After almost eight weeks in Nice we said a sad farewell, but were excited about meeting up with John, Gaylene & Estelle. John & Estelle were travelling from Africa after successfully climbing to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro. Gaylene was flying from Australia meeting the weary climbers in Dubai.

Flying out of Nice we had spectacular views up both coasts. We could see all the way past Menton & over the border into Italy & along the opposite way to Cannes & Saint Tropez. Flying inland the alps were a blanket of snow.

Arriving in Hamburg airport we met up as planned. It was so nice to see family after so long away from home.

Coming in to Hamburg the flight attendant announced the temperature outside was zero & snow was expected later but we haven't seen any yet. A big change from 19 degrees we left behind in Nice. Amazingly so far the zero temp feels very manageable.

After receiving information from the young woman who managed the lovely apartments Gaylene booked for us we headed off to get some groceries as Estelle wanted to cook dinner. She made a lovely vegetarian pasta dish.

The supermarket reminded me of the Hamptons supermarket in the movie Somethings Gotta Give. So many lovely things already prepared, beautiful deli & bakery area which even had baguettes. I did notice that groceries are more expensive here though, but maybe because it is an upmarket shop. We'll wait & see. Also lots & lots of chocolate & treats which are available in France of course, but not so plentiful, more healthy food in abundance. That's why the French are so slim I guess.

Hamburg is just a gorgeous place. We were in an upmarket area with lovely triple storey buildings. We took a couple of walks around the neighborhood enjoying the various shops, especially the food shops, not really looking to buy but enjoying seeing the huge range of delicious looking fare. We also visited Planten um Bloomen park where we came across a skating rink with a group of teenagers having lots of fun on the ice. Parts of the little lake in the park were frozen over leaving the ducks looking like they were walking on water.

The highlight of the visit was the Christmas markets which are wonderful & made all the more special by the chilly temperatures, as each store is beautifully decorated in alpine style with lovely fairy lights. The stores offer everything for Christmas decoratiions, presents etc, but the biggest drawcard is the food, beer & mulled wine. The most popular offering are the huge range of sausages, all sizes & the apple strudel with vanilla sauce is to die for. The food is priced at €3 for most things & being German big serves. We also went one evening to see the lights & huge Christmas tree in the square which were so beautiful you really can't imagine & we were lucky enough to be there when Santa flew through the air with his reindeers, all so well done. We were like little kids, so thrilled by it all.