Mini Getaway to Hamburg.

[WARNING: PHOTO HEAVY]

Yesterday was a public holiday, i'm not sure what the holiday was but i know the region we live in [NRW] had the day off. J originally had a job interview for yesterday but requested to change it to Saturday afternoon, that way we could make the most of our trip to Hamburg by doing all the touristy things and get a feel for the city.

Hamburg is the second largest port in Europe [Rotterdam being the largest] and has a staggering 1.8 million people living there. It ranks as the 11th largest port in the world. [source]

Basically, the place is huge!

DAY ONE:
I've never visited Hamburg, so for me it was exciting to actually see the place in real life as opposed to stills on google images. Living most of my life in metropolitan cities, except of course the town that J and i are currently living in, we felt like kids in a candy store.


And yes once again, packing light is not one of our virtues.

Our heads couldn't stop darting around the minute the train pulled up at Hamburgs' main train station. I met the typical Asian tourist stereotype each time i busted out my camera to take a random photo of graffiti, rubbish or a fine piece of architecture.


I didn't mind. And i don't think anybody else did either.



We stayed at the B & B Hotel Hamburg-Altona which was not directly in the city centre but near public transport so J could get to his job interview on time. It cost us for a double bed 77.80 € per night including a simple buffet breakfast - probably the cheapest deal we could find.

Basic but worth the money.


After J came back from his interview and we rested some, we wanted to take the tour of the suburb, Saint Pauli [sounds like, Sayn-t Pow-lee].

St. Pauli is a German Sports club. It was in the mid-1980s that St. Pauli's transition from a traditional club into a "Kult" club began. The club was also able to turn the location of its ground in the dock area part of town, near Hamburg's famous Reeperbahn—centre of the city's night life and its red-light district—to its advantage.

Supporters adopted the skull and crossbones as their own unofficial emblem. St. Pauli became the first team in Germany to officially ban right-wing nationalist activities and displays in its stadium in an era when fascist-inspired football hooliganism threatened the game across Europe.

[source]

St. Pauli is also a worldwide symbol for punk and related subcultures.

This has on occasion brought them into conflict with neo-Nazis and hooligans at away games. The organisation has adopted an outspoken stance against racism, fascism, sexism, and homophobia and has embodied this position in its constitution.

The club prides itself on having the largest number of female fans in all of German football.

One study recently estimated that the team has roughly 11 million fans throughout Germany, making the club one of the most widely recognised German sides. There are about 200 registered fan clubs, many of them outside Germany. [source]

So having read that and hearing from my sister and her boyfriend that the area is not one place to be wandering down isolated streets alone at night we decided to try and make it to a St. Pauli tour. The leaflet in the lobby said it started at 7 PM but ended up arriving five minutes too late. As we stood in front of a closed store with no tour group waiting outside, we decided to get a beer at the nearest drink kiosk.

J asked a friendly local what was there to do and it turned out St. Pauli was known for their bars, quirky stores and being very alternative.


We walked past a store called pony & kleid [translated into English it's called, fringe & dress], which i thought was such a clever name as not only does it sound like the famous Bonnie & Clyde but it's an old school hairdresser that also sells clothes.

Every few metres i'd stop and take photos of the graffiti that covered most walls.

BREATHE, BREATHE EVERY DAY BREATHE!

And the above image is of somebody's ground floor apartment which faces the side walk. The cage-like protection is to prevent break-ins and broken beer bottles being thrown through the windows.

But with riot police and police vans/trucks stationed in areas known for trouble, it sort of, kinda, makes you feel safe.


We passed a shop called Lockengeloet, the concept was every day objects given a second chance at life.


And just a few blocks away was the famous red light district called Reeperbahn [sort of sounds like, Ray-pa-baahn] where you can browse through sex shops, have an expensive drink at a girlie show or check out some tabletop dancers.

With more than enough ATM machines at every corner, patrons have no excuse.

