Blueberry Picking @ Garbsen

Musings 3.........

Not much stories to share this weekend. Apart from our normal daily lives, I did some baking over the weekdays upon reaching home after office. One was chocolate cake for the 60th birthday of a colleague of mine kat office. Kat sini umur 60 still strong and working. Dia ni tinggi and big size tapi with a heart of gold. We call people like him 'Gentle Giants" here. The other was banana cake as the supermarket nearby sold the bananas cheaply. My other half yang pantang tengok kedai buat cheap sale, aper lagi mengangkut pisang ler dia. Both cakes turned out well rising to the occasion and sedap too...even if I say so myself!
This weekend, we just stayed at home as I've got some assignments to complete. Hari tu mengeluh kerja tak banyak sangat to keep me busy. Then in my feeling of boredom and unhappiness, I shared my predicament with Allah SWT and sought HIS guidance and help...then the work started pouring in sampai kena bawak balik rumah. Padan my muka..... not complaining though....So having done the necessary yesterday evening, today we went to pick blueberries at the orchard near where we live which has "pick-ur-own" and we had a whale of a time picking. The trees are small compared to cherries, more like big shrubs with the fruits weighing the branches down. We had the container tied to our waist and we went a-picking. Hasilnya....sungguh lumayan.....one big and long container at only 6 Euro...really cheap compared to a small tub maybe 1/6th the amount we picked this morning at 3 Euro at the normal shop I always buy. Now, tengah memikir....nak buat apa dgn blueberries sebanyak itu. Boleh cirit dibuatnya....Muffins...sudah semestinya, boleh bagi German neighbours and colleagues at the office. Selebihnya, will ask Syirah to transform into gooey blueberry sauce to eat with pancakes or waffle. Balance lagi....to the freezer as they keep quite well to be used some other time.
Back from the fruit picking we dropped by at the flea market behind our house where the residents sold their stuff at the parking lot. Not many interesting things, just the normal old stuff people want to get rid off. We bought 2 wall decoration with ayat Quran from the Turkish stall and that's it, went back home after that coz we had skype appointment with my cousin Faiz for video call where we talked to Mama, Abah, Opah and Cik Nor. We saw Opah looking not too well although dah keluar from IJN and apparently she's still bedridden and a lot of movements will make her tired as her heart is very weak. Alhamdulillah she's getting better and hopefully her heart's condition improves further.
By the way, did I mention before that Syirah FINALLY learnt to ride a bike after many unsuccessful attempts and minor injuries under the tutelage of Imrano. Before she learnt to ride, she would pester Imran to carry her on the bike, it was so funny to see Imran yang kurus keding tu terhoyong-hayang trying to balance himself with Syirah kat belakang. Now that she can ride, she practices every day, a very determined girl she is....even going round the lake which I do not encourage her at this early stage coz she's not that stable yet. Hari tu, nyarih-nyarih tak langgor 2 orang minah German walking the dogs...mencecet depa lari takut kena langgar dek Syirah. I was there...nak marah pun ada, nak gelak pun ada...so just apologised profusely to them Germans.
That's all for now, do enjoy the pics. It's another new week ahead, until the next one....Auf Wiedersehen....

Musings 2.................

I'm back with my celoteh this weekend. Before I proceed with my rambling, just to share my grief and sadness on hearing that Opah has had another heart attack and is now warded in the CCU of IJN. She has been in and out of hospital lately but somehow when I'm overseas the effect it has on me is somewhat deeper. Especially when I heard that this time, the attack was more severe than those she had before. When my brother Gupiqs told me that he himself broke down when he saw Opah gasping for breath in the emergency room I can imagine her frail and weak body fighting for her life and I juz broke down too. It dawned on me then that we always take the people we love for granted. Opah is a force to be reckoned with within the Bedah Clan but altho we've been maoning how difficult she can be sometimes she remains to be Opah...whom I've lived with since the day I was born, who's helped look after me, who cooks endlessly and beautifully those traditional dishes when she was strong before, who's the Rock whose kept us the Bedah Clan together with our constant get togethers, berkelah and makan-makan....in summary sumone who has been a significant part of my life till now. I feel that I've not done enuf to appreciate her and show her that I love her and it's sad that only when she's there lying helpless in hospital and I'm many miles away that I feel this way. I hope and pray to Allah SWT that she'll survive this round of attack and she's my old Opah again waiting for me to come back in 2 year's time.

