7 quick takes

I loved exploring Hamburg with my favourite three. 

The girls enjoying the Lüneburger Heide.

1. I've been ignoring this online space of mine for way too long. But today feels like a perfect time to start writing again. Two months ago we left Malawi, we got a camper van, got used to a new lifestyle and traveled a loop through Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and back to Germany. It was a loop filled with lots of time with friends and family, and it was wonderful. The final destination of that loop was a family reunion that we attended last weekend, and now that that's behind us, it feels like our trip is really starting. As I said, a good time to start blogging again. I'll try to continue with 7 quick takes every week. A story from every day. 
2. There were flowers outside, a stand with beach toys, although the closest beach was pretty far away, and a sign indicating that they could help you with sending and delivery of packages. I walked into the small village supermarket with zero expectations, hoping that I could find the bare minimum to stay alive. After the family weekend in a rural village in Northern Germany, we stayed a little longer in the village, but we were warned. 'You probably have to leave the village sooner rather than later. There is a shop, but you cannot buy much there.' As I walked through the doors, I saw a variety of fruits and vegetables, I saw different kinds of flour and baking supplies, all the cheese and dairy I could dream of, chips, wine, cookies and all kinds of food that I never considered needing. I quickly learned that my idea of 'not much' is still very much defined by our Malawi-life. When I would go to a shop that sells 'not much' in Malawi, I was happy if I walked out with sugar, oil and bread. It turns out that a small village supermarket selling 'not much' in Germany is better stocked than the biggest supermarkets in Malawi.
3. We have a membership that allows us to stay for free at over a thousand farms all over Germany, and we're loving it. Through it, we have experienced amazing hospitality, met great people and tasted loads of fine, home-grown food. Our favourite was probably the farm where we stayed this weekend. When we arrived, the farmer told us that we could stay 'anywhere you want in that field with chickens'. Hundreds of free roaming chickens in a field of grass. You can understand that it was the girls' dream come true, and they made sure they got to help with the eggs and cuddle the chickens. But it got better. Next to the camper was a field that looked like a field of wheat, but then we saw some people with big bags of strawberries coming from that field. It turned out that the entire field used to be a strawberry field. But a strawberry field is a lot of work that wasn't worth the money, so the farmer decided to plough over the strawberries and try other crops. However, hidden between the wheat, the strawberries returned and were growing abundantly. We were told that we could pick as many as we wanted, which was the best invite we've got in a long time. Strawberries for every meal and snack in-between. Does it get any better?
4. One of our destinations this week was the 'Lüneburger Heide' and although it's not in bloom this time of the year, it was still absolutely beautiful. We cycled, found a Geocache that required us to solve some puzzles, walked and really enjoyed it.
5. Hamburg was high on our wish list of places to visit, and it did not disappoint! There is so much to love about this city. The interesting mix of gorgeous old buildings and fascinating modern architecture, the working harbour with all the smells and sounds that come with it, the public ferry that makes for a beautiful and cheap harbour cruise. It's a gem with rough edges that's absolutely worth a visit.
6. Have you ever cycled through a town with a box filled with human excrement strapped to the back of your bicycle? Me neither, but Hartmut has. We can go pretty long without being connected to power or access to water, but it's always our toilet that fills up and needs us to make a plan. This weekend, that plan was Hartmut cycling with our toilet box (neatly wrapped in a plastic bag) to a camper place in the town we were staying. Two months ago, before we started our camper adventure, I laughed when I heard that some people drive around with another 'poo-container' in their camper so that they can go longer without access to services. Guess what we ordered yesterday.
7. I'm writing this from Northern Germany. Somewhere between Hamburg, where we came from, and Berlin, where we're going to. The girls are playing with their Lego, Hartmut is fixing something, soup for supper is simmering on my little stove, and I'm sitting in the front seat looking at our neighbours for the day; 40 ostriches who, judging by the fact that they all came to the fence when we arrived and haven't left their spot since, find us just as interesting as we find them. I don't know who will be our neighbours tomorrow, but that makes it even more exciting.

Helping to gather the eggs at the farm where we were staying. 

The beautiful Lueneburger Heide. I can only imagine how pretty it is when it's in bloom.

The 100 year old tunnel to cross to the other side of the river in Hamburg is pretty cool.

When you have loads of strawberries, you get creative.

Hartmut has become a professional strawberry picker this week ;-)

The Hamburger harbour with all the bog cranes and boats is pretty epic.

The views from the ferry are great!

The Elbphilharmonie was my favourite building in Hamburg. We went inside, via Europe's longest escalator, to see the interior and the view from the plaza. Both are absolutely stunning!