All I seem to do now is go to class, and sleep.  There’s so little time for anything else.  I am no longer jetlagged, but I can still barely function at night.  By the time class is over and I get back to my homestay, it’s almost 7, and class is exhausting.  It is so intense.  Everything is in German, and it feels like it’s going to make my head explode sometimes.  But what’s keeping me sane is the culture programme.  So much for a having a holiday.....

The culture programme is pretty good.  There’s something for all of us students to do pretty much every day.  Today was a trip on a boat around the Alster Lake.  It was pretty relaxing.  I tagged along with some people from my class and we got to know each other better.  It was pretty interesting to hear the differences in our cultures.  Turkey, China, Sweden, Switzerland and New Zealand have so many similarities, but are so different in other ways.  I described how Dunedin is a main centre with 120,000 people.  The others were astounded because a place with a population that size would have little significance in their countries.

 

 

 

Looking back towards the Altstadt city centre.  No buildings are allowed to be built higher than the spires.

 

 

The Weihnachtsbaum in the middle of the lake.  The lights were just turned on as we docked.

For lunch we went to a buffet, which was pretty average. I ordered a pork schnitzel with fries and some sauce. I didn’t realise that the sauce, Jagersauce, was mushroom.... I wondered at the time why they would put such awful alcohol in a sauce, now I know that it wasn’t alcohol.

We had a wander around the Christmas markets dotting the old main city centre in front of the Town Hall. It was quite interesting seeing these little stalls with hand worked crafts and foods. I MUST find something worthwhile to bring back. The smell of würste and glühwein would make anyone’s mouth water. These are a must to have while in Germany, especially at this time of year. It’s so picturesque.

The Weihnachtsmarkt infront of the Rathaus.  So much food, crafts and gluehwein.

 

 

The gate to the Hamburg Weihnachtsmarkt.

 

It’s getting colder!  The forecast for the next few days is about 2 degrees C with snow.  I hope it does.  This hasn’t stopped me from going for a wander around the shops near where I’m staying. I’ve said it before, but the atmosphere here at this time of year is infectious.  The people aren’t stressed, the streets and shops are covered in all things Christmas.  Christmas is a serious concept in Germany.  Everything is so festive, and I have to say I prefer it to New Zealand.  Maybe it’s the weather, the stillness, the food or all of it. 

I do think it will be strange not to have a summer Christmas though, with pavlova and fruit salad.  While talking with other people from my class about Christmas, they could barely understand the time difference, and then they were astonished that the seasons were of the complete opposite.  They could not fathom having Christmas in summer.

It has been noticed that I move to the wrong side when passing people.  I should be moving to the right, not the left.  No wonder I keep getting glared at angrily.