Silvester in Hamburg

Fröhes neues Jahr für alles!
(Happy New Year for all)

Silvester is the German New Year's celebration. We were invited to a Silvester Party at Judith and Steffen's. They introduced us to a Swiss tradition of Raclette. That is the grill in the middle of the table. You can fry meat and veggies on the top and melt cheese over it all in little skillets. It was a great meal and a fun way to socialize.

At midnight (and for hours before), Germans shoot fireworks. This isn't your average 4th of July. Ken described it as the 4th of July on steroids. Everyone shoots fireworks everywhere. We were in a pretty residential area and once still had a close call. You can see the boys from our party (?, Steffen, Tobias, and Klaus) with one of their big rockets. You'll also notice that it looks like Ken's camera has dirt on the lens. That would be the air. We walked outside and the smoke looked like a fog.

This picture was taken the next day. This type of mess was everywhere in town.