Last Friday i took a train to Hannover since J left in the early morning with his boss for a meeting in Hamburg. I, of course had to go to German class earlier on that day, so we decided to meet up at the train station at 8pm.
There was a small Christmas market just outside but we didn't end up hanging around cause it was already getting late. But we did see quite a number of police officers checking the IDs of those loitering Neo-Nazi skin heads and random punks. And as much as i wanted to capture the moment, i didn't think it was appropriate seeing that they didn't look too friendly.
We eventually drove to the parents house in Walsrode to say hi to J's dad who is in Germany for a holiday and whom i haven't seen in 2 years. We stayed at the grandmother's place though because she has a spare room and to be honest, it's much more orderly.
And this is probably my favorite photo i have of J and i with his sweet little Oma [Grandmother in German]. She only speaks German so my conversations with her are somewhat limited. Every time we stay at her place, she makes sure the table is set for breakfast and has a couple of bread rolls heated. She's 86 and believe it or not, she still drives.
The next day Oma dropped us off at the parents house, where we spent the day clearing out the garage and side room. Well i didn't clear them out, J and his eldest brother did. The garage had transformed itself into a store room/dumping ground and became impossible to squeeze through. Even the parents house is full to the brim with all sorts of odds and ends. A result of many years of collecting random things that were soon forgotten.
So J's dad rented a 2 tonne container, where you can pretty much throw away whatever household items you don't want. Electronic goods, however has to be separated and was handled by some other company.
I didn't go into the garage because there were all sorts of spiders and mice in there. But i did see the mother of all mice run out of the garage. I reckon it was the size of a cat.
Seriously, it was huge!
So while the men were doing some serious Spring cleaning, i kept myself busy by throwing whatever was in my way and clearing the dead leaves and pine cones off the ground. 6 hours later the garage and side room were practically empty and the whole driveway and entrance was just about free of leaves. As we stood beside the 2 tonne container we were amazed at how much crap was in there, it was already 3/4 full.
...
Once we were done with everything hunger hit and so J, J's little brother and i ventured out to find food. It was already 10pm and most kitchens are closed at that time. Pizza was an option but we thought we'd look for an alternative. We happened to stumble upon a unique restaurant called Zauberkessels.
A strictly vegetarian restaurant where the interior and atmosphere was meant to resemble the 1800s. It was made to look like you were in some kind of basement or dungeon. Waiters and waitresses wore the appropriate outfits and they even had some random dog strolling the halls. One woman even sang in old German and whilst the others played the harp and bagpipes.
A truly great experience and entertaining evening. A place i wouldn't mind returning to.
It was so surreal.
The brothers trying to decide what to eat in front of a hand-painted mural.
The beer came from barrels, i could only assume was similar to what it was like back in the days.
Although i'm sure back then, the prices were not as high.
We started off with what they called a Julefest Gerstensaft which contained 9% alcohol and had a very bitter aftertaste. Probably not something i'd order again though, it tasted kinda funky but i did finish it.
I can't remember what i ordered but the burger-patty looking things on my plate had a soft consistency. I think it was made out of grains and some kind of vegetable. J ordered this pretend Schnitzel but obviously not made of meat - and that actually tasted really good. His brother ordered some kind of vegetable goulash with rice.
We ended up sharing a long table with a German couple and who ended up being very chatty. I think by the end of it the woman was a little tipsy because she couldn't stop talking. It was their one night out without their 3 kids so i think they were taking full advantage of their chance to socialize even if it meant it was with complete strangers. By the time we were ready to leave and the staff were blowing out the last of the candles, she was scribbling down her e-mail address. I think she just wanted copies of the photos, so i could send them to her.
Some say after a few alcoholic drinks, ones confidence level rises and some will even swear that they can speak German better.
WRONG!
I, unfortunately do not fall into that category. Maybe i'm just being paranoid but i could swear i heard me speak and knew the second i said something it sounded off. Sentences that i ordinarily could say when i'm sober, somehow refused to roll off my tongue.
Don't you hate it when that happens!?
But i did understand parts of what was being discussed and was able to laugh at most of the appropriate times.
Even now my brain is working extra hard trying to type this out. My English is seriously getting worse. So please excuse any grammar or spelling mistakes.
So anyway J and i went to go have a smoke at the back since restaurants in Germany are non-smoking. And noticed even the exterior was done up. I can only imagine during Summer this place will be packed.
It was freezing that night, so don't be fooled by my lack of layers. I forgot my jacket inside but i think my alcohol kept me from having instant hyperthermia.
...
They also had a gift store where they sold a range of gorgeous Medieval, Gothic Fantasy and Fairy figurines. There were spells, Wiccan books and crystals all at very reasonable prices.
J couldn't resist and ended up buying one of the Veronese collectible pieces. And it also functions as a candle stick holder.
