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Germany in Autumn

11/18/2021

30 Comments

 
Every time I return from Germany, I am in the in-between transition state. Some of me is still in Germany and the other half is trying to readjust to my normal life in California. Visiting Germany has never been a vacation, but more about reconnecting with a deeper part of myself—a part of myself that I left behind many years ago.
Germany in Autumn
An old barn in the heath country near Lüneburg
Enough of that, let’s talk about my latest trip. Because of COVID, I wasn’t sure I was going until about two weeks before my departure. Because of that, I missed getting my German Rail pass in the mail. I now have an unused one here in the States because it arrived a day after I left. My advice is to buy your pass at the main railroad station in Frankfurt. I don’t know if they sell them anywhere else. The reason I buy a pass is because it gives me the freedom to choose any train at any time. For example, I was able to leave earlier than planned for Berlin because of bad weather. I wasn’t committed to a particular train at a particular time.
Berlin Railroad Station
Berlin Railroad Station
​The first week I stayed in my village reconnecting with friends and family I had not seen for over two years. I took care of other business too. Throughout my stay, the weather was beautiful, crisp autumn days with the dimming light of the season in northern Europe. It rained only a few times. One of the highlights of that week was taking my family and friend Monika out for dinner to an Italian restaurant in the nearby town of Northeim. In Germany, even in the small country towns, you will find Italian or Greek restaurants, an Italian ice cafe and a Turkish döner stand. Our food that night was delicious and everybody had a great time.
I left my village  mid-week to spend two wonderful days in Hamburg. I had a room in the Westin, located above the Elbe Philharmonic Hall. This place is phenomenal, a shimmering wave of glass built on a solid brick warehouse. One of the concert halls was built in the middle of the Elbe river. The place has a publicly accessible viewing platform that has amazing views of the city and harbor. This is my second time there and I am always in awe. 
The Elbphilhamornie  Hamburg
Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg
The Elbphilhamornie  Hamburg
The Concert Hall
Elbphilarmonie in Hamburg
My friend who has lived in Hamburg for decades gave me a grand tour of the city. One of the foods I always have when visiting Germany is Matjes herring. Matjes are young, female herrings who haven’t laid eggs yet (virgins). In Germany, they are served different ways. In Hamburg and northern Germany, you can buy them on a bun. My friend, Elli, showed me where you can buy the best herring buns (Matjes Brötchen). Next to the fish market is the restaurant Rive where we had dinner the second evening. This restaurant offers good food with a view of the harbor.
Hamburg
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Hamburg is a major tourist destination and I hope to visit it many more times.
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Hamburg
Then it was off to Lüneburg. It is a beautiful and well-preserved medieval town and very livable with a vibrant inner city that has stores for everyone. Read more about Lüneburg and Berlin on a previous blog post. I have visited Lüneburg many times because my niece lives there with her husband and new baby. There is nothing better than holding a tiny baby in your arms.

From Lüneburg, I went to Berlin for a few days. I invited my 16-year-old grand nephew to join me. We had a very good time together. I showed him the city and my friend, Tara, introduced him to Thai food. He loved it. As the oldest of three children, he was an agreeable and delightful travel companion. I enjoyed his company.
Berlin
A good German breakfast
Berlin
Pad Thai
I spent one day by myself in Berlin and loved it. It was a beautiful autumn day. I had dropped my grand nephew at the train station and walked from there through the Reichstag and Brandenburger Gate. It was a spiritual experience that took me back decades. Memories flooded back in my mind, images of death and despair. In the 70s, I saw an East German refugee being shot at the wall. 

The Brandenburg Gate
After Berlin, It was back to my village for a birthday celebration and family gatherings.
Autumn in Germany

