The 30-year Old German

In Germany, being unmarried or unengaged in your 30th birthday will cost you. As if the uncomfortable prying from your great aunt isn't painful enough, you can also expect your friends to put you through the ringer. Though the specifics vary, uncommitted 30-year old German men will be expected to put their humility on display for all those who choose to watch. Last month our 30-year old friend Patrick was asked to entertain all of us party guests by cleaning the sawdust that his dear friends and fam so thoughtfully dumped all over the floor. Unfortunately, the more he cleaned, the more people ran through the pile, spreading it around and blowing it into the air until the air condition made my pictures look like this. Patrick shared his party with his girlfriend and our friend, Annika, as well as another friend of theirs. Lucky for Annika she's a girl and was excused from the humility parade.

Because 30+30+30=90 years old and 90 can't be considered young any way you look at it, guests were asked to dress as a 90-year old or as the caretaker of a 90-year old. Unfortunately, Reg and I missed this memo but our friends Carolin and Torben came out in full gear.

Though Patrick and Lieder's embarrassment was on display for all of us to marvel over, the two were luckier than some. My first exposure to this incredibly funny tradition was a month after our arrival when I was downtown to meet a couple of friends for dinner. A poor, poor 30-year old German was on the front steps of the Rathaus, Hamburg's City Hall building, dressed in fluorescents and picking up an endless amount of bottle caps and dropping them into a bucket--using tweezers. His dear pals would empty the bucket back onto the ground every fifteen minutes or so, just to keep things entertaining. Adult-bevie in hand, this brave soul stuck to his task like glue, much to our amazement.



I like to do birthdays in a big way. Sometimes this means renting a party bus and acting like celebrities for one glorious night and other times it means simply saying Happy Birthday each day for several days prior to a friend's big day. In Germany, however, my latter birthday tribute is frowned upon. Here wishing one Happy Birthday prior to the day is bad luck and Germans will not do it. I learned this when I wished a Happy Birthday-eve to a German friend. I'll never do that again. I could have ruined his birthday, after all.

I learned more about this birthday superstition all over again when Reggie planned my birthday gathering. I had zero intention of celebrating on a Monday night or waiting a week, so we chose the Saturday night before to party. As expected, my German pals were astonished, shocked, and blown away by my pre-birthday event. They still decided to come, thankfully, but I'm sure it made them mildly uncomfortable. Nevertheless, we still managed to enjoy ourselves. Because this is only the ninth anniversary of my 21st birthday and not the tenth, there was no requirement for a display of embarassment. Good food, folks, and drinks were all that was needed to keep the par-tay alive.


 

There are not many things in life as endearing as a group of preschoolers singing Happy Birthday, with a variety of accents, wearing birthday crowns.
 

 

 
 
A birthday away from home is completely different from a birthday at home. That's why I'm so grateful to my Hamburg pals for helping me to celebrate mein geburtstag in such a fun way.

Eating my Heart Out

I certainly do each time I visit one of my current top two lunch spots. I say current top two because with all the good eats around me I absolutely cannot choose a fav and my top choices vary month to month. But why would I want to limit myself to just one favorite anyway? 

These two great lunch spots have remained on my revolving top five list since the day I found them. Not only are they delicious, they're healthy, convenient, cheap, and really fun to visit.

Qrito
I've always been a sucker for Qdoba and Chipotle. There's nothing like the excitement that comes with unwrapping the foil and diving into a veggie burrito with extra guac. Thankfully, I was introduced to Hamburg's Qrito, a California-style kitchen that offers quick-Mex identical to what I'd get from my beloved Qdoba. Here I get an avocado salad that can't be beat--it's so good that I haven't strayed to try the burrito, but making more frequent visits will solve that dilemma.

The manager of the shop is invested in making his Qrito as Americanized as possible. He now carries pop from home such as root beer and Faygo. He also has Betty Crocker brownies and cakes and is frequently asking for our suggestions. Gosh, I love this place. 

Yeah, they know us there.

Tassajara
The greatness of this vegetarian wonderland is immeasurable. Tassajara is one of those unassuming eateries I just happened upon alone one day. I was a like a kid in a candy store as I carefully drooled over the menu. After a 15-minute (no joke) deliberation I carefully chose Mushroom Meadow. Having absolutely no idea what to expect I dove into my plate of tasty vegetables and potatoes with an open mind. It didn't take long to realize I had found my new fav Hamburg meal. 
How dare you think it looks weird! That's Tassajara you're talking about!



When I described my new love to my friends they, of course, already knew Tassajara and felt as strongly about her as I do. So, on our next visit to this healthy haven I finally mustered up enough courage to stray from the Mushroom Meadow I'd ordered half a dozen times and chose the daily special. As predicted, Tassajara did not disappoint.
There was lots of yumminess inside those green rolls but I would be guessing if I tried to tell you what the tasty concoction was. Nevertheless, I enjoyed every last drop.
 

Tassajara doesn't dismiss it's victims without offering them a yogurt lassi, a child-friendly shot similar to the creamiest smoothie you've ever chugged.

These taste temptations are both within walking distance of our place, welcoming, and scrumptious. They're a tasty reminder that the little things are what make life so delicious.

Home Sweet Harvestehude

Though the thought of our experience moving into our current apartment still gives me hives, I can now proudly say that Reggie and I are now reasonably settled in and are fully acquainted with our great new neighborhood, the district of Harvestehude. 

