Yes, a nice lazy Saturday in the cold yet beautiful city of Hamburg. I'll be here only one more day and then I meet my friend Paula in Bremen, a town not far from here and then from Bremen, after a nice lunch with Paula, I'm off to Berlin which will be exciting because I've never been there before.
So for today, it was just a casual, kind of relaxing day getting some computer work done and then off for a lovely, brisk walk around and a friend of mine from NY who was born and raised here but now lives on the upper east side of Manhattan, recommended a restaurant for lunch, Cafe Gnosa which is directly across the street from the German pub I went to the other night and Nancy said Cafe Gnosa is well known. It was packed when I got there so I went next door to another Mediterranean restaurant called Leusu which was delicious and I just had a hummus appetizer with some feta in filo dough. It was a nice atmosphere and relaxing and then I walked around for a bit and enjoyed the partially clear sky although no sunshine even though there were a few times I thought it would break out from behind a cloud but alas, no.
Later I went to the other place Nancy recommended for an afternoon snack.The Literaturhaus Cafe is fabulous, Nancy is so write and not to be missed. Truly if you are ever in Hamburg and want to get a croissant with Irish butter, German honey and jams or Nutella this is the place for you and it's inexpensive probably because they cater to writers as you'll read in the information I took from their web site. I loved the large dinning room beautifully decorated with gold and off white and with a ceiling mural of angels which is also represented on their menu of which I took a picture and include in the blog along with a picture of the room itself. There are also about 20 or so carved angle faces below the ceiling molding and you feel so at ease and comfortable in the space. I also had with my croissant the yogurt and fruit dish that Nancy said is a must called Quark. It as delicious and had honey and fresh fruit and the yogurt was so, so good. I really can't say enough about this lovely place and I had a good book with me so I really just enjoyed and hour or so great literature and yummy food.
"António Lobo Antunes and Feridun Zaimoglu, A. L. Kennedy and John Banville: Since 1989, the white villa by Hamburg's Alster lake has been home to nobel-prize winners and up-and-coming authors, to artists and theatre people, to philosophers and people enjoying a literary debate - to all those, in short, to whom literature is more than just pleasant passtime. It's not just authors from around the world, however, but especially the audiences who love the accommodating atmosphere, the stimulating climate and the sophisticated literary programme in the beautifully restaurated late Classicist edifice by the Alster lake. Conceived in 1985 by some of Hamburg's literary enthusiasts, the Literaturhaus has quickly become the centre of the Hanseatic city's literary life and has achieved a reputation that attracts attention far beyond the city walls. Well over a hundred readings, panel discussions, discussion rounds and literary soirees are being organised by the house every year. Moreover, there are various series of literary events like the 'Philosophical Café', 'Town*Country*Literature', 'Funny Somehow' and 'Mixed Doubles', in addition to literary entertainment with the 'Schischischo' and festivals like the 'Nordic Literature Days' that take place over several days and build a literary bridge to the neighbouring Scandinavic countries every two years. The Literaturhaus also looks after potential future readers: with its monthly series 'fun with books', for example, and the 'sta*-club - pupils meet authors' where well-known German authors like Peter Rühmkorf or Siegfried Lenz answer young readers' questions, rap poets Timo Brunke and Bas Böttcher perform their poetry or young authors read from their debut works. And there's the 'Writing Lab' for young people who've got the first pages of a novel slumbering in their desk drawers and who dream about becoming an author. Our new series 'Thought Flier - Philosophising with Children' provides a space for the young ones to develop their own thoughts on life's 'big' questions. With its magnificent festival room and the salons on the first floor, with the mouth-watering non-literary fare on offer, the little reading café, the bar and the excellently stocked bookshop, the Literaturhaus is a much frequented cultural oasis where you just can't help feeling well at ease."
After the late afternoon snack I was off for some more walking and then made my way to St. Mary's or "Domkirche St. Marien (English: St. Mary's Cathedral) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Sankt Georg, Hamburg, Germany, and the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hamburg (as of 1995). The cathedral stands in Danziger Straße and was built between 1890 and 1893 to the designs of Arnold Güldenpfennig. The church was erected in Romanesque revival style at the instigation of Bishop Bernhard Höting of Osnabrück, then simultaneously officiating as Vicar Apostolic of the Vicariate Apostolic of the Nordic Missions of Germany, then competent for Hamburg's Catholics.[1] It was the first new Roman Catholic church built in Hamburg since the Reformation"
I watched as the church filled up as 6:16pm approached and it was a lovely mass and the music was really great and they even ended the mass with an English song about being sure to use God's direct telephone number and to call him. It was a folksy kind of song with a great melody and I couldn't help but bop along to the music.
