Hamburg - Day 2

    On my second day in Hamburg, I explored the city with my friend Amy. We walked along the boardwalk, and then  inwards towards the Rathaus.
The Rathaus is something like our town hall.  They were setting up for a festival that was happening today. The police orchestra was performing many American jazz numbers. Next to the Rathaus is a small canal that leads into one of the city’s lakes. In the canal, there were dozens of swans! Swans are very vicious, so I tried to keep my distance. We walked along the canal to the lake. We followed the small lake to the larger lake, which is famous for its small sail boats; it was lovely! There were hundreds of small sail boats out there today. We continued walking along the river, and then crossed over to the area of St. George. We walked through a playground. It was much different than the play grounds you have! Their slide was all medal, and much taller than yours. They even had a zip-line! The whole playground was over sand, as opposed to wood chips.
    Several days before our arrival in Hamburg, my friend Amy and I signed up for a Welcome Reception Dinner at a family’s house in Hamburg; this occurred on the second night in port.  We took the Metro to the family’s home, because it was quite a distance from our ship. When we arrived to their home, we saw that it was a lavishly decorated 1900 home on a very prestigious street. We were welcome by our host, Margaret Spethmann, who asked us to sign her guest book. She had her caterers bring us drinks. I had a rhubarb mineral water; it was very delicious! She gave us a tour of her beautiful home. The caterers served us two different kinds of appetizers, and we served ourselves dinner. We had two different kinds of rice, spicy meatballs, and mushrooms and beef in something similar to a beef stroganoff sauce. For dessert, we were served strawberry jelly and vanilla custard parfait. It was the best meal I ever had. Her husband owns a tea company.