"Hamburg is cold and extremely crazy -- apparently the Germans have a fascination with loud banging fireworks. The mood is festive. People are walking through the streets with bottles of champagne and beer greeting people, wishing them happy new year.
My wife Karen and I are here. We celebrated the event by watching the German version of Dick Clark for the older-set. It's a mix of German pop music and a combo of Engelbert Humperdink and polka.
We went down to the lake and watched an incredible number of personal fireworks shows. Right before the turn of the millennium all the church bells in Hamburg rang for 4 minutes and then the 40 minute big firework show went up.
The phone is working, lights are on and there's water running. It's just another year and that's a good thing."