In the early 1960s, before The Beatles became world famous, it was known that they would often have gigs in several clubs at the Reeberbahn. John Lennon has even been quoted as saying, "I might have been born in Liverpool - but i grew up in Hamburg" [source]

The famous high class tabletop dancing at the Dollhouse.


You can even visit a cabaret sex show where tables are organised like in a small theatre. It's not sleazy, if that's what you're wondering. It cost 5 Euros per entry plus a minimum first drink charge of 25 Euros even if you just plan on drinking juice. So to make it worth the price, order a bottle of wine for two and it'll cost just 50 Euros [plus 5 Euros for each person.] Obviously, taking photos inside are not allowed.

The name Reeperbahn - meaning actually Rope Street - was a centre for rope-making in the port side area's sailing days. But now an officially sanctioned and cherished adult entertainment zone that is one of the northern port city's primary tourist attraction. [source]

Legal prostitutes line certain streets and wait for potential customers. Apparently, moon boots are their choice of footwear, so they're not that hard to find should you happen to be in the area.

I didn't take any photos of the girls, in fear that they'd lash out and grab my camera and break it. I remember walking through the red light district in Amsterdam and i saw one woman run past and take a photo of a hooker in the window. But the second the flash went off, the girl started pounding on the window and yelling at her because it's known you're not allowed to take photos.


Nestled behind the district street police station is a famous small street where women are not allowed to enter. Guarded by a heavy steel gate on either end, men can literally window shop for a woman of their choice.


But if that's not your cuppa tea, there are also many theatres in Hamburg ranging from Disney's Lion King to even a Transvestite Cabaret. We were told that the Transvestite Cabaret is really good and so i told J that should we eventually decide to move to Hamburg, we should go.


Speaking of trannies, as we were walking down one of the streets we came across one of Germany's famous drag queens; Olivia Jones. She was doing one of her tours and the funniest part was when we walked past, she smiled at J.

I was so star struck having seen her on TV, it was surreal to see her in real life, i had to take a photo.

DAY TWO:
We woke up in time for the breakfast buffet and made sure we got more food so we wouldn't be that hungry by the time it was lunch time.


After checking out at noon, we made our way to the train station and put our bags in the lockers.


We wanted to catch a tour bus, so we could get a real feel of the city rather than walking around aimlessly until we had to catch our 7:53 PM train back to Guetersloh. The tour began with driving along a street full of mansions such as the one above - a street where millionaires and billionaires are said to reside.


We also took a harbour tour and ate some really yummy plum cake.


On this tour we saw a war ship being fixed, a dock where yachts are being built and huge ships carrying containers.


After the tour we went back to shore and checked out the Elb Tunnel. The purpose of it being built was to link St. Pauli, the port and the shipyards together.


We jumped back on the bus...


and they took us through the city crossing more canals and making our way through cobbled streets back to the main train station.

But then having another two hours to spare we decided to have a meal and found ourselves at a bar/place to eat called Frau Moeller. Atmosphere was friendly, portions were big and prices were affordable. I definitely would recommend the place.


And seeing that it was Halloween, we even saw them offering sweets to kids that were dressed up. Of course, in return for a song or a verse.

I thought that was so nice. Even though Hamburg is such a huge city, it still hasn't lost the fun aspect of life.

We also ended up chatting in English to a girl, originally from Freiburg, who was sitting at the next table. Found out she was taking an entrance exam for a degree in Theatre & Costume design at the university on Monday hence the reason why she was there alone.

As we left and shook hands, we wished her good luck and said if we do decide to move to Hamburg and she does get accepted into the course, we should all meet back here in January.

Whether that happens, we'll just have to see. I think her name is Katarina.

***

So on that note ladies and gentlemen, i have to bid you adieu because i've run out of words and my fingers are starting to cramp. If there's typos or grammatical errors, i'm sorry. I'll come back and sort them out later.

Next stop is Köln.

J has another job interview this Friday and so i'll be accompanying him, so we can have a look around. I'm hoping by next week we'll make up our minds as to which city best suits us but more importantly, which job has the better offer.