So we have fully moved into our new apartment, the outside picture was in the last blog post (inside pictures once it is 100% done!). As you can see, we are still on the pedestrian area, Lister Meile, and this weekend was Lister Meile Fest-- an outdoor street festival with 4 stages , dozens of food and drink stands, street performers, and lots of good people watching.
Stage, food, drinks, and beautiful weather
The first band that we saw on Saturday is an old time German tradition called "Shandy Chor". This is a group of 20 old German men from the North Coast of Germany. They are all dressed up as sailors, singing tradition sailing songs, with a woman playing the accordion. Check out the video below to see (and hear) for yourself! We found it interesting, in an endearing sort of way.
Given the wide variety of people here in Germany, and the fact that it is all so different than what we know, People Watching is a great past time for us. One of Kevin's favorite things is to find US T-shirts that make no sense. It is a popular fashion trend here to wear US clothing-- a lot of it sports related. Straight brimmed sports hats are common, even though the people couldn't name one athlete on the team. We have seen 3 separate Washington Redskins hats, but no Denver Broncos hats yet! But some of the T-Shirts just don't make any sense. Sports and cities that don't match up, or hobbies and states that don't match up. But the fashion trend that drive us crazy over here is colored pants. Jeans are common, but not ubiquitous. Because everybody-- guys and girls-- are wearing these colored pants. We were first watching just two girls standing there with brightly colored plants-- and then two more joined them!
Now, imagine guys wearing this
Today, we took advantage of some decent weather to explore our own city like we are tourists, using the Hannover Red Thread tour. This is a red line which is painted on the sidewalk around the entire city, with circled numbers which indicates when to stop and read your guide book about important things to see. We have placed some of the best pictures below, but check out our photo gallery for the entire album. There are some cant miss places for anyone who comes to visit-- including the top of the Rathaus, most comparable to a state capital building. After going up a few flights of stairs, you take a curved elevator to the top (up the side of the green dome), with 360 degree views of the city and the surroundings.
Neue Rathaus, the new city hall
Panoramic view from the top
Panoramic view the other direction, with the Maschsee, a mad-made lake
Zoomed in view of the Marktkirche and Altstadt
Ground level view of the Marktkirche and Altstadt
