Is that the Sun??

       It is true that since I've been in Hamburg, I have not seen the sun until today. The first full day I had in Hamburg, it was in the 40s and raining. Today it was in the 60s and partly cloudy! Exponential improvement!
       Yesterday, I toured the Hamburg Steinway & Sons factory with a group of elderly tourist Germans. They were great! This one man, in his plaid tweed coat, always held the door open for the entire

Hamburg Steinway & Sons factory 

Evangelical Church cemetery in Diebsteich

group...American chivalry at last! Along the tour, I ran into Mr. Andy Horbachevsky again, who introduced me to Mr.Olaf Gube, the Vice President of Worldwide Manufacturing Strategies for Steinway & Sons . We discussed my project briefly and then I ran to go catch up with my tour group. The tour guide knew I was an American, so he made some American jokes and references along the way, which I understood. (point!)
        Which tour would I recommend?? I would say there are benefits to each...For example, in USA you got free protect-your-eyes-from-flying-wood-chips glasses, while in Hamburg you received free refreshments and treats afterwards. In USA, the tour is in English, but in Hamburg you get to take pictures. Just tour both!
        After leaving the factory, I decided to swing by (what I thought was a garden but was actually...) a cemetery. It was beautiful, with graves decorated with shrubbery, flowers, and trees.

at Alsterpark

      Today, I wandered through a part of Hamburg called Dammtor. This is where the University of Hamburg is located, so it felt somewhat at home to be on a campus again. While I could guess that most of the students speak English, I chickened out on talking to any of them. They had an air to them that made them seem unapproachable to common travelers such as myself. I did stumble upon a nice park called Alsterpark. There was a nice view of Alser lake, where I saw many sailors fighting to keep their sail from falling over. Entertaining.

Cultural Differences to Note: 
          Women do not wear their hair down when it's a rainy day (which makes sense), so for the first few days here I thought women didn't wear their hair down at all. Most women do have shorter (or soccer-mom) haircuts. Again, nobody smiles! However, if you are wearing the wrong shoes for the weather (aka I did not pack shoes for rain and cold), then women will give you pity smiles. Dogs are not on leashes so if you are terrified of dogs attacking you, don't go to Germany. At McDonald's, people come around and pick up your tray, so don't waste your time looking for a trash can...like I did.

Cultural Similarities to Note:
           In search of Wifi, I walked into a McDonald's and (because I'd feel guilty about using their internet without buying anything) I bought a Diet Coke and 4 nuggets. Behold! Both US and German McDonald's will give you ice in your drink! It's definitely only five ice cubes in Germany, but this is the first time I've seen ice cubes since I've been here.

McDonald's meal with ICE