Gary's second day in DD

Saturday August 28

I think Gary slept the jag lag away yesterday so that's good. We walked to the bakery in Holthausen plaza to have chocolate croissants and tea. Actually my usual is latte machiano and raisin roll. It was a nice and cool morning to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air. After breakfast we continued walking south along Kohler street. I wanted to show Gary the pretty bike path I discovered the week before. We walked along the tree lined path for a little while when Gary figured out that there was a map of the forest next to us so we ventured inside. It was so great to find a little woodsy haven in the middle of a very industrial part of the city! It was like we were hiking back home, in the woods of Flagstaff, except it was flat. We must have explored the woods for an hour, most of which we did not see a soul. I'm not sure if I would venture into the woods by myself so I was glad to have Gary with me.

After our walk I decided to take Gary to Konigsallee which was the fancy shopping street with all the high end shops. We did find H&M which was the only place we could find a cheap sweater as added layer to our clothes. The weather had turned cold (about 60 degrees) right when Gary came so either one of us had enough warm clothes! Both of us had a light jacket but our new sweater made a big difference.
Afterwards we walked to Media Harbour (Medien Hafen) which was the place Stefan took me before. Lucky for us there was a big festival along the river because of some boat races. There were booths for food and alcohol and crafts that must have lined 1/4 of a mile along the harbour. There was also live music throughout the area. We enjoyed a Caipraihina and bratwursts. Let me just say, they serve bratwurst the way I like it. The bratwurst was about a foot long. You hold the whole thing by two inches of bread in the middle similar to a hot dog. At home I always get annoyed when the hot dog is shorter than the bun. Why waste your stomach space with bread?! The vendor was nice to show me how to squeeze mustard on my brat from a hanging aperatus that was basically a huge upside down mustard bottle. It was the funniest thing I ever saw. Gary got a kick out of the unique architecture of the area. The buildings were curvy with strange looking facade and windows that didn't look like they have been completly installed. We enjoyed watching the skull boat races for awhile then found a brazilian band playing on a bit stage in the middle of the street. Since the currywurst place was just across the street I took Gary there to try it. We listened to the rock band while sitting outside eating our dinner. This time I knew exactly how to order and did it in broken german. I was very impressed with myself.

After currywurst we walked along the river to Alstaedt. Like locals, we stopped to sit on the concrete wall on the edge of the river to watch the water, as the sun was setting. I took Gary to Ratinger street to have a couple of beers and to show him the "longest bar in the world". I did not see the usual crowds because of the cooler and wetter weather. It has been raining on and off all day.