Amazing. Photo. Day.

Up until about 4:30 this afternoon, I was thinking I would have nothing exciting to tell about today.  Went down to Rewe for groceries, went to the bank, took a walk down the Osterbekkanal and drew for a while (okay, I guess that was something).  Anyway, I had to go to the main campus of HAW to turn in the form for my housing stipend.  A few American students from each university are getting a sort of scholarship-thing to help pay for our housing, and I ended up being one of the lucky few.  (How I ever scored that, I don't know.  Up until now I've never gotten a scholarship for anything.)  So I went downtown, and the other international students who were also getting the stipend were there too.  Ingrid, who is in charge of the stipend program, had pennants and stickers from each of our universities, and she had us all come at the same time so we could take a group picture.  It was a fun 5 minutes, I guess . . .

Well, since I was going to be downtown, I had purposely brought my camera to take pictures of the Binnenalster, the southern part of Alster Lake.  The lake has a big northern section (that's the part that the Osterbekkanal connects to) and a smaller southern section at the edge of downtown, and the two sections have a narrow spot between them with a bridge across it.  (For those of you who have been to Mammoth in the Sierras, think Twin Lakes, just bigger.)  Anyway, the view across the Binnenalster is pretty and I wanted pictures.

I actually ended up getting off way further down than I had intended to, because I had a brain fade and took the wrong train by accident.  But it was a very happy accident--it gave me the chance to walk through the busiest section of downtown right in the middle of the rush-hour hustle and bustle.

I wish I could somehow find the words to capture the atmosphere of the city center this afternoon.  It wasn't exactly packed, but busy would be a severe understatement.  There were so many people criss-crossing every sidewalk and street on foot, on bikes, pushing strollers, toting kids.  It seemed like the entire population between the ages of 10 and 65 was out.  The good weather is still holding up--it's been completely sunny the last few days--so everybody was out enjoying the afternoon.  There was a sort of exuberant "let's enjoy ourselves!" vibe in the air.  The Rathausmarkt, Alsterarkade, and shopping streets were full of hipsters and business people, some cruising and hanging out, others on a mission and walking at high speed.  All around the Binnenalster, people were crowding the sidewalks and sitting at the water's edge.  Some were nicely dressed and looked like they had just come from shopping; others were wearing ratty or "punk" clothes and hanging out in groups.  Some people had ice cream or coffee, and others had cigarettes, beer, or both.  Every bench was occupied; every space at the railings and water's edge was taken; every stairway and bridge corner had a group of people (sometimes kind of derelict-looking) standing around on it.  Boats were going back and forth across the lake, and trains crossed the bridge one after the other.  I got some amazing pictures as the sun was dropping low.  At the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) I went inside, just to see what it was like.  The hustle and bustle was definitely going on there.  Everywhere I looked, people were walking back and forth, up and down.  Outside, taxis were wheeling around in circles in the loading zone, people were crossing the street in droves, and a group of punked-out people were smoking cigarettes and blasting rock music from a stereo.  Inside, all the main walkways were full of people.  It was so big that it took me ten minutes to find the subway stairwell I needed.  I passed coffee shops, flower shops, and one bakery after another, dodging people all the way.

After all that excitement, the train home seemed so calm, and my apartment seemed extra mellow.  I love being downtown where all the action is, but I'm kind of glad that I have a quiet place to come home to at the end of the day.  I've decided, though--when I go to Amsterdam at the end of the month, I have to take the train.  It will be so fun to leave from the central station!

Made a plate of roasted veggies and salad for dinner, with a toasted roll to go with it.  I think I'm officially addicted to the Italian spice blend I bought at the store . . . it tastes awesome with some olive oil on a roll!