurz (the biggest flower in the world)

photo source

The exciting, and time sensitive, news of the day is the Titanenwurz. The big question? When will the biggest flower in the world bloom? It can grow to be 3 meters tall. That's 10 feet, folks. Hamburg is home to a specimen that lives in Planten un Blomen at the Tropenhaus.

It's currently in the stretching phase and you can watch the live webcam which offers refreshed images. Here's a link since not everyone seems to be grasping the embedded links (Mom!).

http://www.ndr.de/regional/hamburg/titanenwurz123.html

The last bloom in Hamburg was in 1929 -- 84 years ago! Thousands will come to see the plant as the spectacle will only last a matters of hours. And apparently it has a really intense BAD smell when it opens.

Since it's only open such a short time, the Tropenhaus will extend their hours on the night the bloom makes its appearance. Free entrance as always.

Let's be honest, in between refreshing the British Open Championship leadership board (golf!) and watching the live webcam of a flower blooming, I am 29 going on 89.

When you start losing a grasp on your culture.

A very real, unedited email exchange with my brother one week after the 4th of July:

To: My brother
Subject: This is a real question

Why is everyone all about saying "Merica" (mostly on Facebook)? I do not understand this reference and let it go for a while, but now I'm just stumped because it isn't stopping.

xo

To: Lynn
RE: This is a real question

Haha basically a "redneck" way of being patriotic.

More so pronounced, "Murica"

Think Chuck Norris riding an American eagle, chugging an Old Style, with a jean jacket on, guns blazing, and explosions in the background...

***

And then I googled it.

Gulp.

Partying on the Reeperbahn --> Fischmarkt

I am making serious headway on my Hamburg checklist. After realizing that I wasn't the only one looking to cross this off "the list", I helped organize my first intentional all-nighter (and second overall) -- on the Reeperbahn of course.

We knew that we would need some assistance from nature, so we chose the last weekend in June to take advantage of the short night. It also happened to be Schlagermove which also paved the way for many drunk partiers to already be well-passed out before we even started our evening.

In preparation for the evening: I vegged all day long, shopped for Sunday food, took a run to tire myself out, napped, and ate a substantial dinner.

While our group of girls wasn't set to meet until 23:00, I first met up with some other friends at 21:00. As I emerged from the U-bahn, I saw the Reeperbahn like I had never seen it before. You couldn't take a step without avoiding broken glass or stickiness. Nearly every person was clad in flowers and neon and bell bottoms and crazy wigs. The parade was long gone but the aftermath was still very much around. Including a man who decided to pee in the middle of the street. It was nothing I wanted to see, so thankfully I turned around at just the right time.

My friends arrived wearing afro wigs they had just purchased on the street. It made me wish I had gotten into the colorful 70s love fest mood. But I went the traditional route and wore dark colors.

Sipping on my Alsterwasser, we slipped back and forth between English, German, Spanish, and Romanian (just German and English for me...) as our crew grew more and more international. Before I knew it, I had to run across the street (unplanned coincidence that both meeting points were so close!) to meet the Mädels.

We decided to start our long evening off at the low-key Café May. As luck would have it, we scored a sofa area upon walking in that comfortably sat all six of us - four Americans, a Canadian, and a Norwegian. I was happy with my €4,00 Wodka Cranberry (I'm single-handedly trying to make this drink popular for both men and women here; I would later pay €8,00 for the same drink) and would have been content to keep chatting away, but we knew we had to get out there and start partying like Germans.

Our next stop was to Lucky Star. The big thing to do here is order 3-4 rounds of 0,50¢ Mexikaner shots. We settled on three each. We elected our spokewoman and she ran in to order while the rest of counted our change. Our 18 "shots" (I maintain 2-3 = one actual shot) were quickly drained on the street.

Despite jackets and scarves, yes, this was taken June 29.

Next stop: karaoke. At Thai Oase we walked in as a group was walking out, so we scored their table. {The importance of seats at bars isn't a sign of aging, right?} There is something very special about drunk Germans (and other foreign non-native English speakers) singing English songs. This place was extra packed, or maybe I just haven't been there that late before, and we quickly realized we wouldn't last long. Plus, there was no way any of us would be able to sing -- the line was too long. But, before we left, we witness a very amazing German free-style rap.

On our way to finding dancing, we made a detour in a sex shop. We had to. All I will say is that I saw things I can't unsee. Oh, and this is when I finally drank the Redbull I'd been carrying around in my purse.

