Stade

On New Years Eve day we ventured to Stade. Everything was closed but we got to walk down the old cobble stone streets and see the city without all the hustle and bustle of the crowds. The super old crane that unloaded the boats that sailed into the city center via the Elbe River was very interesting. We saw cannons setting guard to the city along the Elbe and enjoyed the ringing bells of the local cathedral (Rathaus?) and even came across a gigantic windmill that has since been used by the local school system. The girls enjoyed the little rocking horse we came across set up right in the middle of one of the main streets in the town center. That night we enjoyed the New Year celebration with new friends, Suzy and Jens, in their apartment in Altona (part of Hamburg). Jens cooked a wild pig he had shot earlier that week while in Bavaria with mushroom he had also gathered from the forest while he hunted. Then we joined the millions of other people lighting fireworks from their deck. The sky was a blaze for well over half an hour and after the streets were chuck full of debris. I was surprised they lit such large fireworks only a few feet from their house. No fireworks are illegal here! We missed the fammed movie Tea For Two that is a very big tradition to watch here on New Years eve. We'll catch it next time though.