A New Year by Land, Sea, and Sky

WOW, my New Year's in Hamburg was unforgettable. Let's get right to it!

After a productive morning of drafting goals, reviewing spinal anatomy, cross-training, and listening to a TED talk on the economy (who am I?), I met up with some fellow artists to eat. We walked west along the river, eventually arriving at an Italian place with reportedly large, cheap pizzas.

From what I have discerned, German restaurant service is a different animal, and it is best not to not compare it at all to NYC service.

Here are some tips on eating in Hamburg (Disclaimer: I have been to a couple of places, and the following is my recommendation based on all my experiences.):

1. Bring a water bottle with you to stay hydrated before, during, and after your meal. Be sure to fill it up, for this restaurant excursion will take about three hours.

2. Upon receiving the menu, decide what you would like, then spend the next eleven minutes conversing with your party.

3. When you are greeted by your server, ORDER. Then, immediately eat the entire bread basket they give you (super good bread in Germany, by the way!) and fill your now empty basket with pistachios they have placed on the bar. You will be sitting for a bit, so hunker down!

4. Enjoy your drinks, laugh a lot, try not to look toward the kitchen with longing/frustration.

5. Eventually, your apps will come. Scarf them down, then explore the bathroom for seven minutes, as it will be a good twenty until your mains are fired/made(?).

6. When your main does arrive, marvel at the sheer size of the thing! This whole pizza, for 7 euros, for me?? What have I done? Why did I think I was getting a generous personal and instead I receive a behemoth pie?! The thing is, at this point it is dinner time, sooooo all I can do is stuff this margherita, the size of my torso, into my torso. Ah, what joy.

7. When you have all managed to finish, ask the new server (oh yes, the shift has ended and the server has c h a n g e d) for the bill. Know what? Tourists don't tip well in America, and now I know why! If this is what they are used to, 10% is generous. Food was good, at least!

8. Waddle out of the restaurant-- be sure to pick up your complimentary pack of gummy bears and some matches! We should make that a thing in the USA, for sure.

As we battled our torpor (also known as "the -itis" to some) from stuffing ourselves, my friend, George, and I split off from the group to go to a submarine museum!

This Cold War U-434 was built in 1976 and needed a crew of 84.

It was so cool! Check it out:

I thought it was super interesting how the walls were absolutely crammed with controls, monitors, cables, things that clearly had important roles to play in the success of torpedoing enemy ships, but to me, everything looked the same! How could anyone keep track of each piece of machinery's function and also know how to fix it, to boot? Where there happened to be some space on the walls, there were beds. The term "bed" is being used generously here. I would love to compare what a current submarine looks like to this sub. Also, this U-boat was barely Evy-sized. George was having a fun time.

Fast-forward to 9 pm, fireworks were going off all over the city. Ah, I forgot to talk about this:

A mere taste of what was about to happen.

It is the power of the people that allows the lighting of fireworks on every street in Hamburg, no matter how big the street is, no matter the size of the firework.

I was shocked and a bit scared. The police allow this? From Christmas until New Year's, fireworks have been going off occasionally, as if citizens were testing the waters for the real thing. But tonight, it all went down.

The pizza group reconnected around 9:00 pm, donning new outfits for a New Year's Eve gathering!

Yay, New Year's outfit! No leggings today!

The hosting apartment was actually right across the street from St. Michael's Church, and the crowd was a myriad of old generation AIDA people and newer cast members. After two hours of fun, we were joined by some cousins of one of the party-goers, and these guys. As we all headed toward the bank of the river to enjoy the fireworks display, these guys were shooting fireworks at each other! It was 11:52 pm. We began to all run away from them and towards the river. The bangs from the fireworks were increasing in intensity as the clock crept closer to 12:00 am. I tried to film some of it, and was struck by a body and fell into a bush.

We made it to the bank of the river with two minutes to spare and joined the thousands of people already positioned for the grand finale. Areas had been cleared for fireworks to be lit; ah yes, this fireworks display was not put on by the city, but by the people. See footage below and fear for the safety of our souls:

Not gonna lie, I had so much fun when the clock struck twelve and 2019 was upon us; it was a 360-degree, immersive experience that I can say I took part in. Looking back, I cannot believe I was there! I got firework remnants in my hair, my friend felt a spark in his ear, someone head-butted George in the face. All the while, people of all ages were running around with fireworks in their hands, lighting them five feet away from the crowd, then standing (slightly) back to watch the commotion. Do people not read hazard labels??

All in all, my New Year's by land, sea, and sky was one for the books. If you ever venture to Hamburg to see the fireworks, I would recommend finding a rooftop bar. I hope you all had a lovely start to 2019, and that the Earth can boast more resolutions in it's favor than it did in 2018. Much love, Evy