Go with the Floh

I have been remiss. In many things, it turns out. First, in wishing my good friend Beth a happy birthday, which was on August 26, my first full day in Hamburg. Second, in thanking you for your notes about the blog--it's nice to have friends along for the journey! Third, in letting you know that my Internet connection is still unresolved, which is why I haven’t been posting. And finally, about those posts...

To assuage my mother’s fears that my experience to date has turned me into some sort of harpy in danger of becoming a hermit, I promise I will be sharing the lighter side of things as well: my ongoing Hamburg adventures—complete with pictures—once the appropriate devices are consistently back online.

In the meantime, to assure you that my life has been more than sitting on the floor staring at the bare walls and the occasional trip to the grocery store and Bauhaus (the Home Depot-esque store, not the band), I did want to briefly share one of our experiences from last weekend.

On Saturday Larry and I stopped by a flea market (Flohmarkt) just up the road. It was massive—somehow managing to be orderly and chaotic at the same time--with everything from bras to bikes to beds to creepy baby dolls.

It was also like an incredible international marketplace. I “bargained” in German with a young Middle Eastern man for some lanterns, Larry bought an umbrella (with a flashlight in the handle!) from a taciturn Russian, and I watched an African family take a food break at a Turkish food truck. Fantastic people-watching and it turned into a great way to practice and understand simple German, and eavesdrop on phrases that will probably be useful in the future.

As for the future, I haven’t forgotten that despite the many trials in getting here and getting settled, a large part of the purpose in doing this was to jump in and have fun. So until next time, when I talk about Hamburg history and green space and gardens and walking under the river Elbe…