Home from Hamburg

We got back to New York just about a week ago. A long week ago. I knew that I should blog about my time there before I was swept away in my life here, but alas, that didn't happen. So here is a breakdown of highlights of our (my) trip (most of these photos are unrelated to the highlights, but that's the way it is):

-My friend and I took a long walk one day from one Hamburg suburb to another, all on walking paths through the woods. We brought along her 2-year old, who immediately fell asleep in his stroller. About a quarter of the way along, it began to rain. Hard. We found shelter at a bus stop (where we could have taken a bus back to the train station), but then, for some strange reason, we decided to continue on. Little did we realize that there was no turning back once we left the bus shelter. We trudged up and down hills, stairs and across streets, longing for some hot tea and a hearty snack (we had a little food, but didn't want to eat it in case the 2-year old woke up and was hungry). Overall it wasn't so bad, but I think my friend would have been much happier without having to push a stroller.
-One one of the last nights we were there, I went with my friend to meet a few Hamburg knitters. I had found them via Ravelry, and they had enthusiastically suggested that we have a knit night. We met at a Scottish pub not far from my friend's apartment, where we had ale and cottage pie and admired each other's knitting. It was a really wonderful experience, something I wish I'd done earlier in my trip so we could have been able to meet a second time. They were definitely what you might call kindred spirits, and my friend (who knits a little now and then) vowed to join their group. I hope to live vicariously through her relationship to them, though of course we're all now friends on Ravelry so they're not too far away!-Christopher and I walked around Hamburg quite a bit. We went to a show of art based on the trials of St Anthony (which was rather fun, actually) and also to the opera. We saw Tales of Hoffman, which was in French with German supertitles. Many years ago I actually did this opera as a design project, but clearly I am getting old, as I couldn't remember much of the plot past the second act. Added to our confusion is the fact that the opera's plot is rather fantastical and each of the 4 main singers plays 4 parts, so by the end it was like watching someone's beautiful dream set to amazing music. I have no idea what it was about, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. Now it's over... I'm back designing like mad and Christopher is busy revising a play of his for a reading scheduled for mid-April. It's busy here!