Mika's House

As I alluded to a couple posts ago, Tom left Hamburg before I did.  I think it was about 10 days before.  This was the longest we had been apart since we had been married.  Luckily, my co-worker and friend, Mika, offered to let me stay with her for those last few days!  This was really great for several reasons.  First, it meant I didn't have to spend a lot of money finding a place to stay for those 10 days.  Second, it meant I really didn't miss Tom nearly as much as I would have.  And finally, it was just a lot of fun!  She did a really great job of making me feel welcome and at home, we had some great conversations and it truly felt like a home away from home.  One of my favorite things was cooking dinner together.  Mika does NOT cook, so I made a list of some really simple things we could make together that I thought even she could do.  She ended up loving it and so did I.  We also watched documentaries together like the nerds we truly are, and I showed her a bit of the city since she hadn't been out much.  After a few days one of the other interns, Sophie, came back from a vacation she'd gone on and stayed with us too!  Even more fun, since I also love Sophie!  One day, Sophie, Mika, Ruthie (another great intern who came to hang out with us) and I went walking around the big, beautiful botanical garden that is right by Mika's place.  While there we happened upon this AMAZING park.  It was the type of park that really nurtures kids' creative sides.  I feel like all the parks in the States are more or less the same.  This one was such a breath of fresh air.  We, of course, had to plan on it too and we had so much fun!  Actually, I probably had more fun than anyone else.  I wish that when I have kids they could have a park like that.  But I don't think it will happen as long as I'm in the States because I think it would have been deemed too unsafe in the US.  Boo!!  I also hung out with another intern, Seara, a few times in those last few days, which was great.  It had been a long time since I had just hung out with girlfriends.  Anyway, I truly loved my last few days in Hamburg and they made me sad to go!