Bremerhaven

This morning I had an early start by getting on Skype to attend the annual Christmas Cocktail Party at Purdue University…my friends and I occasionally have these fun, formal gatherings, and I was most excited about seeing everyone at Purdue. Unfortunately, my alarm did not go off during the Halloween party, so I slept through that one (sorry again!) but it worked this time! It was great to see and hear how everyone was doing…especially as they prepare for finals this coming week…good luck!

Here are some pics of the event (doesn’t everyone look nice!)!
http://www.pikiwiki.com/ews/editor.jsp?2RsCw1ZTAFlixNjvS6Ys9Qw

Carrie, Yusuke and I decided to brave the weather and travel to Bremerhaven…an seaport city up on the Nordsee, directly north of Bremen. We were traveling north, towards a sea…and I did not wear my long underwear…what was I thinking! Hahaha. Even though it was FREEZING cold (as you will see from the pics) we still had a great time exploring. We decided to make our way to the zoo after exiting the Haubtbahnhof. Along the way, we saw the Nordsee, a beach, and a lighthouse, which we slid too across an iced covered bridge….which was much fun, considering there was not railing along one side! This whole time…we were freezing cold!

Pics: http://www.pikiwiki.com/ews/editor.jsp?2RsCw1ZTAFlgquTIAxgyoLw

Here is a movie of Carrie and Yusuke doing a jig on ice...



The Bremerhaven Zoo (Zoo Am Meer – Zoo On Ocean) was literally right beside the Ocean. It was a very small zoo, but they did a great job at utilizing the available space and creating a fun environment. We basically started at the top and looked down on the animals, and ended at the bottom, being able to look through glass at the animals underwater. The focus was animals from northern climates…which was good as I don’t think an Elephant would have liked these extreme climates!

Zoo Pics: http://www.pikiwiki.com/ews/editor.jsp?2RsCw1ZTAFljDXwugAS9ijg

Here are also some videos from the zoo…they are good!

First, we have the sea Lions doing a song and dive...

Next, we have a couple clips of Carrie with penguins...

After the zoo we walked around a mall for a bit to warm up…here we met some ‘Christmas Spirits’, and apparently Italy has a Christmas witch, which I never knew before…We also found out that there was a Christmas Market in Bremerhaven, so of course we had to check it out. While going around the market we discovered many (what we thought to be scary) hand carved, wooden statues….and as I already mentioned, they were very ‘unique’. So of course I

documented as many as possible for your viewing pleasure!

Pics of Christmas Market:
http://www.pikiwiki.com/ews/editor.jsp?2RsCw1ZTAFljP5UIb8Ikg8A

Thankfully, we all made it home in one piece, and the feeling is slowly coming back to my hands, slowly. Tonight, some friends from the dorm and I made eggnog, which plan to drink tomorrow after ice skating.

Have a great rest of your weekend!
Dustin