First Day in Germany

Guten Morgen,

I have now been safely in Germany for over a day. The flights over here were long, and I failed to sleep. However, the adrenaline from being in a new foreign country gave me energy to keep going throughout the day. On the plane I started to become a bit nervous about the fact that I don't speak German. However, throughout the day I realized this is less of an issue than I imagined.

Soon after landing I met my friends Drew and Gabby, who came to the Hamburg Airport from Bremen to meet me. It was nice meeting up with Drew, my former roommate, whom I had not seen in over a year. We took a tram from the airport to the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof,  or main train station. From there we walked around a small part of downtown Hamburg. Of course, I still had all my luggage with me, so I wasn't able to see too much. We had a very nice lunch at a small restaurant. The menu was tough, as I recognized very few words on it. Adding to that, while Drew was able to translate the sections of the menu and some of the items, I discovered he also didn't understand most of it. He then revealed that his German hadn't become fluent as I expected, and usually conversed in English. While he began talking to the waiter in German, he soon switched over to English, which was much easier for everyone. So I imagine it will be easy to get by speaking English, but I am trying to at least learn some important phrases and words in German.

After lunch we walked around a little bit more and while waiting for our train we sat outside a museum with a cool statue that looked like it belonged in War of the Worlds. We watched some kids skateboard and sat around talking until it was time to walk back to the Hauptbahnhof to catch our train to Bremen. The trains are very nice here in Germany, very quiet and with nice seats. The train was an hour, which gave me some time to sit and rest. When we got to Bremen Hauptbahnhof, we took another tram and eventually got to Drew's apartment. Here I met some of Drew's friends, and discovered I wouldn't be sleeping on a floor or even a couch; they had a whole extra mattress for me! (plus an incredibly comfortable pillow). I took a brief power nap, which was much needed after travelling.

A while after my nap, we walked to a nearby Penny Markt to buy a few groceries to make a dinner inspired by a youtube video called Hawaii Toast Song. We covered pieces of bread with ham, cheese, and pineapple, and cooked them like pizza... or toast... but in the oven. It was surprisingly good (and simple, I may use that recipe again). After eating we ventured out again to meet some of Drew's friends at an outdoor viewing of the Eurocup games. They failed to give Drew proper directions, so I got to see some more of Bremen before finally finding the viewing. We got there in time to grab seats and see Denmark win the first game against Netherlands. We drank some beer (Beck's, made in Bremen), and waited for the second game, Germany vs. Portugal, in which Germany won 1-0. We then headed to an outdoor festival where there was music, beer, and food. I had a bratwurst, and we enjoyed the festival until late at night.

Finally, we took a bus back to Drew's apartment, and I was finally able to get a good night of sleep. It was a fun and exciting day, and hopefully now that I've rested I can experience more of Bremen, although Drew mentioned most places are closed on Sundays.