This week’s small pleasures: 484

We have now been here almost exactly two weeks, and have fallen into new routines as well as exploring new things and places. There are little adventures every day, from finding ingredients in the supermarket to experiencing new places. Karl heads off to the university in the morning, and I settle down to my work, four mornings a week, eat lunch and go for a walk, and still have my Wednesdays off. I also finally managed to get a semi-decent picture of the twin spires of our local church – see below.

Thursday

There was a partial transport strike on Thursday, which meant Karl could not get to his office, so after I finished my morning work, we went for a walk to Ottensen, the neighbouring area to Altona, for lunch. There is just so much to look at, from wall art, to bright coloured buildings, to graffiti, to this gable end depiction of some entrepreneurs and politicians who were from the area.

We had lunch at Cafe Knuth, where I enjoyed a broccoli, cauliflower and leek tart with a large salad and Karl, a chilli con carne with all the trimmings. We both had locally made Fritz-Kola. Interesting to note that all the places we have been to have this on the menu and not one of those big brands.

As well as many bakeries, there are lots of florists and also stalls selling spring flowers, seeds and plants. This wonderful display of primulas was also spotted on Thursday, and the Pantoffelblumen (‘slipper flower’s or lady’s purse).

Saturday

On Saturday, we met up with my cousin, and as there was another partial transport strike, stayed local and explored more of Ottensen. We found a bar with a very appropriate name, and did a lot of walking.

I spotted signs that Easter is approaching, and found a great market that I must return to, with vegetables, meat, fish, cheese and, of course, bread. We stopped for a coffee, which came with a nice little chocolate chip biscuit, and decided to have lunch at Cafe Knuth again, with me trying the chilli this time which was excellent with lots of veggies too. I’ll post more pictures from our walk on Wednesday.

Sunday

It was another sunny day, so we headed over to see the bunker at Skt Pauli. The enormous Hochbunker (literally ‘high bunker’) next to the Feldstraße station is impossible to miss. This perfectly hideous building is a former anti-aircraft bunker built during World War 2, but now houses offices, music venues and a hotel. There is a roof garden on the top which offers views of the city. There is also a walkway, but given how much I hate heights, I decided it was not for me.

When we visited, the surrounding area was home to a fun fair, luckily not open on Sunday morning. The Skt Pauli football stadium is also nearby, so if you were ever to visit check there isn’t a match on. We had heard there were lots of cafes and restaurants nearby, but we struggled a bit to somewhere for lunch. Anyway, we did find a really nice place, KostBar, where I enjoyed a bagel with smoked salmon and lashings of my favourite herb, dill, and Karl had a club sandwich. We also spotted this bun shop for want of a better term with Oreo rolls, pistachio rolls and other interesting flavours, and no, we did not go in and buy any.

Simple things

• Spotting a little squirrel, running very fast across the street.
• Meeting my cousin after a gap of about 15 years.
• Enjoying sunny, if slightly chilly, weather. Perfect for sightseeing.
• Seeing all the signs of spring.
• Reading so many lovely blog posts this week.
• Saying hello to the neighbourhood cat – clearly wanting to see if we had anything he could enjoy for breakfast.

Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog, written by Barbara who likes cats, summer and good food. Thistles and Kiwis can be found on Facebook and Instagram @thistlesandkiwis