Beer. Breakfast. Sunshine

Alma had 3 stubborn requests while we were in Hamburg - Beer, Breakfast & Sunshine.

And she had made an extremely classic remarks which really made me laugh :D

She said, 'Why am I in Germany, a place famous for its beer and sausage, during summer, with a friend who can't handle beer, don't like sunshine, and is a vegetarian?' Hahahahahahaha... she really is a sweetie gem! :D

That very afternoon, Alma suggested we should go out into the sun and have beer. And apparently, many people were doing that. The outdoor spaces were incredibly crowded. However, I had planned to steal a little quiet moment away from the sun, in the Starbucks, replying some emails. So I suggested she went ahead first and I would join her later, not for beer & sunshine, but just to just keep her company and have a little sunny chat in the open.

Yep, that's Alma and her empty glass :P

Alma said this empty glass didn't look convincing besides me :P Erhm... is that supposed to be a compliment? =.=

Alma deliberately saved this picture to remind me of what I had missed. Hahahaha... When I was enjoying my Tomata Mozzarella Focaccia (yes again, for the 3rd time) at Starbucks, she had this + beer in the sun. Cool :)

Alma think it absolutely didn't make sense that we were in Germany and yet not drinking! Well, to some extent, i do agree . But friends who know me knows i can't drink, plus i NEVER drink when I am out of my house. But i had decided to make a little exception, for my sweetie dearie friend... so yes, as i was in the room, I did drink a little... :)

And yes of course, as expected, instead of working into the night, which was what I had intended to do, I fell asleep... very shortly after the drink :(

Alma was incredibly excited about the breakfast this morning. I later realised it was becoz she knew she would be having similar content as she would get from her home country - Croatia. Yeah, look, mine is as English as ever... ;P Even though my plate of stuffs didn't excite her very much, it was perfect for me, coz I LOVE English/American breakfast!!!

Alma's plate - Bread, Cheese, Salami & sausages~

That was similar to her typical breakfast, back in Croatia... She was so happy about this that she rang her granny (in Croatia) at the breakfast table... Awww... how sweet! I can understand :)

Yes yes, I know this is cheese. But for some reasons, during our conversation, I had naturally, for more than once, referred to this as cream. I was said to have humiliated the CHEESE by repeatedly saying it was cream :P Oh yes, according to her, this is the source of calcium for kids in Croatia, as kids in her country don't drink milk.

I told Alma, 'ok, I shall try what you're eating.' Then I went to grab these cheese. But found that it is too rich to eat it on its own. So...

I went to grab another plate of mushroom + bread + my 5th glass of orange juice. Alma said becoz the water in Germany taste good, the bread there is also good... better than those we eat in London. :)

heehee, my version. Alma said omg. Btw the jam tasted really good too... :)

Well, actually i am no longer into chocolates. However, while in Hamburg, I ate 9 of those in 3 days... :-| This simply tasted toooooo good! :)

In Hamburg

Very much love the markets...

LaiseHalle - The concert hall in Hamburg~

LaiseHalle

I stole 3 seconds to take a picture of the huge mirror inside the concert hall. My expertise :P

Gorgeous Concert Hall~

From the other side of the concert hall~

Touring around the concert hall~

Just outside the concert hall - Brahms, from young to old~~

getting older~

and older~

Love this!!!

Love this too!!!! This pic was taken besides the bus-stop~

Also love this!!! :)

Hamburg Rathaus (City Hall)~

The gate of the Rathaus...

And the door...

And me~ :)

Inside the Rathaus~

The back of the Rathaus. Beautiful !!!

Exquisite design too, at the roof~

A pretty friend told us how this fountain had not been functioning for a long time, until today :)

The tower of St Nikolai Church~

It was partially destroyed and collapsed in WW2... only the tower survived... (the tourists were actually standing at the position where the original church hall was...)

Love this sight~

It used to be small scale sea-stops for goods...

This absolutely fascinated me!!! Love Lock!!! How romantic!!! :)

At the underground platform. Was having loads of thoughts while waiting for the metro... hence took a pic to remember that very moment ;)

The new concert hall, under construction...

The exterior of the architecture...

It will look like this...

About the new concert hall~

At the airport, before going back to London. Just before i had my luggage checked in, i suddenly remembered i had left a small bag of important, beloved items behind... :'(

Brahms Museum 2011

As soon as Alma suggested we should visit this museum again. I went completely quiet. I mean yes, I would love to, without a doubt, yet on the other hand, I think I was afraid, and was somehow nervous. 

I remembered asking myself repeatedly, do I really need to set foot into that museum, which had, in a way, completed my dream 11 years ago? Though I didn't get to go into the museum on my last visit, I had fulfilled and realised what I had in mind, and to me, I feel complete. And I was/am totally happy. 

By getting in to the museum physically, would I be adding or subtracting the happiness and completeness that I had once felt so strongly about?

I was contemplating, very hard. 

All things around us are constantly moving forward and accumulating themselves, in a complex manner my intellect wouldn't quite understand. So the process of adding new memories to the old, doesn't necessarily and shouldn't make the old ones disappear, or get smaller; instead it could probably enrich the older memories, by giving it more space, more textures, more width and more colours… I later figured I should let all events unfold before me in a quiet way they would and they should, rather than holding on to what I thought was sufficient, then consciously stop all forms of accumulating…

I then decided to go along with the flow, to investigate what life had in stored for me… :))

I regconised this sign board...

And i regconised this path... and for that few minutes, i felt nervous... both happy and overwhelmed... :')

This is Johannes Brahms Museum~ :)))) I was standing at the front door... and for one moment, i was a little afraid and hesistant to buzz the bell...

Good Old Brahms ;)

Awwwww… at last… ~ :')

This museum was actually one of his many homes. This is the hall. It isn't big, and i had snapped shot almost all the displays… :P

Me and Brahms!!! finally.

In the washroom of my favourite, beloved museum~
This photo, this place and the time spent here (i mean the museum) meant a lot to me~~ :)

That was how Brahms looked like when he died... he had clearly lost a lot of weight!!! :'(

Something exciting!!! I signed on the museum's autograph!!! Which means, what I write, would serve as a tiny little connection with Brahms, that would be kept in one corner of the museum, forever… :)))

That was the pen provided... looked pretty though, but i preferred my own pen :P

That moment~ :)
I was actually very overwhelmed at that point of writing... i was less than calm.
I signed the autograph in Chinese.
That was because I greedily wished Brahms could remember me in a way I wish he would remember me ;)

A rough translation:
Something chooses to not happen eleven years ago; Something chooses to only happen eleven years later. Whichever way it goes; whatever direction it takes, there must be a unique reason of its own... While the beauty of both moments might not be similar; the thankfulness at heart always stays the same :)

A last glance (for now), before i left... :)

Brahms Museum, from far... with alma in the picture... :)