A Hamburg Adventure12/23/2010
This is a special guest post from Steve Weiss over at Steve Weiss Live. Steve traveled Europe for a month this year and wanted to contribute to this blog.
I had just finished visiting Berlin and I had made prior plans to go to Prague in the Czech Republic but I was persuaded by a friend from Canada whom I met at my hostel in Berlin to join him and go to Hamburg with intent on taking a ferry from Hamburg to Stockholm, Sweden but this never materialized.
I knew nothing about Hamburg but what I found out was not only was a hub for the transportation of goods throughout the Germany but it also had a wild side. Hamburg reminded me a lot of Amsterdam, especially the St.Pauli and Reperpbaum areas where prostitution is legal.
As the story goes, I got to Hamburg at around 4 o clock dropped my stuff out at the little boarding house where I was staying at and then got to work exploring the city.
I hopped on the train en route to the water at the Landrugsbrucken in hopes of checking out the canal and eating some amazing seafood. Good thing I took my camera as the views of the sunset with all the ships just hanging out there were breath taking. I ate at this former WW11 ship turned into restaurant on the water. I found it pretty amazing I was eating on a ship that was utilized to bomb my country only 70 years prior.
After eating some amazing German fish and drinking some splendid German beer I then passed out on a park bench overlooking the canal while leveraging my backpack as a travel pillow. I felt fat, drunk, and happy so in essence I fit right in with the energy of the town.
I woke up around 11:30 not knowing or understanding why I passed out on the park bench and the first thing I did was check my belongings. My wallet was on the ground under the bench with all the money hanging out, it was just laying there so peacefully. My passport was stuffed between my legs, which kept that, and my genitals warm and my camera was in my little camera pouch, which was crunch between my butt cracks. I was all ready to go for a night on the town!
I took the train two stops to St.Pauli and Reperbaum and it felt like Vegas or should I say Amsterdam. Lights blazing everywhere, prostitutes at every street corner, cold beer, loose dogs it was great.
My recollection of my first night in Hamburg and what happened after that is quite sparse but I made it back to my hostel at about 5 in the morning only to awake the next day and take some more break taking pictures. Hamburg is really a beautiful place with amazing ships everywhere and a bustling canal.
