We arrived in Hamburg on the 21st, and spent the next three days chilling with Peter and Sina. We checked out the big Weihnachtsmarkt (Xmas Market) in the centre of the city which was really cool (but closed at 9pm which seems a bit early), and a smaller market with a skating rink. We also played a lot of PS3.

Then it was up to Schleswig-Holstein for Christmas with the rellies. Christas Eve had a big meal (wild boar, lamb, rosenkohl, rotkohl...) at Sina's parent's place, though Peter's parents were there as well. We had raclette the next night at Peter's parents', which is a cross between a fondue and stonegrill.

We returned to Hamburg a few days ago and vowed not to eat so much but failed every day. Played some more PS3. Saw a bit more of Hamburg. A great way to ease us into the travelling mode (we have the 'not working' aspect sussed, but not the constant movement).

Tomorrow we fly to Pisa and will be spending New Years in Florence, then it's Napoli, Amalfi Coast, and Roma... Just when my German was coming along. Oh well, at least it's the same currency.

Craig

Update: I posted some photos today (1st Jan), and thought it was worth mentioning that we had a nice couple of hours in Lübeck before we caught our flight to Pisa. It was below freezing (no cloud cover = good photos, sore fingers), but the town was beautiful. As the former top dog of the Hanseatic League, it reminded us a lot of other other Hanseatic towns like Riga and Tallin, and even Bergen. The Christmas Market was still open there, too, so that was an added bonus!!