Easter?

Easter didn't really seem like Easter this year. Maybe it is because we are away from our families and friends, maybe it is because it has been below freezing here and rainy for the past 7 days, maybe it's because Easter came really early this year. Whatever the case, Dave has had the past 4 days off work and we have been having a nice relaxing weekend. Anyway, here's my take on Easter in Hannover, Germany. I woke up to the sound church bells ringing at about 7AM yesterday morning. There are many old churches around Hannover, mostly Catholic. The bells rang periodically throughout the day. Besides the bells, however, the religious aspect of Easter was difficult to find. Dave, Gabriella, and I walked up to the City Center train station for lunch and it was bustling. Most of the businesses were closed for Easter, but the shops and restaurants in the City Center were happening. Last evening we decided to try one of the English-speaking Church services in Hannover. It turned out to be a very good idea. The church has a small congregation. The people were friendly and Gabriella got to go on an Easter egg hunt. She had a great time! She was the ring leader of all the children even though she was the youngest by far. One of the nursery/Sunday school teachers came up to get Gabriella's coat so she could participate in the Easter egg hunt and asked how old Gabriella was. She couldn't believe it when I told her she was 19 months old. Gabriella is very confident and not shy at all. She definitely knows what she wants, which can make her willful and a little obstinate at times. It's definitely going to be fun as she gets older. Oh well, it's fun most of the time and her dad and I are bracing ourselves for the teen years. Here are some pictures from the egg hunt. The eggs turned out to be chocolate. Germany is all about their chocolate. I've never had any better.