After a very jam-packed, but eventful day, the first thing I wanted to do was spend a day walking around the old fashioned town, do a little window shopping, and make the most of the insanely cheap prices and sales that drew people in. Most people do their shopping in bulk in Europe, as the prices are way cheaper and aren’t imported from other countries. For my family, this was the ultimate opportunity to buy our school shoes, as they have an extremely strict uniform policy, and requires students to browse in more high end shops. But I’m getting way ahead of myself, so let’s start from the top of the day; breakfast.
Generally, food in Europe is quite averagely-priced and it isn’t too hard to find a restaurant that fits your food choices, as the Middle East, South East Asia and South American took over the culinary aspect in Europe. However as I said earlier, instead of paying crazy amounts of money on food that makes you happy for 30 minutes, we’d rather to use it more usefully and spend it on activities that aided the entire family. So we generally stuck to cafes and bistros, regularly ordering sandwiches and kids meals, as portions are drastically different. I also took it upon myself and tried to follow the German tradition of trying beer from a young age. Don’t worry, it was non alcoholic (and horrible, I don’t recommend it). I saw multiple families with parents and children drinking alcoholic and non alcoholic beer respectively, which is something that surprised me as I was raised in a country that doesn’t sell it too openly.
After our delicious (and interesting) meal of sandwiches and beer, we spent a little time planning where we were going to next, as I was unfamiliar with the area. We discovered we were just fifteen minutes away from a key shopping street; Hoff St. The busy streets were overcrowding with civilians ranging from 0-99, as generally elderly people in Europe take advantage of the lengthy walks and gorgeous weather and are able to stay fit. I was able to find school shoes that weren’t expensive, as I mentioned earlier, the sales were absolutely insane and saved my family a good amount of money. If you’re one for shopping, cafes, and lots of walking, this is the perfect place for you. As I said earlier, the variety of ages who were walking in the street showed me the flexibility of the location and created such a memorable experience.
After our shopping endeavors, we took a hour and a half WWII bus tour that stopped at key locations and showed the aftermath of the war and its impact on the locations. Unfortunately, photos and videos weren’t permitted as the company was young in its creation and had a set list of rules. On the other hand, the tour was primarily targeted towards teenagers meaning the tour guide was extremely nerdy and tried to include pop culture and modern references in his speech, which made for a unforgettable and hilarious event.
And as usual to wrap up the exhausting day, we found ourselves nearing an immense river that enveloped the completion of the streets, and a key spot for having a relaxing dinner. I don’t know if it was the ocean ambiance that triggered this decision, but we had our final meal at NordSee restaurant, one of the best seafood places I’ve ever tried. The variety of fish and vegetarian choices shocked me; tempura, raw, smoked, fried, baked, sautéed, everything. Definitely a place to mark down and remember for next time.
Freaky Flydays 