What's on the menu? Raw pork?

- Saturday afternoon, Daniela, Kaitlyn, and I went for a walk in Stadtpark, Hamburg's city park. The park has a massive open field surrounded by woodlands and walking paths. People were out in the field playing soccer, flying kites, and lounging in the sun. The weather has finally started to warm up here, and seeing people partake in outdoor activities makes me really excited for spring! I have a feeling that spring in Hamburg is going to be fantastic. My new apartment is only 5 minutes away from Stadtpark, and I could not be more excited! Not only is the close proximity to the park awesome, but it seems like a really exciting neighborhood filled with restaurants and shops.

- One of my best friends from high school (Alex) and her boyfriend (Dan) visited Hamburg this past weekend. For those of you who do not remember, I visited Alex in Florence in January. They arrived in Hamburg late Saturday afternoon, so of course us Americans took them to the Red Light District that evening. Alex requested we go to dance clubs, so we met up with a bunch of friends from meteorology and our language class and danced the night away. I think Alex and Dan were really shocked by the Reeperbahn - neither of them were expecting to find so much nightlife in Hamburg. On Sunday afternoon, we met up and walked around downtown. I showed them Hamburg's ritzy shopping district, the city hall, and the two lakes. Even though I did not go on a lot of tours with them, I was still able to offer advice on where they should go and what they should do. I also met up with them after class on Monday to climb St. Michaelis and visit Panoptikum, Hamburg's wax museum. I love climbing to the top of St. Michaelis. This was the second time I've done it, and it was even more enjoyable than the first time. I love looking down into a city that was so unfamiliar two months ago and recognizing places I've been and memories I've made. After that, Alex and Dan wanted to visit the wax museum on the Reeperbahn. The museum had American presidents, world famous performers, and important German figureheads. They also had models of double faced men, breech babies, and Hermaphrodites. Words really cannot describe just how bad some of the wax statues were. The three of us often found ourselves looking at a statue and laughing at how poor the resemblance was. You could kind of make out the person, but it was one of those "squint really hard, tilt your head, and jump up and down" moments.

President Obama

One of the two faced men

This sculpture of Hitler was created back in the
late 1930s. It's weird to think that he was still
in power when this sculpture was made.

The Beatles are famous in Hamburg because they built up
their reputation by performing in clubs all over town from
1960 - 1962.

No wax museum is complete without
a statue of Harry Potter and Hedwig. 

- About two weeks ago, one of my roommates was sitting at the table eating something that looked like raw meat. I was convinced that he could not possibly be eating raw meat, so I asked him what it was. It turns out that he was eating Mett, aka raw pork. Apparently, Germans will layer raw pork and raw onions on a toasted, buttered roll and eat it for dinner. When I first saw him take a bite, I freaked out because he could get worms or nasty bacterial infections! But, being of the adventurous type, I promised him that one day I would try a bite. It is, after all, a traditional German meal - and I am, after all, studying abroad in Germany. Well, I finally made good on my promise last night. Once I got past the mental block that I was eating raw pork, I realized that I didn't hate it. In fact, I actually kind of enjoyed it. It tasted like what you would expect - the meat was gooey and mushy, and the onions were strong and potent. Honestly, the butter made the sandwich. It kind of balanced out the strong taste of meat and onions and allowed for a sweeter, more natural side to the sandwich. I would never want to eat it again,  but I'm so glad I had the courage to try it at least once.

Traditionally, German Mett is served as a
Mettigel, or Mett Hedgehog.

My very own Mett sandwich made from
the butt of the Mettifel shown above.

* I will once again leave you with some differences I've noted between Germany and the US. Tschüss!

• You do not get ice in your soft drinks. In Germany, you order a drink based upon the amount of liquid in the glass (0.2L, 0.4L, etc). So, if you order a 0.2L drink, they will fill the entire 0.2L with soda rather than soda and ice. 
• Tax is included in the price of all items. This is actually really convenient because you know exactly how much you will pay before you get to the cash register.
• You tip significantly less in German restaurants than you do in US ones. I was told to either tip 10% or round up to the nearest Euro. Supposedly, waiters and waitresses receive better wages in Germany and do not rely primarily on tips to make money.
• German bedding is really strange! Rather then having a sheet, a blanket, and a comforter, you have this one puffy object that's wrapped in a three sided sheet. It reminds me of a massive, bed-size pillow. Their pillows are also really strange. My pillow is one big, flat square (it's probably close to 24" x 24"). I try, and I try, and I try to plump the pillow up, but it always seems to fall back down. Needless to say, I really miss sleeping with tons of small pillows. And I definitely miss having multiple sheets to sleep under. I love wrapping myself up in all the blankets, and that's just not possible in German bedding.