Yesterday, I traveled on a group ticket with some other folks up to Hamburg, where I was planning to spend a day hanging out with my friend, Anton. I had made it to Germany's second-largest city back in 2008 with Oscar, the third member of our HIA research team.
Upon arrival, Anton picked me up at the train station, and we went for a short stroll through the city. We passed by the Rathaus, which is actually my favorite city hall in all of Germany. If you see the roof of the building and know what my favorite color is, perhaps you'll understand why. :)
Anton wanted to take me to a little cafe nearby so we could get something to drink and/or nibble on, but he wasn't sure where it was so he called his mom for directions. Adorable. I was pretty hungry, since I'd only had three cheeseburgers from McDonald's earlier in the day (plus the other cheeseburgers I ate this week during my travels, I think I've had seven cheeseburgers this week...).
We passed by the University of Hamburg's main building, where Anton pointed out some of the highlights of the university. There was also this creative demonstration against the government for not giving enough money to the university. The running meter shows how much money could be going toward investing in higher education.
Nearby, we passed a square that was the site where the Nazis gathered Jews they were transporting to concentration camps...as Anton noted, the square is in a very public place across from a train station, so those who said they didn't know about the atrocities committed against the Jews by Nazis must've really had a hard time seeing several thousand folks being circled up in the square...
We were getting hungry, so we headed to a butcher shop to pick up some fresh meat. I remarked to Anton that I will miss the butcher shops in Germany, and he asked if we didn't have any in the US. My answer is that most of the meat is sold in grocery stores, etc., though there is often a butcher person there too. Still...there's something to be said about going to the corner butcher shop to pick up some fresh meat.
After picking up some ground beef, we headed to his apartment to cook up some dinner. His fiancée has been studying hardcore for her final exam for her university degree in English Literature, so she was off somewhere else studying, though she came back soon to join us for dinner.
We had also picked up some beer to try, since I wanted to try beer from Hamburg. I always enjoy trying regional beers when I travel around Germany. We picked up Astra and Holsten beers. Anton told me that you can tell fans of the two soccer teams in Hamburg by the types of beer they drink. Astra is the beer of choice for fans of St. Pauli, while Holsten is what fans of Hamburg SV drink normally. Personally, I liked the Holsten Edel the best...I guess I'm more of a HSV fan? Funny, our friend, Steffen, from HIA is a huge HSV fan, so I think he'll be happy to hear that.
Anton's bolognese sauce was coming together nicely, and I was starving.
Man, that was some good stuff. It feels like I haven't really been home all week, so it was nice to have a home-cooked meal again. Actually, since Monday, I had spent more time traveling in cars or trains than the total time I've spent at home...until finally getting back this afternoon.
Anton's fiancée came home soon after and joined us for dinner, and it was nice to catch up. I first met her in 2008 during HIA, but only for the briefest of moments. But it was great to catch up, and this time we spoke in German, whereas last time I could barely carry a conversation in German. After dinner, Anton and I tried out a few of his extensive whiskey collection, which was actually one of the primary reasons he'd asked me to come visit in Hamburg.
After starting out with some scotch and then Jameson, we tried some American whiskeys. No, no Jack Daniels...only quality whiskeys. :) I think my favorite was actually Knob Creek.
Around 8 pm, we decided it was time to hit the streets of Hamburg. Before Oscar and I took our one-day trip in 2008, we'd read that Hamburg was known as "the Venice of the north" because of all the rivers and bridges. Seriously though, everyone likes that nickname: I hear Stockholm also likes that name as well as Copenhagen and Amsterdam. On this particular trip though, I got to see a famous side of Hamburg that made it seem more like Germany's Las Vegas.
The sign above was taken at Herbert Straße, which is the only street in Hamburg where only males are allowed to walk through. It's a tiny little street, but it's full of windows in which scantily-clad women are seated, waiting for someone to become their next customer. I had heard much about this street, but upon actually seeing it in person, it's considerably smaller than I had thought. And actually, I was too uncomfortable to even make eye contact with any of the women. Haha.
Later on, we saw a spot that's got a tribute to the Beatles. If you didn't know, the Beatles spent a few of their beginning years in Hamburg.
As we continued walking along the Reeperbahn (the name of this well-known street in Hamburg's Red Light district), we bumped into many prostitutes. It's like Oranienburger Str. in Berlin, but times ten.
Anyway, visiting the Reeperbahn in Hamburg is just one of those experiences to have in Germany, and I can now cross that off my list of top touristy things to do in Deutschland. In addition to having gone to Oktoberfest (200th anniversary too!), visiting the royal castles of Bavaria like Neuschwanstein and Linderhof, and checking out Christmas markets all around Germany, I think my only remaining big touristy things to do are go to Karnival in Cologne and going to buy a cuckoo clock in the Black Forest.
Of course, at the end of our night, I saw a picture of Winnetou and just had to take a picture. Winnetou is everywhere!
Amazingly, after our fun night, we made it home by 12:30 AM, and we promptly hit the sack. Michaela had been so nice as to put together the couch for me. I slept like a baby.
This morning, we had a nice breakfast, before Anton took me to the U-Bahn station outside their apartment. I made it to the station I needed to get to and found my carpool back to Berlin. It's nice to finally be home, even though I only have another week to call this place home.
It was really great to see Anton and Michaela, and I am excited that they are getting married in four weeks. I am sure I will be visiting them again sometime in the future. Today is also my last official day as a Fulbright Scholar as my grant period comes to an end. That means, starting tomorrow, I will no longer have German health insurance. Thank goodness I will still have my American insurance.
This weekend, another Dream Project friend is coming to Berlin for a visit. Spencer has been studying in Switzerland for the past few weeks and is heading up here to hang out for a few days. We've got lots planned as it's also Temneet's birthday on Monday. Plus the US women's team is playing in the final of the World Cup on Sunday, so we'll definitely be watching. Frankfurt's too far away, otherwise it'd be fun to go in person. If it were at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, I would've definitely tried to pick up tickets.
One more week ahead and still lots to take care of!
Till next time,
Sam
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