Here is a photo of Debbie and Gunnar on their boat, missing from this photo is Garbo their dog. I think she is off to the right somewhere and she is beautiful so I am sorry you can't see her.
Debbie and Gunnar have been married for nearly 16 years! Debbie met him in Germany while visiting her aunt, they returned to the states for the summer and then married and moved back to Hamburg and haven't left since. Debbie is a graphic artist, currently working for a publishing company and Gunnar is a veterinarian. While I was visiting, their upstairs neighbor had some sort of cat emergency and Gunnar must have gotten 5 calls from her- at one point he even said that they would have to move (I think he was only partially kidding!)
I arrived on Friday afternoon and Debbie and I took Garbo for a walk. It was a bit chilly, overcast and rainy, but it gave us a chance to catch up on the past 20 years. We went home to a lovely dinner and then at midnight Debbie and Gunnar took me on a night driving tour of Hamburg. It is a very pretty city, surrounded by water, the Elbe river and many canals. Debbie told me that Hamburg has more bridges than Amsterdam.
The city skyline is dominated by the church spires- the Michel is the town's symbol and it is on their flag. Another interesting and beautiful church is the St. Nikolai-Kirsche, originally built in 1195, it was nearly destroyed in the war and only the spire remains. It has been left as it was after the bombing and new serves as a memorial.
Saturday Gunnar had to work, so Debbie and I drove around town in her convertible. The sun came out and it was a lovely day. We went to a section of Hamburg right on the Elbe river, apparently it is one of the more exclusive sections of town. The center of this part of town is on a hillside and the houses run along small lanes down the hillside. The walkways are cobblestone and they are all named and even have street signs. The walk down was great, the walk back up, not so much fun. At the bottom of the hill was a dock where ferries pull up and a little cafe and restaurant. Debbie and I sat to enjoy the view and I was able to taste a Germany treat- Alsterwasser it is called in the north, and Radler throughout the rest of Germany. This is the beer/lemonade drink that I had heard of before coming here. I must say it was rather tasty- very light and refreshing. 
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Saturday afternoon we had a late lunch on Debbie and Gunnar's boat and went for a small cruise around their harbor. They dock their boat south of Hamburg, on the Elbe river, just on the other side of the locks. Hamburg is a major port city, with access to the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. The Elbe rises and falls with the tides, but south of the city there is a lock/dam system in place, so everything beyond is not influenced by the seas. We passed some interesting boats- this 'beauty' for example, which is apparently in danger of sinking at any moment.
There was also an old warehouse in the harbor and I was quite taken by it for some reason and took lots of photos- I will share just one:
Saturday evening we stayed in, enjoying Chinese food and Eurovision 2009. This is a tradition that I can't really explain- kind of like American Idol or Star Search, but for countries and it involves pop acts and voting by country. This year's winner was Norway- take a peek, it was rather entertaining!
I returned to Frankfurt on Sunday, Debbie sent me with some homemade banana nut walnuts and a care package of chocolates and biscuits, yum! The only hitch coming back was the the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (main train station) was closed because of a protest, so my train was diverted to another station in Frankfurt. Luckily, I am quite familiar with the Frankfurt train system now, so I made it home with no trouble.
It was great fun Debbie and Gunnar, thank you! I hope to see you in the states soon.
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