Day Trip with Amina and Finn

 Maybe you have seen a picture of Amina and Finn. Maybe not?  They've been a couple for longer than some couples are married! Really, I think Amina was already enamored of him in 6th grade? Pretty early, whenever it was, and they have only grown closer. Finn's an easy-going guy and blends well with the family.  This pic is from 2021. They haven't changed a bit. Still just as cute as can be! Peas and carrots.

Anyway, it was past time for another haircut and since it seems Rima is my new permanent coiffeuse, we thought a trip to Hamburg might be combined with a little afternoon with Amina and Finn. At one of the galleries in Hamburg there is an exhibit of portraits by Gabrielle Münter, an artist we knew already. We had visited a museum in south Germany dedicated to her works when we visited Muriel and Tony several years ago. 

And there's this, a little painting by Amina when she was just 9 years old, that seemed to mimic Gabriele Münter's style. 

So, how about a hair cut, lunch, and a bit of culture?  They were up for it!

Of course we took the train. Werner read the paper.  I read the NY Times, did the Spelling Bee and started on my long-delayed book "The Girl in the Spider Web." I may be spending the night reading!!

First, a stop at Rima & René for my haircut. Rima is an artist! Thank you!

And Sami, their rescue dog, is always there. He remembers us and comes to say hello! 

The kids - Amina and Finn - came afterwards and took us to our lunch venue, Vietnamese style. The food was yummy (though, so often so, the restaurant was really LOUD. And, so often so, too much food!). Though of course we were treating the kids, the waiter let us know it when it was time to pay, it was a cash only deal! Yow!!! We had to borrow a bit from the kids to cover the bill. How embarrassing! (They did get their money back, but still ....)

Then to the exhibit. We took the local train to the city and then walked a bit more than we expected to get to the venue. But what a day! Again, it was sunny, and if the whole city was not in the city, I'd be surprised. It was really full. 

On the way, a brief look at the city hall (Rathaus), quite a bit grander than ours in Bremen. (But ours has its own special vibe, too.)

There's not always a friendly person to take a group picture, so Finn, since he's the tallest and has the longest arms, took our pic before heading into the exhibit. 

We would have preferred a bit more of Münter's other works - landscapes and such - but it was nevertheless lovely. Little peeps went off now and again when visitors got too close to the works - that was funny!  Was that you? Was that me? 

An early self-portrait. I really like lino and wood cuts.

An overview of the exhibit hall. Nicely done.

 Full views and details.

Some works were quite reminiscent of the Impressionists. Of course, there were overlaps in style between artists of the time.

At the end, they had set up a chair similar to a portrait she'd done, so we could do our own portraits. That was fun!

Then Amina signed the "Guest Book" and left a sketch. Hey, it's OPA!

We left the gallery, sat in the lovely sunshine and had a cup of tea with the kids and then off to the train station to head to our different homes. Earlier, I had seen a Dunkin (as in Dunkin' Donuts) and said, We have to try that! So after hearty and heart-felt good-byes to the kiddos, we did do that - back to the Dunkin to buy two simple glazed donuts (in German, glazed LOL) to have as a snack on the train.

They were just not bad. But it's OK too that they are not everywhere here!

What a nice day! It's fun with the grandkids when they're little but also very special to spend time with them when they get all grown up.  Looking forward to another day with Amina and Finn.