Having no idea which districts were preferable to live in, Reggie and I asked lots of questions and did a variety of afternoon district walk-throughs before our apartment search began. A desirable area was our first must and being close to a train station that would easily deliver us downtown was also mandatory. So, when an available apartment showed up on our radar in the highly regarded Harvestehude we were pretty much ecstatic and were  the first potentials to see it.

We can now safely confirm that our research led us to a great spot. We're close to the station (if necessary we can get there in two minutes via a full-out sprint), close to the Alster, close to our friends, AND close to Isemarkt. All around, picturesque Harvestehude meets our needs. 

Our street. Isn't it obvious why we're so happy on Hagedornstrasse? 

Shopping is plentiful around these parts. So are empty wallets of Harvestehude shoppers. There's no end to the shopping possibilities, but only if you're willing to spend your paycheck. I typically am not, but browsing is always entertaining.

This innocent-looking cardigan costs $176.00. Why ever?

This hip shoppery doesn't look dangerous, but the price tags on all the items I picked up almost gave me a heart attack. 

She sure is cute, though!

Savory is a eatery and drinkery just a few blocks from our place. They have lip-smacking lunches and brunches, often play Alicia Keys, and are never bothered by my mediocre German. 

Our 'hood boasts not one but TWO  health food shops. This one is even family owned--AND they speak English! 

My new Aveda salon is one block up from us. It's mos def the most serious looking Aveda salon I've ever seen.

This shiny view of the Alster is just a ten-minute walk from our apartment. We don't visit it much this time of year, but come sunny time we'll be taking frequent trips to this pretty hangout. 

All this prettiness and would you believe I still complain about the ten-minute walk to the grocery store? Rough life, I know, but it feels ridiculously long when I'm carting back my purchases--without a cart. Aside from that minor inconvenience, we're happily at home in Harvestehude. 

Lisbon

When the idea came up to take a group trip in February we quickly realized we needed only three criterion for choosing our destination: there must be sun, it needed to be a place none of us had been to, and there must be sun. Certainly, there are many places we have not all been to, but in order to guarantee blue skies, sunshine, and warm weather we needed to look far south. A little bit of research led us to Lisbon, Portugal. This capital city had a Wiki page that promised us the climate we were all hoping for. That, along with it's reputation for being an upcoming fashion and design hub that remains C-H-E-A-P, was enough to get us six sun-deprived Hamburgers to book six seats to Lisbon. 

Because we couldnt fit into one cab to our hotel the girls went in one and the guys in the next. Kate, Mary, and I got a good laugh out of the condition of the guys' ancient cab, but the laughing changed direction when we all unloaded at the hotel and we discovered we'd been charged more than double what the guys had paid. We must not look as smart as we are. :)




On our first full day in the city we relied on a teensy old Tram 28 to show us the must-sees. 





And I thought the Hamburg Starbuck's were pretty! 









Lisbon is situated on seven super steep hills, creating many, many windy, hilly streets.



Convenience mart? Oh no, it just looks like it. Believe it or not, this is a fresh produce market.



Sure, maybe this building and all those around it could use a bath, but they sure make for intriguing photo opps. 





After some confusion with the tram, we opted to stroll. It led us to a castle with a spectacular view: 











 









We played around for awhile. Yep, that's Mary up there. 








Walking and playing around a castle made us hungry. Luckily, we stumbled upon an unassuming hidden gem of a lunch-ery. From the street it looked like nothing. Nevertheless, our hunger led us in. Just a few stairs later and we were greeted with a perfect ocean view and some darn good eats. Kind of.























I used the poquinho Portuguese I have left to converse with our friendly waitress. When this cod arrived we were all excited. A bite of this fierce dish tasted like taking a swig from a salt shaker, so I quickly offered Reggie my half. When the waitress saw our left overs she wouldn't accept my untruthful, "It's okay, it's just a little too salty for me." "If it's too salty it's not okay!" she scolded and stomped away. What just happened? Needless to say Her stomping caused lots of laughing. But she quickly found a way to smooth things over--when she finally appeared back at our table she did so with a smile and two magic words: Free dessert!





Ah yes. Cinnamon and vanilla gelato. Double score. I am a fan of salty and sweet, after all. 





Shopping helped us work off our salt and sugar. Lisbon is known for it's ceramic and tile. Instead of our usual piece of art, Reg and I came home with two pretty tiles to remind us of our sunny trip.






Our second day led us to more stunning sites: 




Jeronimos Monastery




















I bet this place would make a great spot for a wedding...





Look! It's BK and Deano!











The Tower of Belem symbolizes the age of discovery for the people of Portugal. Not only that--it offers some awesome views...




























We had read about Lisbon's famous pastries and knew that THEE place to get them is at Pasteis de Belem, a landmark Lisbon bakery. We found it with ease, but faced a line longer than one would ever guess would exist at a place that sells baked goods. 




Lucky for us, this intimidating line moved fast. (And it's a good thing, too, because Mary, Reg, and I stood in it twice.) 








And took us quickly into this adorable shop (the security guard was not adorable, but I guess he was just doing his job.) 








And we got ourselves lots of these flan-like cups of deliciousness. Even those of us without a sweet tooth (silly Reg) liked them. 

 







To work off the multiple pastries we ate and Super Bock's we drank, we hit the Portuguese dance floor in our matching Lisbon uniforms.   
 
 
 
 

Lisbon made for a fabulous weekend. As great as it was, it's the friends I'm most grateful for. Life in Hamburg wouldn't be nearly as fun as it is without them. Cheers to many more fun weekends together...we may as well, we've already got the outfits!