COOKIES!

As previously mentioned, I got to bake real American chocolate chip (and M&M) cookies at Joe and Sue's for our election-results party on voting day. It was very exciting and I was tickled to be able to practice my dangerous domesticity.

Monday was filled with class and homework, then Tuesday morning we had another placement test for our grammar course next semester. This bit of excitement was followed by an adventure for our "practical orientation" session for the day. This involved taking the U-Bahn to the harbor where we strolled around the banks of the Elbe River, then UNDERNEATH it through the Elbe Tunnel! One must first descend into the depths of the earth (sort of), which naturally involved lots of stairs. There's also an elevator, of course, but why waste our youth? The contraptions on the left are car-lifts/elevators. Neat!

The tunnel itself was very long and shiny with fun plaques of fish and lobsters and other nifty aquatic critters.
Once at the other side (after having to walk back UP all the stairs on the other side), we were met with a nice view of the pretty side of the harbor, meaning the side without all the cranes.

Besides taking pictures of the harbor, I also amused myself taking lots of pictures of other people during this adventure; for example, this incredibly attractive one of Carolyn.

Or this cute one of Sarah, our orientation leader.

We then had to walk back under the river, all stairs included, in order to take one of the public transportation ferries around the harbor. We're able to take these ferries for free, just like buses or trains. How delightful!

While toodling along on the boat, we got to see a lot of the window-embracing Hamburgian architecture exemplified in river-side buildings.

We then walked 3km back along the banks of the river, through pretty parks and sandy beaches.


The skies were pretty ominous the whole time, but the rain held off until later that night. A few of us, myself included, greatly enjoyed frolicking barefoot in the sand and waves. Summer isn't over yet, it isn't!

Once fully chilled, we stopped at a beach-side cafe for hot cappucino and cheesecake/andere Kuchen. It was a perfect end to a lovely afternoon.

Another fun note in this picture: there is a buoy positioned in the water above Liz Chase's head that is actually a statue of a man in a suit of some sort. He just stands around all day in the middle of the river watching the time pass.

In other news, I am still sick in that I have a nasty cough that won't leave me alone. Thankfully I got through my presentation this morning without too much difficulty breathing properly. On that note, my presentation is over and the professors were quite quite pleased! That means my orientation program is over! No more homework for two weeks! Yay! Tomorrow we have the other half of the presentations and then we're all going out to eat to celebrate.

After presentations and brunch this morning, we went on a small historical tour around our area looking at memorials and landmarks that we hadn't really noticed yet, despite seeing them every day. For example, one of our most commonly-used bus stop is across from the square where all the Jews had to gather to be deported. We also passed a Jewish school that I hadn't seen before, in front of which were 19 Stolpersteine for teachers and students who were last seen there before disappearing for good. That's next to a square where the bricks are arranged in the shape of the huge dome of the gigantic synagogue that the city forced the Jewish people to take down themselves after minor damage, claiming that the sturdy stone structure was "too dangerous" to be left standing. Talk about humiliation.

Tonight we're going to take a break from German and watch BBC dramas. (I miss Smith.) Then on Sunday we're going to Berlin for a little under a week. : D

Ta, darlings.