Lights and Sounds

This blog marks the special occasion of being half way through my time abroad, and whilst I can scarcely believe that I only have two months left here, looking back at my time so far has made me realise how much I have done and how much I have enjoyed my time so far.   Since I last wrote I have been out and about again in the city, and have taken in some of the local highlights. First was the Hafengeburtstag, a three day Volksfest to celebrate the harbours birthday, which this year was its 825^th. The whole harbour is filled with ships coming from far and wide, ranging from small dinghies to massive cruise ships. Not only were ships out in force but the road above the harbour was closed and had be turned into a showground, with stalls selling traditional food and drink. Elsewhere there were stages set up for live music (disappointing lack of 99 Red Balloons), and despite the weather the turnout was impressive, especially considering the event lasted for three days. I have previously talked about how green the city is, and nowhere is this more obvious than in Planten un Blomen, a massive park in the heart of the city with a lake in the centre. Every night there is also a Fountain and light display and having decided to have a gander the display was very impressive, and the mixture of light and music made it pleasant to watch. This was followed by a lovely stroll around the park, which looks very nice apart from the classic 1970s design of the hotel overlooking it. On the theme of displays I also headed down to the Alster on the 23^rd to watch the fireworks. This was a part of the Japanese Cherry blossom fest, and while I am still not entirely sure exactly why there were fireworks the display was extremely good, and a tad better than the ones from the local villages back home. These past few weeks have also seen me playing some Underwater Rugby, which is pretty much as crazy as it sounds. Despite never having even heard of the sport before arriving in Germany I have been having a great time, whilst also spreading awareness overseas of the mighty SUWPC. In regards to actual study life has been running pretty smoothly. Last week also saw probably my greatest achievement, when I managed to (pretty) successfully give a 15 minute presentation about the Agrar-ecological impacts of the global change (in German). Next week is Pfingstferien, and a week’s holiday which will include a trip to Berlin, which I am really looking forward to.