Visiting Bremerhaven

Today was hot again.  We slept in a bit then went to downtown Bremerhaven for some shopping and lunch.  In the kids section of C&A they had a mechanical horse.  After shopping, both girls were very excited to ride it.  Sabine was happy because it faced a mirror so she could see herself riding.  We wandered through downtown a bit just window shopping and people watching.  It wasn't long until the girls were hungry - so we stopped at Nordsee.  It is a German fast food chain that serves fish.  Sabine loved it and ate it all.

After lunch, we decided it was time to go visit Patrick’s Oma and Opa.  Anna gets confused since she has an Oma and Opa at home too.  By the time we were done, we were calling her Oma and Opa Chuck and Gerhild because she was so frustrated.  The girls had fun for a bit.  They read their magazines (we bought them in town), played with their phones and eventually went outside to play at the tiny playground behind the building.  We were going to sit outside on the balcony and watch them but it was far too warm outside.  I have never been here when it has been that warm.  It is almost too much.  The girls lasted for about two hours and then they were done.  It is only so interesting to listen to grown-ups talk. 

We then made our way to a gymnastics club.  Patrick wanted Anna to try out gymnastics while we were here.  This group met in a school gym.  The younger kids were in class when we got there and it was pretty apparent that it wasn’t gymnastics like Anna is used to.  It was especially obvious because none of the waiting kids were wearing leos.   Patrick talked to the teacher just before class and she gave him a better idea about where we should look for a class that would suit Anna but she decided to stay and try it out.  It was essentially like PE only longer.  The class met for 1.5 hours.  They did climbing, obstacles and similar things.  At the end, they were racing but every time they had to do something different.  Anna had a great time.  In fact, she was sad when it was done even though it was nothing like the gymnastics she is used to.

We then went back downtown to wander around a bit more.  It was very warm and it was nice to be outside.  We wandered back through downtown and over the bridge to the Klimahaus and along the dike.  We looked at all the boats and the new buildings.  After our brief tour, we went wallet shopping. Anna got money from Oma and she wanted to put it somewhere.  We then wandered around looking for somewhere to eat dinner.  We ended up at an Italian place facing the church.  It was perfect weather for dinner outside.  It was 7PM and still really warm.  It was also nice because we could sit and finish our dinner while the girls played in the space between the restaurant and the church.

After dinner, it was time to go home for bath and homework.  The girls were very excited because we have a bathtub here.  Up til now, they have been taking showers.  Anna doesn't care but Sabine isn't a big fan.  We also got to enjoy a long and beautiful sunset.  It is light later here and we really notice it with the nice weather.