It is the 708th out of 3,544 made, apparently and if i'm not mistaken it's sculptured out of poly-resin. The intricate details and colour makes the piece even more amazing up close.
There was a small Christmas market just outside but we didn't end up hanging around cause it was already getting late. But we did see quite a number of police officers checking the IDs of those loitering Neo-Nazi skin heads and random punks. And as much as i wanted to capture the moment, i didn't think it was appropriate seeing that they didn't look too friendly.
We eventually drove to the parents house in Walsrode to say hi to J's dad who is in Germany for a holiday and whom i haven't seen in 2 years. We stayed at the grandmother's place though because she has a spare room and to be honest, it's much more orderly.
And this is probably my favorite photo i have of J and i with his sweet little Oma [Grandmother in German]. She only speaks German so my conversations with her are somewhat limited. Every time we stay at her place, she makes sure the table is set for breakfast and has a couple of bread rolls heated. She's 86 and believe it or not, she still drives.
The next day Oma dropped us off at the parents house, where we spent the day clearing out the garage and side room. Well i didn't clear them out, J and his eldest brother did. The garage had transformed itself into a store room/dumping ground and became impossible to squeeze through. Even the parents house is full to the brim with all sorts of odds and ends. A result of many years of collecting random things that were soon forgotten.
So J's dad rented a 2 tonne container, where you can pretty much throw away whatever household items you don't want. Electronic goods, however has to be separated and was handled by some other company.
I didn't go into the garage because there were all sorts of spiders and mice in there. But i did see the mother of all mice run out of the garage. I reckon it was the size of a cat.
Seriously, it was huge!
So while the men were doing some serious Spring cleaning, i kept myself busy by throwing whatever was in my way and clearing the dead leaves and pine cones off the ground. 6 hours later the garage and side room were practically empty and the whole driveway and entrance was just about free of leaves. As we stood beside the 2 tonne container we were amazed at how much crap was in there, it was already 3/4 full.
...
Once we were done with everything hunger hit and so J, J's little brother and i ventured out to find food. It was already 10pm and most kitchens are closed at that time. Pizza was an option but we thought we'd look for an alternative. We happened to stumble upon a unique restaurant called Zauberkessels.
A strictly vegetarian restaurant where the interior and atmosphere was meant to resemble the 1800s. It was made to look like you were in some kind of basement or dungeon. Waiters and waitresses wore the appropriate outfits and they even had some random dog strolling the halls. One woman even sang in old German and whilst the others played the harp and bagpipes.
A truly great experience and entertaining evening. A place i wouldn't mind returning to.
It was so surreal.
The brothers trying to decide what to eat in front of a hand-painted mural.
The beer came from barrels, i could only assume was similar to what it was like back in the days.
Although i'm sure back then, the prices were not as high.
We started off with what they called a Julefest Gerstensaft which contained 9% alcohol and had a very bitter aftertaste. Probably not something i'd order again though, it tasted kinda funky but i did finish it.
I can't remember what i ordered but the burger-patty looking things on my plate had a soft consistency. I think it was made out of grains and some kind of vegetable. J ordered this pretend Schnitzel but obviously not made of meat - and that actually tasted really good. His brother ordered some kind of vegetable goulash with rice.
We ended up sharing a long table with a German couple and who ended up being very chatty. I think by the end of it the woman was a little tipsy because she couldn't stop talking. It was their one night out without their 3 kids so i think they were taking full advantage of their chance to socialize even if it meant it was with complete strangers. By the time we were ready to leave and the staff were blowing out the last of the candles, she was scribbling down her e-mail address. I think she just wanted copies of the photos, so i could send them to her.
Some say after a few alcoholic drinks, ones confidence level rises and some will even swear that they can speak German better.
WRONG!
I, unfortunately do not fall into that category. Maybe i'm just being paranoid but i could swear i heard me speak and knew the second i said something it sounded off. Sentences that i ordinarily could say when i'm sober, somehow refused to roll off my tongue.
Don't you hate it when that happens!?
But i did understand parts of what was being discussed and was able to laugh at most of the appropriate times.
Even now my brain is working extra hard trying to type this out. My English is seriously getting worse. So please excuse any grammar or spelling mistakes.
So anyway J and i went to go have a smoke at the back since restaurants in Germany are non-smoking. And noticed even the exterior was done up. I can only imagine during Summer this place will be packed.
It was freezing that night, so don't be fooled by my lack of layers. I forgot my jacket inside but i think my alcohol kept me from having instant hyperthermia.
...
They also had a gift store where they sold a range of gorgeous Medieval, Gothic Fantasy and Fairy figurines. There were spells, Wiccan books and crystals all at very reasonable prices.
J couldn't resist and ended up buying one of the Veronese collectible pieces. And it also functions as a candle stick holder.
It is the 708th out of 3,544 made, apparently and if i'm not mistaken it's sculptured out of poly-resin. The intricate details and colour makes the piece even more amazing up close.
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