Shanghai - 10.04.19

I slept like a log on the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. The tiredness from the almost 30-hour journey made me completely ignore the time difference (currently 6 hours).

After completing a hardcore sightseeing program in Shanghai last year, I decided to take it easy this year. Throughout the day, I already noticed that I will succeed. Because when you visit a city for the second time, you are no longer overwhelmed by the impressions, everything seems different and you notice things that you didn't see or ignore the first time.

As I mentioned before, I am staying with my friend Biggi in Shanghai. Since Biggi's husband, Isi, works for VW here, they have been living in China with their family for the fifth year.

So we had the pleasure of going to the city center with a private driver after a small breakfast. Biggi, as a VW wife, has a driver available for one day every week. On this day, our first stop was a market visit ;-). Since we knew exactly what we wanted, we could directly head to one stand and quickly made our purchases. We sent a message to the driver and we were picked up again. Our next stop was an insect and flower market that Biggi discovered a few weeks ago. Besides insects and flowers, there were also fish and birds, and unfortunately, many other animals that fit in cages. Please don't be offended, but I couldn't take photos of the small dogs and cats. Seeing that broke my animal lover's heart. Many things were interesting to see. There were also many crazy things and often one wondered why anyone would do such things. I really can't say what the rabbits were paired with. I think there's a bit of poodle in them... But 'Hello Kitty' and 'Superman' were cute.

From this market, we walked to Yu Garden and the surrounding bazaar district. I already found this area special during our visit last year and now, on my second visit here, I can say that it is definitely my favorite place in Shanghai. The architecture of the bazaar district, the small shops, and numerous restaurants captivate me. I think I walked around the district three times before I could tear myself away, and today I already have the thought that I would like to go there again before I leave. Even the occasional stinging, stinking smell of 'stinky tofu' sold in some food stalls cannot deter me. From last year, we already know that the encounter between Chinese people and German women on their home soil is of a different kind. It's like encountering aliens... The Chinese find our height and appearance fascinating here in China. That's why the Chinese are crazy about taking photos with us. So, it didn't surprise me when someone tapped me on the shoulder while I was enjoying my delicious dumplings. Behind me, there were six Chinese grandmas, each of them wanted to take a photo with me individually! If I had taken something for that, I would have had my lunch covered. When speaking to Chinese people who can and want to speak English, it is very interesting to learn how they imagine us Germans. We are tall, drink a lot of beer, and can't eat with chopsticks. Nice generalization, only one applies to me.

To get home, I decided to take a taxi. I successfully hailed one. Every time it works, it makes me a little proud. The ride from the city center to Biggi's place took about 40 minutes, unfortunately, it was rush hour, and it cost about €7.50.

After returning home from the city, I was able to greet the two kids (Mika and Canni) and Biggi's husband Isi, and they were very excited about the souvenirs I brought from Germany (Milka chocolate, surprise eggs, Maoam, Nutella, and fruit bars).

After dinner together, Isi went to the airport to fly to Hannover for a business trip. Biggi and I ended the evening with chatting, snacks, and watching 'Shopping Queen' on TV - the Öz family naturally has German television. Going to bed and falling asleep was not a problem for me.