​As for COVID, Germany seems to have gotten it together after a very rocky start and no vaccines in the beginning. Everyone is being tracked; you have to show an app or in my case (as a foreigner) a vaccination card to enter a restaurant, theater, hotel and more. For two dollars, you can buy a self-test which is used frequently. I tested myself for the new baby and when I returned from Berlin. Just because I am adventurous doesn’t mean I should endanger my family or anybody else. I never felt unsafe. Everybody wears a medical mask inside and in public places. To re-enter the US, I had to take a PCR test 72 hours before my departure flight, which I did at a local train station. A young, extremely helpful person person downloaded the appropriate app on my phone and I was all set. United has a travel-ready site where I downloaded all the needed information. All I had to do at the airport was to check in my luggage and show my passport. It's important to prepare and do your homework in advance.
Santa Cruz
All in all, I am so happy I decided to go and would do it again tomorrow. But I was equally happy to be reunited with the old man and the sea.
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Thanksgiving is next week. Here are some of my recipes I have used over the years. It has become a tradition with my family to serve my red cabbage for the holidays. And then there is my cranberry sauce, as well as the chestnut, shiitake mushroom stuffing which I have made for many years.If you want a delicious turkey sandwich, try my cranberry ketchup, a real treat.
Here is the link for the recipes.
I wish you all a happy and peaceful Thanksgiving , sharing  good food with family and friends.
30 Comments
Birgit link
11/18/2021 04:03:51 pm

Gerlinde, I really enjoyed reading about your trip, and many places that I love. Time to plan a visit to Germany!!

Reply
Gerlinde
11/21/2021 09:27:26 pm

Maybe next year we can enjoy a tea together in Northeim.

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Sippity Sup
11/18/2021 04:25:43 pm

I’ve only been to Berlin (in the 1980s) so I read this with wild wanderlust in my heart! Divine. GREG

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Gerlinde
11/21/2021 09:28:40 pm

Greg, Berlin has changed a whole lot. You need to go, it’s an interesting city.

Reply
John / Kitchen Riffs link
11/18/2021 04:47:30 pm

Sounds like a lovely trip! We haven't been overseas since very early 2020 -- looking forward to it again (sometime next year, we hope). Terrific pictures and post -- thanks.

Reply
Gerlinde
11/21/2021 09:30:18 pm

It was a lovely trip and I am glad I went. I hope you get to go next year.

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Chef Mimi link
11/19/2021 05:15:30 am

What a wonderful trip. I can’t wait to travel overseas again. I can understand how different it is for you traveling to a country you’re actually from… so nice to reconnect with family. And such wonderful food! My first time in Frankfurt after flying in was buying train tickets. I’d practiced and practiced, and I totally screwed up. Of course the guy spoke English, and I got my tickets to vier furchaten to Bacharach!

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Gerlinde
11/21/2021 09:35:02 pm

You tried Mimi , that’s all that counts . I passed through the Frankfurt Airport so many times and yet sometimes I still get lost.

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Valentina link
11/19/2021 07:37:49 pm

What a wonderful trip and beautiful family. I agree about holding a baby. It's the absolute best! :-) ~Valentina

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Gerlinde
11/21/2021 09:37:28 pm

Thanks Valentina, holding babies is the best. Time goes by so fast and before we know it, they have grown up.

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Anne
11/20/2021 06:29:53 am

Liebe Gerlinde, den Text hast du sehr schön geschrieben. Wie schön über deinen Besuch in Deutschland zu lesen ❤️... Wir freuen uns sehr...LG Anne, Peter und Thea

Reply
Gerlinde
11/21/2021 09:38:16 pm

Das freut mich, alles Liebe für Euch drei.

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Ron link
11/21/2021 05:43:12 am

What a wonderful journey and enjoyable post. I'm so glad you were able to make the trip. Thanks for sharing...

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Gerlinde
11/21/2021 09:39:23 pm

Thanks Ron, I signed up for the Sweden trip again. I hope I get to go this time.

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Karen (Back Road Journal) link
11/22/2021 07:52:43 am

I'm so very glad that you got the opportunity to make the trip this year. It sounds like you had an especially nice time enjoying friends, family and good food. I kept thinking that we might had been able to make a trip to Germany and Austria again this fall but alas we didn't. We always drive and each state had their own rules which we thought might make it complicated since we don't speak or read German. We've been constantly reading the news. Austria has now imposed a full Covid-19 lockdown and Germany warned last Friday that Germany might follow as numbers in some states are very high. Hopefully next year...we miss that wonderful part of the world a lot. Wishing the best this Thanksgiving.

