We arrived in Hamburg relatively well rested, though at the wrong station as the train decided to skip Dammtor station. From there we made it to the Google office, which was a bit of a surreal experience, given that we didn't go there on a work related issue. Instead, we picked up Patrick's keys from Max (thank you both!) before getting breakfast by the Alster, organising some things in town and heading back for lunch with Max. With enough food taken in, we then went to our home for the weekend, where we were delighted to see that Patrick had labeled all important components in his house for our convenience.
Freshened up we were ready to start the main weekend activity proper. First stop was the Gröninger Braukeller, meeting up with Yvonee, Alex and most of the wedding party for tasty food and homemade beer. On the way there we ran into Tobi Altendorf by total conincidence, which was a really nice surprise. Arriving at the Braukeller, we had a great time, catching up with the bride and groom to be, colleagues from Ireland and getting to know new people along the way. We left around 8.30, but we heard that the party went on for much longer, with Ray finishing the beer in style at around midnight. Ourselves, we met up with Max and Tobi for the night, starting off by (half-)watching the (awful) Germany-Austria qualifier game in a pseudo-Irish pub called the Shamrock. It was great catching up with Max and Tobi and I certainly enjoyed the Cider on offer. As the night went on, we moved ourselves to trendier areas, finishing on a large, very minty and very tasty Mojito in the Sternschanze quarter.
Saturday was Yvonne and Alex's big day. We started things early though and got our shopping hats on. For us, walking into an outdoor shop without a list is extremely dangerous, so we made one and - against expectations - managed to stick to it ... well, almost. Most importantly, we bought the most essential piece of equipment for our Africa stay: Really good binoculars. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this!
After that we got ready and headed out to the wedding, which was set in a beautiful hotel housed in a restored water tower in the heart of Hamburg. The ceremony was heartfelt, warm and beautiful and we met a lot of friends at the following reception and party, including Jorge, Claire, Thomas and Alex. The party went on into the early hours of the morning, with plenty of great food, good wishes, small activities and vigorous dancing keeping us entertained. The DJ/MC was particularly entertaining as he took requests from guests, and he sang and danced to all the greatest diva songs in style. There was a brief debate about the danger of the tomatoes and cucumbers on offer, but we decided to be brave and dug in regardless of the news reports. The highlight - besides the confident "yes" obviously - was the moment where everybody went outside to put on special glasses that surrounded every light source with two rainbow-coloured hearts. We headed home around 3am with the couple and a number of guests still going strong.
Understandably, we slept in the next day, but good weather dictated outdoor activities. Kathi and Max picked us up and we headed out to Blankenese for one of the most delishious brunches we've ever had. Fish, meats, salads, bread, sweets, juices - anything we tried was really nice. With all the food intake, a walk was in order afterwards, so we made it down to the river to bathe in the glorious sunshine for a while. The height of the day made it really hot though, so at some stage we had to head back to cooler pastures, getting some cold refreshments along the way. Kathi and Max dropped us back at Patrick's place, where we carefully repacked everything. Thank you Max for taking care of some of our stuff, we are looking forward to see it back in Istanbul!
Freshened up we were ready to start the main weekend activity proper. First stop was the Gröninger Braukeller, meeting up with Yvonee, Alex and most of the wedding party for tasty food and homemade beer. On the way there we ran into Tobi Altendorf by total conincidence, which was a really nice surprise. Arriving at the Braukeller, we had a great time, catching up with the bride and groom to be, colleagues from Ireland and getting to know new people along the way. We left around 8.30, but we heard that the party went on for much longer, with Ray finishing the beer in style at around midnight. Ourselves, we met up with Max and Tobi for the night, starting off by (half-)watching the (awful) Germany-Austria qualifier game in a pseudo-Irish pub called the Shamrock. It was great catching up with Max and Tobi and I certainly enjoyed the Cider on offer. As the night went on, we moved ourselves to trendier areas, finishing on a large, very minty and very tasty Mojito in the Sternschanze quarter.
Saturday was Yvonne and Alex's big day. We started things early though and got our shopping hats on. For us, walking into an outdoor shop without a list is extremely dangerous, so we made one and - against expectations - managed to stick to it ... well, almost. Most importantly, we bought the most essential piece of equipment for our Africa stay: Really good binoculars. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this!
After that we got ready and headed out to the wedding, which was set in a beautiful hotel housed in a restored water tower in the heart of Hamburg. The ceremony was heartfelt, warm and beautiful and we met a lot of friends at the following reception and party, including Jorge, Claire, Thomas and Alex. The party went on into the early hours of the morning, with plenty of great food, good wishes, small activities and vigorous dancing keeping us entertained. The DJ/MC was particularly entertaining as he took requests from guests, and he sang and danced to all the greatest diva songs in style. There was a brief debate about the danger of the tomatoes and cucumbers on offer, but we decided to be brave and dug in regardless of the news reports. The highlight - besides the confident "yes" obviously - was the moment where everybody went outside to put on special glasses that surrounded every light source with two rainbow-coloured hearts. We headed home around 3am with the couple and a number of guests still going strong.
Understandably, we slept in the next day, but good weather dictated outdoor activities. Kathi and Max picked us up and we headed out to Blankenese for one of the most delishious brunches we've ever had. Fish, meats, salads, bread, sweets, juices - anything we tried was really nice. With all the food intake, a walk was in order afterwards, so we made it down to the river to bathe in the glorious sunshine for a while. The height of the day made it really hot though, so at some stage we had to head back to cooler pastures, getting some cold refreshments along the way. Kathi and Max dropped us back at Patrick's place, where we carefully repacked everything. Thank you Max for taking care of some of our stuff, we are looking forward to see it back in Istanbul!
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