We arrived in Hude, the location of our next house sit after our 1300km drive from France. It is a part of Germany that is quite familiar to us as it is approximately thirty kilometers west of Bremen, where Linda’s mother was originally from. It is also about twenty kilometers east of Oldenburg, a smaller city but just as charming as Bremen. We were initially concerned about how we were going to cope with being settled in one place having been so transient for twelve months but as I write this we have just completed our six month stay in Hude, and it has been absolutely brilliant. Our hosts Michael and Christine have a beautiful house in a semi rural setting. They made sure we were familiar with the immediate area and showed us around, and introduced us to the neighbours who have been fantastic, and really have made us feel welcome. The six months have flown by- I even managed a short visit back to Australia to take care of a few things while Linda stayed behind to look after Carlo, the handsome, sometimes playful, no nonsense cat that was a joy to look after.
The Boss 
Summertime outdoor living
Hude is a small municipality in Lower Saxony with a population of around 15,000. We initially thought that we might have to drive to either Bremen or Oldenburg to do our shopping but were pleasantly surprised to learn that Hude boasted five supermarkets, which I thought was a staggering amount for the population. There was even a weekly local fresh food market, but we still drove into Oldenburg occasionally to visit the Bio (organic) supermarket and the Asian grocery stores.
We were also very close to the Dutch border and did a day trip to Giethoorn one day, which is a peaceful car-free village in the province of Overijssel. It’s known for its boat-filled waterways and centuries old thatched-roofed houses. We hired a battery powered boat to tour the canals and managed not to embarrass ourselves with our boat skills, unlike many others had done by smashing into local commuters and going the wrong way in the one-way system! It was a cracker of a summers day and we enjoyed a leisurely lunch sampling the local cuisine.
Captain 
Keep right 
Cruising
Another day trip was to the Island of Langeoog, one of seven inhabited East Frisian Islands in the southern North Sea. It was about an hour and a half drive to the north and a forty five minute ferry ride. The only cars on the Island were electric vehicles which were mainly used for deliveries and emergency services. An old style train transported us from the ferry to the centre of town. Bicycles are by far, the most common means of transport on the island. There are 1,900 permanent inhabitants but I’m sure there were more than twice that many bikes! We did our our tour by foot once we got off the train, It seemed to be a very popular holiday spot for locals. It was a very local atmosphere- we didn’t notice too many foreign tourists, and the restaurant we had lunch in didn’t even accept credit cards which almost became awkward.
We concluded a fab day on the island by having a drink at a gin bar. Langeoog is known for its variety of speciality, locally distilled gins so it would have been wrong not to try a few!
Lighthouse 
Bike park 
Gin Gin
A trip to Bremerhaven is something I had wanted to do for years but had never had the opportunity. We were advised not to expect too much from the city, and some Bremen residents even like to distance themselves from the place. But like all Harbour side locations, it had appealed to us. We were also told that the Emigration Museum was worth visiting, and it was: In the museum, there was lots of information about German’s that had emigrated to other countries over the last 300 years. There is even a portion of a ship from the 1880’s that was replicated including the dock which was eerily realistic. We climbed the gangplank and a walk through the sleeping and dining areas convinced me that I’d much rather the twenty three hour flight to Australia in an A380 than spend six weeks on that ship. We even found records of Linda’s mother, Trudi’s departure to Australia in 1958!
Bremerhaven 
Uboat 
We enjoyed some memorable day trips to both Bremen and Oldenburg and had become familiar with them, strutting around like locals. A Saturday in Bremen to watch the Freimart float procession was priceless. The floats were 40’ trailers towed by trucks or tractors, decked out in a variety of themes and were packed to the gills with revellers dressed in traditional costumes and grooving to the pumping music. Just about all of them were throwing sweets to the crowds and at least two of the floats were fashioned as a bar, and were pouring beer from barrels passing them out to the crowds- definitely an ‘only in Germany’ experience!