Reply
Gerlinde
11/24/2021 06:51:49 am

I am glad I didn't go later because of all the new restrictions. My girlfriend has a daughter that lives in Salzburg with her three children and she left a day before the lockdown. I think it was wise that you didn't go.
Everything in Germany now happens indoors. I am planning to go in March, although I don't know. The good news is that now my German family and friends can visit me here in the US. Happy Thanksgiving Karen.

Reply
Liz link
11/24/2021 03:37:35 am

Oh, I'm SO glad you finally were able to return home for a visit! We've only been to a few cities in Germany and can't wait to do some more exploring one day!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

xoxo

Reply
Gerlinde
11/24/2021 06:54:23 am

I hope you get to visit Germany again. Let me know when you go and I can help you.
Happy Thanksgiving !

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Jean | Delightful Repast link
11/25/2021 09:29:18 am

Gerlinde, sounds like a fabulous trip! Your recipes look wonderful. I love rotkohl mit apfel!

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Gerlinde
11/25/2021 01:26:58 pm

It was a nice trip, I am glad I didn’t go later. Most of Europe is on lockdown.

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David @ Spiced link
12/2/2021 04:30:48 am

This is the first time I've stopped by in quite some time, and I have to admit that it was great to reconnect with you, Gerlinde! Seeing these photos really made me miss traveling - and honestly I'm not sure when we'll get to travel pre-COVID style again. Either way, I do appreciate you sharing! We've actually been to Hamburg and Berlin, and I do hope to visit both again some day. Thanks for the break from the usual routine of the day!

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Gerlinde
12/2/2021 11:15:16 am

David, I had a lot on my mind lately and I had to focus on that . Hopefully I will find some time to have some fun with my blog and visiting other blogs, which I enjoy doing.
I am so glad I went to Germany in October, right now Germany, Switzerland, and Austria are on lockdown.

Reply
Jeff the Chef link
12/3/2021 06:36:15 am

I've been to Germany several times, and always in autumn. I've always found it to be such a beautiful place. It looks like you had a wonderful trip!

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Gerlinde
12/3/2021 09:10:09 am

I had a wonderful trip. Being with my German family is very important to me .

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Pamela link
12/7/2021 11:02:38 am

I thought of you the entire time you were in Germany, and appreciated the photos you put on Instagram. What a wonderful trip you had. LOVE the tour here. And like a friend of mine said when she returned recently from France "I felt safer there than when back in the US." Glad you're back to the "old man" and the sea. I bet he's glad you've returned!

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Gerlinde
12/7/2021 04:54:47 pm

The old man was happy when I returned. I am eager to travel but then Iam always happy to return home.

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Frank Fariello link
12/16/2021 04:23:41 am

Sounds like a wonderful trip. And reminds me I need to get to know Germany better. I've only been to Munich (at least if you don't count Frankfurt Airport) and there's so much more to see.

I have a brother in law in Berlin, so that's definitely on the list. And you've confirmed that Hamburg is definitely worth a visit, too. Funny for some reason in my mind's eye the city was a rather gray industrial port town. And yet when I see photos of the place, I see something completely different. Not sure where I got that impression.

Reply
Gerlinde
12/18/2021 03:57:46 pm

Frank, Hamburg can be very grey because it rains a lot and it is an industrial port city. I was lucky and had a few sunny days. However, there are parts of Hamburg that are beautiful.

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David Scott Allen link
4/10/2022 07:17:16 am

I do so love Germany, and have ever since my first visit in 1973 when I was 14. And each time since. Mark — who was only interested in Italy — fell for the country’s beauty, art, and people on his first visit. How could you not? Your photo of the Brandenburger Tor brought back memories of being there in ‘73 when the wall was still up. I need to go back! Thanks for sharing your family and autumnal visit with us!

Reply
Gerlinde
4/16/2022 07:31:33 am

Germany is an interesting country. The Brandenburger Tor is a Symbol for so many things.

Reply



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    WELCOME TO SUNNY COVE CHEF

    Thank you for visiting my blog.  My two passions are cooking and traveling. Traveling exposes me to a wide variety of food and experiences. I walk around cities looking for markets, restaurants, bakeries, shops, you name it, and if it is related to food you will find me there, tasting, smelling, talking to vendors, and having a great time.

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    If you  have tried any of my recipes, snap a photo and tag me @sunnycovechef I'd love to see your creations!​


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