By the time we made it to the clubs, we had a slight divide in the group. Two gals went dancing, one went home, and three of us went to quiet, no-so-smokey sit-down bar. I was in the last group. Here I enjoyed another Wodka Cranberry as the sun started to rise.

Thankfully one of my friends had some almonds to snack on through out the evening, but it wouldn't be an evening out with a food stop. We chose Burger King. What did we have? Hot chocolate and fries. Yes, hot chocolate in June. It was necessary. {I almost started the evening with a hot-chocoalte and Baily's.}

And then, at 5:00, we headed over to the Fischmarkt. Since my previous trips to the fish market have entailed getting up early, I usually arrived between 7-7:30 while things were fully in motion. This time around, we were so early they were still in set-up mode. The merchants were still setting up and warming up their voices to try and sell there eels and bananas and spaghetti and chocolates.

We poked around, found some pastries, and sat in the Fischauktionshalle under a giant disco ball watching others drink beer and eat fish for what seemed like a mandatory hour or so. One of my friends also bought a very pretty scarf.

After unsuccessfully tried to hook back up with our fallen comrades (I think they actually experienced a much more typical night out on the Reeperbahn!) we headed to the Ubahn around 6.

So, here I was, wide awake, wearing a pink trench coat, carrying a Coach purse (I hardly ever use it, it's too American), with still-perfectly-applied makeup, and riding the Ubahn home with people who looked like death.

A translated conversation:
Guy: Where are you coming from?
Me: Fischmarkt.
Guy: Oh. Really? (makes a face)
Me: Yep.
Guy: You didn't drink a lot?
Me: Nope, not so much.
Guy: Do you think you could wake me up if I fall asleep?
Me: Sure, but I'm getting off at the next stop.
Guy: Oh, OK. Thanks.
Me: Sleep well!

I made it home by 6:30 still convinced I wouldn't be able to fall asleep.  After watching some TV, I hit a wall at 7:15 and slept until 12:30. I survived a lazy Sunday and went to bed at 19:30...only to wake up at 23:00. Finally at 1:00 I was snoozing again.

Never again.

Check.

A reminder from my inside-out jeans drying on a rack in the kitchen.

4. Juli

Despite it being a regular Thursday here in Germany, we had a group of 30 internationals don red, white, and blue for a spectacular American picnic at Planten un Blomen. My  friends, Alisa and Emily Joy, and I helped organize a little party which turned into a full-fledged event.

We had just over 30 people who represented more countries than we imagined: Germany (natürlich!), Romania, France, India, Poland, Norway, Sweden, Canada, and the USA (of course!).

Our BYOB was somewhat unsuccessful because everyone was so generous, we ended up with more to drink that we could handle. I did bring my own beverage -- a Dr. Pepper. I bought this can of pop last Fall because I was so excited to see an American-shaped can at Rewe one day. And, while I do enjoy Dr. Pepper, I just don't drink a lot of pop. And I think it will stay that way. I was disappointed with my (too large) can of pop and ditched it before the end of the night.

And then the food. Muffins. Homemade cheese cake with fresh raspberries from the market. Olive cheese bread. Banana bread. Veggies. Fruit. Fruit Salad. Guacamole. Olive salsa (my mom's famous recipe!), popcorn (I attempted to make it patriotic colored...). Brownies. Focaccia. Cake. Pesto Pasta salad. Cranberry couscous. An Indian pasta dish. Vegan Cajun beans. And more salads and bread and even more fruit.

We were worried we wouldn't have enough blankets for everyone to sit, but I didn't sit down once the entire time! There were too many friendly and familiar faces and so many new ones that.

At 22:00 we all gathered by the water to watch the water and light show. The theme was "Pump and Circumstance" which was obviously fantastic. The schedule of the show rotates a few times each summer and many of us agreed this show was better than any of the shows from last year. Good job to the person controlling the water and lights. How do you get this job?

Sorry you can't hear the music!

Despite thinking of all the small details one is likely to forget (garbage bags, beer openers, etc.), the one thing we didn't plan on was cleaning up in the dark. By 22:45 the sun had actually set and we were scrambling to clean up and get out of the park before getting locked in. After doing some research today, I don't think we would have actually been locked in at 23:00, but you never know.

To end the evening on an even better note, Alisa was able to give away a lot of the leftover food to some homeless people at the train station who really appreciated the gesture.

Surprise appearances?: Obama the Finger Puppet, an American flag, a single sparkler, and red solo cups.

Thankfully absent?: Rain (although it was close).

It might have been the best picnic ever.

Bonus shot of the olive salsa.

Directions + umbrella marker = 99% success