Back to our life here....last week we were in Hameln. Altho the weather was rather gloomy with the rain, it didn't spoil our enthusiasm to explore the town. Just a lil bit of history to get the mood going. As the story goes......It was the year 1284 when a strange and wondrous figure arrived in Hameln. He was attired in a coat of many colours and was taken to be a rat catcher, as he promised to free the town of a plague of rats and mice for a fixed sum of money. The citizens pledged to pay him his fee, so the visitor produced a pipe and began to play. Soon all the rats and mice came running out of the houses and gathered around the Pied Piper in a teeming mass. Once convinced that each and every one followed, he went out of the town straight into the River Weser where the vermin plunged after him and drowned. The townspeople, however, now freed of the plague, regretted their promise and refused to pay the Piper, who left Hameln in a bitter mood. On the 26th of June in that year he returned, this time dressed as a huntsman, wearing a grim countenance and a wondrous red hat. While the townsfolk were assembled in the church, he again sounded his pipe in the streets. But it was not rats and mice who came out this time, but children! A great many boys and girls older than four came running and were led through the Ostertor gate into the very heart of a hill where they all disappeared. Only two children returned because they could not keep up: one was blind and could not show where the others had gone, the other dumb and not able to tell the secret. A last little boy had come back to fetch his coat and so escaped the calamity. Some tell that the children were led into a great cavern and reappeared in Transylvania. A total of 130 children were lost. True or not we shall never know but this story is as told in the Brothers Grimm book "German Legends".
As for the castle that we went last week, Schloss Hamelschenburg, it is owned by the von Klencke family who took over the tenure of the Hamelschenburg estate in 1437. The palace was constructed in 1588 by Jurgen Klencke and his wife Anna von Holle. His descendants have preserved the precious inheritance and still live in the palace together with other families in the five flats above the castle museum. All of its members take an active part in the planning, management and daily work on the estate to help generate the rising cost of preserving the buildings.
Well, this weekend the kids wanted to watch Harry Potter and since the only few cinemas that showed the original version in English are those in either Berlin or Hamburg, we opted for the latter as it is much closer to home, around 1 1/2-hour journey by car. Hamburg is a great town and I feel that somehow the people there seems to be more open and inviting maybe due it to being a port town where people are used to mingle with foreigners. We spent time exploring the town on foot along some of the cobbled street which I particularly enjoyed. The next morning we had a leisurely walk along the pier where many huge ferries make a stop to collect tourist game for a cruise around the port and surrounding area. Ticket prices were steep at 12 Euro per person so we just lepak along the pier watching people and ferries go by while munching on fish & chips, at 2.99 Euro per set, the cheapest we could find. On the way back to Hannover, we stopped by a small town called Jork in the Altes Region which is famous for its fruit orchards. The sight of apple and cherry trees greeted us upon entering the area and we proceeded to find one of the many shops that offered pick-your-own. We picked to our hearts content....cherries and plums especially as the apples are not yet ripe for plucking. The fruits freshly picked are ohhh soooooo.....juicy. Meleleh-leleh juice dia especially the cherries when you sink your teeth in. Seronok we all memanjat pokok sambil memetik dan makan sekali. Have a look at our pics. We'll definetely make another pit stop here for the apple picking pulak sometime in August/September when they ripen. Imran dah tak sabor sangat so he plucked an apple and had a bite...Urghhhhh....punya ler masam, kelat pun ada...tu la tak sabor dia nengok apples tu bergugusan kat pokok...rows upon rows of them!
We're now back in Hannover, Alhamdulillah. Next week-end will be a quiet one I think. I have had some comments that kita orang asyik berjalan jer....well...to me it's such a waste not to enjoy the environment and learn about the locals in the surrounding area since we're here already and it's all part of education for us especially the kids. Most of the time places of interest are located nearby in the neighboring villages and you can find many of them if you really research it well in the internet as well as asking the locals such as my German colleagues in the office. The best part is some don't even cost money....just some petrol and an abundance of energy together with thirst for knowledge. So.....we shall continue to explore the area as and when time and money permits and we shall share our journey with all of you. Till next time, have a good week ahead especially after such a wonderful weekend for us here. I hate Mondays, don't you?

Selfpflucken Cherry @ Hamburg Orchard

The Orchard is about 30min from Hamburg, we went there while on our way home to Hannover. Ladang Epal, Plum & Cherry seluas mata memandang. Dandelion which I found while picking the cherries and made my wish !

Hasil kutipan which was delivered by forklift driven by Hakeem, 2.2kg . And it's only 5 euros !

Murah gila .

The fruits, cherries & plums .

Look ! Oh no , who's that ? Like they say , Monkey see , monkey do.

Hamburg Tour

Hakeem with Hamburg's Architect

Pemandangan pagi Ahad di St. Pauli Pier, Hamburg

Solat Zohor & Lunch (Nasi Biryani @3.50Euro) @ Masjid An-Nour, Hamburg

Awek Hamburg, Bas Terpanjang @ Hamburg (3 coaches), Punk dan Mat Salleh tak tahu malu .

Sepetang di Hamburg, Rows of Taxis in German and Parking Hamburg Style.

Kasut termahal we 've seen in hamburg 1,459Euro/pair before discount ?

Di Hamburg Rathaus (Town Hall)

Our Car, H for Hannover, Hotel @ 94 Euro/night for family room, Traffic Jam sebelum masuk Elbtunnel (3.1km long to Hamburg). Trip to Hamburg 1jam20min kalau tak jam.