It was an invitation from my client AEROTEC, to go for a short tour of Germany's country side and we decided to visit Buxtehude, 50kms from Hamburg in the state of Lower Saxony. Horst, GM in Airbus (husband of Susanne, AEROTEC) joined us in the trip. We set off from our office to Altes Land, the biggest contiguous fruit orchard in Central Europe – extends over 143 sq km (55 sq mi). 76.8% of the trees are apples, 12.7% are cherries. We visited the Luhe - Schulau Fahre, the ferry point and had a nice view of Luhe river merging with the River Elbe. We stopped at a Cherry plantation and had fresh cherries from the trees, raw, it has its own taste!!
Altes Land is so fertile, thanks to Elbe. The fertile land led to the development of a culture dominated by farming. The villages are known as Marschhufendörfer, a special kind of village where the farmyards are set along a street with the land directly behind them. A characteristic feature is the richly-decorated half-timbered farmhouses with their elaborate gateways. Horst said, the gateway is called "Wedding Gate", the gate opens only for a married couple!!
Horst shared so many information about Airbus, Hamburg, Buxtehude and the best partner for a trip. I had great time discussing with him. He suggested us to go for a walk in the village and picked us from another point, which is around a km away, the walk was gorgeous, so beautiful that I didnt want to go in car.
We crossed the small town called York and it was too cute. York is the town where Horst stays for the past 25 years, he said the charm of the town, never allowed him to think to move to a new city, he showed the beautiful old houses built on the dyke, it was indeed a treat to eyes. We reached buxtehude and the weather was not that great, it rained sometime and hence we cancelled the plans for a walk in Buxtehude.
Horst and Susanne are the best german couples -I have met in this four months of short stay; they are made for each other, my impression of german couples changed considerably after meeting them! they are together (like our parents) for the past 30 years and they have a son "who lives with them" eventhough he is 24. Strange facts for a German family, but it is TRUE :)
Susanne booked an indian restaurant for dinner. Both the Germans enjoyed the indian food and its taste. Horst was much interested to know about our culture and rich heritage. I proposed him to tour our India, both of them nodded - a German nod, means sure!!! I will be happy to host them in India and will show them, what our country is...
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