Rachel's Birthday Weekend!!!
Rachel's birthday is on Sunday April 30th. I decided to spend the weekend in Cuxhaven at the North-Sea.
She stayed there many times with her grandmothers when she was little and we also celebrated my mother's 80th birthday there.
I had a great birthday lunch at the Kliff Restaurant in Cuxhaven-Sahlenburg. It is located right on the surfer beach and the view is amazing.
Rachel would have loved the menu, we both enjoyed trying new food and good wine.
I had a saffron fish soup as starter, then Nordsee Tapas, a dish with a variety of smoked fish, the famous Matjes (hering), salmon, trout and of course Northsea shrimp. And to finish everything off, a delicious crème brûlée with wild berries and chocolate ice-cream. I miss Rachel so much, I think this was a worthy birthday lunch for her.
From here you can see the tiny islands of Neuwerk, Nigehörn and Scharhörn, way in the distance. At low tide you can take a horse carriage to Neuwerk, stay a while till the next low tide and ride back.
I went to three of Rachel’s favorite places and spread some of her ashes there.
First was the little zoo in the Cuxhaven spa park. When Rachel was little, there also was a petting zoo and she loved to carry the little goats around.
Now the zoo only houses a few birds, some penguins and one big rabbit.
I went to the „Alte Liebe“. This is an old jetty which serves as an observation deck now. It was constructed in 1733 by using three old ships.
All ships now going from the river Elbe into the North Sea have to go by here. During the day an announcer describes the ships and there coming and goings.
Rachel used to stand here with her grandparents for hours, watching the ships.
And of course I went to the Kugelbake, the most famous landmark of Cuxhaven and part of the town’s emblem.
The Kugelbake is a wood construct and about 28 m high. It serves as an important orientation point for ships. Geographically it‘s here where the river Elbe ends and the North Sea starts. The first Kugelbake was constructed in 1703 but since its all wood and exposed to all weather and floods, it needs to be renovated every thirty years or so. You can walk to the Kugelbake over a dike.
Rachel’s friends Amy, Mel, Elisa, Lisa, Katie, Courtney celebrated Rachel’s birthday at the little bench in North-Truro, Cape Cod, they had some Tequila, Rachel’s favorite drink and went for dinner at the famous Red Inn in Provincetown.