Visiting Family in Hamburg, Lüneburg and Melbeck

What an amazing couple of people Jasper and Suzanne are. I have always known about distant family in Germany, and had made it my goal to get in contact with them while I am studying abroad. Through my Grandma I got the e-mail address of a distant cousin living in Melbeck, Germany. I e-mailed him saying that I am Caro's granddaughter, and am currently studying in Barcelona for the year, and would love to meet them if possible. I instantly got a friendly reply from Jasper welcoming me to he and his wife, Suzanne's home for however long I would like. Well, after a few messages back and forth, I set a date and bought a ticket to Hamburg. Especially after my trip to Berlin in December, I couldn't wait to get back to Germany, and with this exciting trip planed, I was very much looking forward to meeting them. Well, today I flew from Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca (most beautiful flight of my life, flying up to this Mediterranean island looked like a hidden paradise...only 25 minutes away too!) up to Hamburg (flew over the Alps, and could even see Zurich) and was greeted so warmly at the arrival gate by my new-found family! They drove an hour to come get me, and as we were walking back to their car, Suzanne was holding onto my arm and they were both so extremely welcoming that it really felt like family. When we got to their home in Melbeck, they showed me around their quaint and very homely house. Suzanne had made up my room so nicely with the bed pulled out, tons of comfy pillows, and a little display by my bed with pamphlets about Lüneburg, a bottle of bubbly water and a glass, tissues, and a little plate of chocolate truffles. We all sat down in the living room, filled with tall bookshelves of German classics, and endless travel books from all the places they have visited, and we enjoyed coffee and apple cake that Suzanne had made that afternoon. We drank our coffee in china cups with saucers, and she said they do that after afternoon around 3-4, but only cake when there are special guests :). Then, we sat around and got to know one another for a while. I learned that he had been in the army for about 35 years, and that they have grandchildren living in the United States. Their home is filled with antiques and extremely old photos of the Von Arnim family. Jasper has spent the last 3 years tracing back our family tree all the way into the 1200s!! All of that time the Von Arnims have lived here in Germany. He made a very organized printed book of the entire family tree, and has pictures of relatives back 8-9 generations! After he taught me all about the family in Germany, and how I fit into the picture, and where many of the Von Arnims live today, I showed them pictures of the family in California, and they enjoyed seeing all of us whom they don't know much about. Then, we ate a delicious dinner prepared by Suzanne of rice with a salmon and cod stew with peas and carrots. It was very good! Then, we had another homemade-treat: a special German traditional dessert of what is sort of a fruit marmalade, but bigger pieces of berries, that you put in a little bowl and pour creme over it. It was delicious! After dinner we sat down on the sofa again and had a glass or two of German white wine and continued to chat. My first night here and they are already spoiling me so much! They are so extremely hospitable and  welcoming to me, I could have never expected such a warm home to come in to. Tomorrow they are taking me around Lüneburg to see the town and city hall and a few Gothic cathedrals. Then, we will come back in time for coffee and cake and then Jaspers nephew and his girlfriend are coming over for dinner, so that I can meet even more family! Then, Sunday we will go to a violin concert in Hamburg, and after go to Jasper's sister house to visit. I will write more tomorrow night, because honestly I don't want to forget a single detail!
Love, Meghan