After the parade, most of the crowd headed for the enormous beer halls which reminded me of my ‘Oktoberfest’ experience in Munich when travelling with my mates. Only this time I was drinking from smaller vessels and in far less volume- just as well because you had to pay to go to the toilet! I couldn’t believe it- the best part of an Australian dollar every time you had to go and the serious punters were guzzling beer by the litre. If they tried to do that in Australia the boys (and probably some girls) would be peeing back into the steins! We had arranged to meet Linda’s niece and one of our neighbours at the beer hall and it turned out to be a great afternoon listening to live music and watching people dancing on the tables. Quite a lot of beer and wine was enjoyed, and Linda was sipping schnapps from little bottles she found in her hand bag! She also assisted the girls to ‘souvenir’ a couple of wine glasses and a stein- can’t take her anywhere.
Kartoffel puffer 
Laurie puffer 
Prost
I have mentioned Linda’s grandmothers ‘gingerbread house’ in a previous blog. It’s a charming little house on about five acres of treed land on the other side of Bremen. With the passing of Linda’s mother last year half the property was left to Linda and her siblings and the other half is retained by her aunt in Germany. We found out on our last visit that the property is not expected to carry much value as there are strict limitations as to what improvements can be done to the property and it can only be occupied as a ‘weekender’. Since then, Linda’s cousin’s daughter and her husband who have horses, expressed an interest in the property to house their horses and spend weekends there. They have made some improvements and we are delighted that she is interested in keeping Hastedt (the name of the community) so that it could retain the family history. We had been to visit Jana and Max a couple of times to enjoy their hospitality in the warmth of the wood fire heated cottage.
Linda also has relatives (from her father’s side) in Essen, approximately three hours drive to the south. We hadn’t been to see them since 2014 when they put on a great feast and gathered the many relatives (who all live within a square kilometer from each other.) They are a great bunch of people and really know how to enjoy themselves. Heinz, the husband of Linda’s cousin is the host of the ‘get togethers’ and he really is a character. His english is limited and obviously my German is just a few words but we manage to get along famously. On our last visit we stayed the night which was just as well because we needed to recover from Heinz’s homemade schnapps, which we had thoroughly enjoyed. This visit was just a day trip as the end of our time in Germany was looming close and we had lots to do, but they didn’t disappoint and put on a lunch spread which we enjoyed with the gathered nearby relatives. I had a few beers with lunch but I think it was a good thing Heinz didn’t bring his schnapps out otherwise we wouldn’t have got home to feed the cat!
We always enjoy our visits to this part of Germany, especially Bremen. There is a lot of history there and some amazing buildings. This time we explored another new area called the ‘Schnoor’, which is a maze of lanes lined with little 15th and 16th century houses.
Schnoor 
We have really loved our time in Hude. The local medical centre was even a nice experience- some thanks to our European health cards. The doctor’s sense of humour was hilarious. We asked him if he would sign a document for us on one occasion- he obliged but said that we needed to bring chocolate next time! (far better than paying ninety Euro to the Aurstralian Embassy). Even sitting in the waiting room was pleasant: every time a new patient walked in they greeted everyone with a ‘Moin’ (which is the novel Northern German greeting) which is followed by a chorus of ‘Moins’ from the waiting group. You can’t walk past anyone in the town without exchanging ‘Moins’. It really is a friendly place to live.
Just about everyone gets around on bicycles. The bike paths are separate to the footpaths and God forgive you if you walk on the bike path- you will be told. The cyclists obediently follow the road laws and car drivers respect the riders, always giving them right of way. It’s perfectly normal to see people of all generations cycling to the supermarket to do the shopping, rain, hail or shine.
Germany is also famous for it’s Weihnachtsmärkte (Christmas Markets), which happen in most towns. WE tried to visit as many in the area and managed to get to the markts in Hude, Oldenburg, Bremen & Hamburg. They are very popular and visited by many people from all over Germany as well as tourists from around the world. You can find all kinds of products from foods, clothing, alcohol and carnival rides, all housed in traditional little wooden buildings.
Christmas market 
Mmmm Bratwurst
As I mentioned earlier, the neighbours have been brilliant. We have been taken to local events and traditional restaurants that we would not have experienced otherwise. We had been invited to their houses for dinners and afternoon tea and had them over to ours. Our host’s Michael and Christine return soon and we are looking forward to sharing stories, drinks and food together before we head to Hamburg for a few days, from where we fly to Lisbon to start our next house sit.
Bye Hude
We are surely going to find it difficult saying goodbye to our new friends in Hude.
People ask us about how we get our house sits. This is the main website we use. https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/refer/RAF147238/
If you use the link above you will also get a discount on membership.
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask.
Enjoy.