Happy October! 🎃🍁

This month’s trip took us to Hamburg, Germany. We met a lovely couple while in Croatia, and we connected with them instantly. They were very warm, inviting, and lots of fun. They extended the offer for us to come and visit anytime. So, we did! We had such a wonderful time visiting them and seeing some sights of Hamburg. We stayed at a lovely hotel near the airport, although we traveled by train to Hamburg. The Euro transit system is so fantastic. I am probably preaching to the choir for a lot of people, but it really makes life so much easier having alternative options to air travel. Air travel certainly has its perks, but all the checks and wait times, especially in times of COVID, kind of make air travel a total drain.

* Trains with this little goof :)

I am a bit of a queasy passenger (cars and trains make me so nauseous, unfortunately), so that was the only downside to the train ride. I probably wouldn’t do it on trips that were much longer than our 6 hours to Hamburg. We met some nice people on the train that we shared a cabin with. One happened to be a US soldier who had just arrived in Poznan (where we live), what are the odds! The other was a really nice man from the Netherlands. I am now dying to go to Holland (okay, I was before, but now even more!). I was happy we got situated with chill people, since we had Mr. O who refused to nap on the return leg. On the way to Hamburg, we got lucky and were mostly by ourselves, and Otis slept- yahoo!

Anyway, our short time in Hamburg (a 4 day weekend) was spent seeing some local sights, such as the Alster River, *which* fun fact, “alster” means dirty or soiled, and there is a local shandy drink that is quite popular which combines beer and sprite. They call it Alsterwasser, because the beer has been “sullied” by the sprite. Miss trivia, over here. Hahaha!

Moving along... we also saw the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, which is quite the impressive spectacle of a building. Originally designed to cost 70 million dollars, it eventually made its debut having cost 700 million dollars to finish. Crazy! Crazy stupid maybe, but still gorgeous, inside and out. It serves as a concert hall for the professional orchestra, has a hotel inside, a restaurant, a viewing deck, and apartments. The upper half of the building which is lined with concave windows are all handblown glass windows. Very impressive!

One of the coolest things we went to was the Miniature Wunderland. AMAZING! Truly, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was pretty incredible. We spent 2 hours exploring the different regions of the world that had been created by what I can only imagine are some of the most wildly talented engineers and artists out there. The details were mind blowing. If you ever find yourself in Hamburg, I cannot recommend this enough. The tickets were 20 euro, which initially I thought, “Yikes, seems expensive for looking at a bunch of miniature model toys,” but once we got inside, I got it.

Next door to the Wunderland was the Coffee Roastery. I love my coffee, and unfortunately, Poland doesn’t have the market on coffee, so I was so pleased to have the best Nitro Brew I have ever tasted since we lived in Richmond Virginia. If you ever find yourself in Richmond, hit up Citizen Burger, and get some of their home brewed, Nitro Cold Brew- delish! And no, Starbucks doesn’t count.

*Our Hotel

Lastly, in between a great night’s sleep at the Marriott Hotel in Hamburg (great hotel and reasonably priced for the area!), and seeing the sights of Hamburg, we got to spend a lot of time with our new German family at their lovely cottage style home in northern Hamburg. Annett has wonderful taste, and has repurposed almost all the furniture and décor in their home. They also have a fabulous garden and yard perfect for entertaining. Otis felt right at home instantly, and we all got pretty tickled when we arrived to their home on the last day of visiting, and he exclaimed, “Our home! It’s so beautiful! I can’t wait to go inside!” I am not even exaggerating. It was so darn cute and we all busted up.

We finished our lovely trip eating at the Glashaus Restaurant and had a great meal with great company and the best ambiance. What was once a large glass greenhouse, is now a restaurant that serves some yummy dishes and fantastic beer.

I cannot say enough how much this trip meant to us, probably, especially me. We are getting to do all these fun and exciting things, and feel so blessed, but I don’t have folks to talk with regularly, so my days can sometimes be a tad lonely. It was great to have someone to socialize with, although, Annett doesn’t speak much English, and I don’t speak any German other than “please, thank you, and now, apple cake,” (LOL), it still felt so comfortable and easy. It was such a pleasure to have met them, and we look forward to staying in touch.

* Sights around Hamburg & my very special gift from Michael: original Patsy Cline on Vinyl

In other news, Otis started preschool (Kindergarten, as they call it in Europe), and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the school. The name of the school is Carrots and Peas (which I always say, “Peas and Carrots,” because that’s the order in which we say it in the U.S. (at least, how I grew up), “Eat your peas and carrots!” Hah! The director of the school is absolutely lovely and started this school on her own 6 years ago. She started to grow, and now oversees two small classrooms: one is the Peapods Room (Otis’ room) for 3 year old’s, and the other is the Carrots and Peas room for 4 & 5 year old’s.

* For the privacy of other students... sorry, blue orbs ;)

They do so much hands on learning and exploration. They do lots of crafts, learn about the weather, days of the week, etc. during circle time. They sing songs, go on field trips, and learn appropriate social skills like how to sit at a table properly during meal time, making eye contact when someone is talking to you, cleaning up after yourself... you get the drift, but I was just so pleased to see this type of a system. Additionally pleased, because they do all this an incredibly loving environment. I love the way this school operates and cares for its children and helps them love learning and making new friends. Otis’ teacher has been a Godsend and I am so thankful for her patience while he navigates starting something new. Next week, he starts full days, so fingers crossed for success!

Quick aside: there is a literal chef on site during the day. The meals these kids get to eat are incredible! Sure beats the cardboard burgers they were serving up when I was a kid.

Well, other than that, we are enjoying our day to day living here in Poznan. I have been getting lots of walking in (which I LOVE). Otis’ school is 1.5 miles from our home, so I drop him off via tram and then walk home, and then walk to pick him up and take the tram home, or sometimes walk back with him, *if* I have the stroller. 3-year-olds, so lazy! Hah!

*On the walk to and from school

We have visited a few local spots, like the wine tasting room, just around the corner from our apartment- how convenient. I am planning to go to some malls today, actually, and Parle Patisserie continues to be the best breakfast I have had, so we eat a lot of croque monsieur’s around here.

* Life in Poznan: local eats, laundry on the line, and new patio entertainment

We are so looking forward to the arrival of my parents (God willing) in mid-November. If all goes as planned, they will get to stay for 3 weeks. I am SO EXCITED!!! We have plans to head to Switzerland, and then Krakow for a few days. On my dad’s side, we have family history in the southern part of Switzerland, close to the border of Italy. The Scott's hail from a blend of immigrants that include Italian speaking Swiss, and Alexis has family originating from the north, who were Deutsch speaking Swiss. It should be interesting to see that part of the world, and I am excited to see some mountains! Never thought I’d really miss those, but there is just something about them.

I guess that’s all for now, and happy October to everyone! We can’t wait to share what comes next, and we hope all are well.

With Love from Poland,

The Clods