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Kennenlernwochenende 2009
Hamburg / Hansestadt Hamburg
Adeline Tay, Mannheim
It’s family gathering once again! A gathering of young, adventurous Singaporeans who have chosen to take a path less trodden to discover the beauty of the German landscape, to take in the smells of freshly-brewed beer and to taste the crispness of the German language – this is the essence of SSAG’s Kennenlernwochenende. And most importantly, it is a gathering to induct new members of this close-knit family, like me, into the wonders of Germany.
And who better than to have a predecessor who has studied and lived in Germany for more than 10 years, in addition to our experienced senior SSAG members, to bring us around the Hanseatic City of Hamburg? It was truly a great pleasure to have Mok, a Singaporean living in Hamburg with his family, to take us to various places which excite us Singaporeans. First stop, as with Singaporeans always, is but of course LUNCH! We had an extremely sumptuous meal with authentic Chinese dishes such as Roasted Duck Rice and Wanton Noodles accompanied with steaming hot Dim Sum. With that, we were finally well-energised to make our way to our next stop – SHOPPING! How Singaporean!
We were delighted by the sheer size of the Indonesian supermarket we visited, housing a large range of our favourite food at highly affordable prices relative to those we can find in our respective cities. As with typical Singaporeans, we could leave the supermarket only after feeling satisfied with the many huge bags of shopping we had done.
In the land of a rich music and arts scene, the musical version of Tarzan and Jane’s story, performed only in Hamburg, was simply irresistible. With the spectacular acrobatic acts of Tarzan and his forest friends directly above our heads, their fantastical costumes and the lively, catchy music played live by the orchestra as the heart-wrenching love story of Tarzan and Jane unfolded, our musical adventure was put in a completely new dimension never experienced before in Singapore.
Having arrived at Germany’s “Gateway to the World”, surely we would not miss a boat tour along the river Elbe to witness the size of Europe’s 2nd-largest port. True to its reputation, Hamburg even has ferry boats integrated into their regular public transport system. Despite the strong winds and the thick fog, we excitedly hopped onto one of these ferry boats and were taken on a scenic trip through the harbour.
Besides getting to know other fellow Singaporeans studying and living in Germany, Kennenlernwochenende is but of course also an opportunity for us to learn more about the beauty and wonders of our host country. And thanks to our Hamburg guides Shubei and Hadi, we had the opportunity to take in the beauty of various sights including the impressive Rathaus built in 1897 out of sandstone in neo-Renaissance style, the ruins of the once magnificent and tallest-standing church of the world St. Nikolai, as well as Speicherstadt – Hamburg’s historic warehouse-district which sits on the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Just as how every city in Germany possesses its very own unique style and landscape, Hamburg is no exception too, and it was certainly eye-opening to have toured around the city.
At Speicherstadt, we were further enticed by the Miniatur Wunderland – the world’s largest model railway layout, showcasing panoramas of Hamburg, the Alps, the American west and Scandinavia among many others. While getting a bird’s-eye view of these various places in the world, it was also extremely interesting to look at the model in closer detail to identify snippets of life in these places through their portrayal using Polly Pocket-sized figurines.
And finally, we arrived at one of the highlights of our trip to Hamburg – Reeperbahn – one of Hamburg’s most happening nightspots! Besides streets lined with restaurants, night clubs, discotheques and bars and thronged with crowds of people, there is also the more secluded red-light district which is only accessible to men. No wonder it was one of the highlights for many of us there! It was nevertheless interesting to see the romantic city of Hamburg transform into a place for exciting nightlife.
What made Kennenlernwochenende 09 especially special was the fact that we were given an additional hour to spend together on a Saturday night and that meant 25 hours in a day, due to the switch back from daylight saving time! And how better than to indulge in our familiar games of Bridge and Taitee in our large hostel rooms while spending such a special moment together!
Fischmarkt – our last stop in Hamburg. Despite our late-night socialising activities, we all managed to wake up early to make our way to the Sunday market in Hamburg, offering a huge variety of fresh seafood and fishes at extremely reasonable prices. Watching the locals and their bargaining, the fishmongers and their lelong lelong – it was a sight seldom seen in many other parts of Germany and a sight extremely reminiscent of our Singaporean markets!
And with that, it was time to bid farewell and set off on our journeys back to our respective cities. It had been a weekend of family gatherings, new friendships, familiarity and of course, fun! And this is probably the most valuable souvenir that each of us took away with us as we departed Hamburg – “kinships” and friendships which will accompany us for the rest of our time here in Germany.
Family Members present at our gathering:
Linda / Berlin
Mok / Hamburg
Gabriel / Heidelberg
Hadi / Heidelberg
Kit Yeng / Heidelberg
Phoebe / Heidelberg
Shubei / Heidelberg
Adeline / Mannheim
Alicia / Mannheim
Jia Min / Mannheim
Malcolm / Ludwigshafen
Isaac / München
Shu Yi/ Münster
Kheng Hui / Osnabrück
Hana / Saarbrücken
Jansen / Saarbrücken
Joseph / Stuttgart