June 16, 2024
Iconic Hamburg
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Tom and his boyfriend Stephan gave me the Iconic Hamburg tour on Saturday. Hamburg is known as an important port city, but it is not right on the North Sea, it is accessed via the Elbe River. The above are taken from steeple overlook of the landmark ,18th Century, St. Michael's Church. It was super windy, es ist windig, at the top, but the views were worth it. The church was originally built in 1648 but destroyed by lighting, in 1750. It was rebuilt in 1751 to 1762 and destroyed a second time by fire in 1906! This third church was rebuilt from 1907 to 1912 and has a building restoration going on now with the campaign for "heavenly helpers" and golden hardhats on their statues that fade in and out of vision, depending on the angle you look at them. Clever!
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How many letters are in the German alphabet?
There are 30. The four extra are a, o & u with the double dots over them ( and are pronounced eh, ouh, & uuh) and the funky B ( which is prounounced as ss).
Fun day in the waters of Tioman Island, Malaysia snorkeling with friends. Life is good! It was nothing fancy, a boat & captain, who spoke minimal English and barely interacted with us, for roughly 7 hours. We started the outing spotting a group of dolphins and was quickly at anchor drop 1 of 6. The distances between the 6 snorkel spots was minimal, which gave us lots of time in the water (at least 45 minutes, at each spot) with an added stop for a lunch break at local restaurants. Even the restaurants were fast and efficient, definitely used to catering to the boat crowd.
Wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July! Here on the Odyssey we celebrated in the SE Asia Sea on our way to Tioman Island, Malaysia . We have such a talented and dedicated group of residents here, they put together a fun hour of things to celebrate and embrace a lot of what we collectively love about the USA. Even our residents from other countries - Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany , etc. joined in the fun! ( I lent my flag below for decorations)
Vihara Avalokiteshvara Graha or Guan Yin Temple is near 500 Lohan, so we also toured the grounds of this large Temple complex. It's dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy and is one the tallest brass statues of her in SE Asia. She is just over 55' tall, coated in 22 carat gold and is surrounded by scenic dragon fruit plantations. The tile work is intricate and textured with great details. The whole place is very tranquil and calming for meditation and prayer.