Hamburglar in Hamburg

*A pre-post note* I recently handed in a edited collection of these blogs for a class project. In order to do so, I reread many of my posts for the first time and just want to issue an apology. There were so many grammatical mistakes it was cringeworthy. That plus the fact that my sentences just didn't make any sense half the time just made it all sound really dumb in hindsight. So if you've made it this far, thanks for sticking it out. I promise, I'll try to do a better job from here on out. Okay, now onto what I have to say this time around.

After a quick two days back in Brussels that consisted mostly of homework and applications, as well as stalking the results for UR at the quidditch World Cup, I set off on the second journey of my spring break. I had arranged a week long tour of Germany that would include stops in 4 different cities: Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, and Cologne. Why Germany? I have wanted to visit Berlin and Munich for sometime now. With Germany being just a short train ride from Brussels, I decided to extend the trip to include a few more cities, as let's be honest when will I ever get the chance to go to Hamburg again? I had also heard good things about Cologne from other students in my program, and just like that  I had a trip planned. I had acquired a Benelux Germany Eurail pass, that allowed me to hop on any DB train for 4 dates of my choosing. This gave me more flexibility in my travel schedule that made the whole process a lot less stressful than it otherwise would have been.

I arrived in Hamburg on Sunday afternoon. I was only staying for one night in Hamburg, so I had to make the most of my little time. After checking into my hostel, I walked around the city center to acclimate myself. Hamburg is a big harbor city, with a strong reliance on maritime industries. While part of the city is very clearly industrial, with large docks, and big tankers moving about, there are some quite scenic parts as well. The old town center is dominated by the massive Rathaus or town hall:

it was pretty hard to get it all in one picture

The Rathaus is accompanied by a large square that was much busier on Monday than it was on Sunday. Adjacent to the square is a much busier harbor side, where hordes of people were out enjoying the beautiful sunny day.

I changed directions and started walking towards Hamburg's Hafencity, which is a recent development that has seen the refurbishment of old warehouses into an idealized smart city. After hearing about this, I was expecting to see some futuristic design readily apparent in the area, but to my surprise, the neighborhood did not have some sort of eccentric character, but rather resembled what it is, a refurbished warehouse district.

Again, there wasn't too much going on during this Sunday afternoon, so I'm not sure if I got an accurate feel for the area.

After taking a quick look at my watch, well phone, I realized the Manchester derby was about to begin, so I quickly sought out a German pub with a tv so I could watch. I ended up being a few minutes late for the games start, walking in as City scored the opening goal. If I were superstitious I would've left right then, but being a bit of a realist, i was perfectly fine staying as most places in the area weren't even open and I was not going to miss more of the game looking for another pub, I mean come on! It proved to be a very good choice as United came roaring back to score 4 goals, handily dominating city in a 4-2 victory and enjoyably shutting up those noisy neighbors. Watching on the screen, it was hard to believe I was at that stadium just a few days prior. I met a nice German fellow who also supported United, and we enjoyed criticizing the lack of any impact from Angel Di Maria, while I defended the value of my boy Fellaini.

After the game, I headed of in the direction of St. Pauli, a section of Hamburg that has earned a reputation for its alternative culture. I had heard of the area before because of the local football team, FC St. Pauli, that made it to the Bundesliga a few years ago and was known for its fans who embodied the counterculture of football supporters. Note: by alternative, I do not in any means refer to hipster culture. St. Pauli is something else, a unique blend of anarchist counterculture and personal pride. It was an atmosphere I had never previously experienced. FC Pauli gear is everywhere, stickers on store windows and flags waving from personal apartments. I couldn't go a minute without seeing someone waring some sort of FC St. Pauli gear. This was the kind of community - football team relationship I had always envisioned of Europe. When I walked through central Manchester the week before, yes there were United and City paraphernalia, but no wear near as abundant as this. 

St. Pauli is known for the Reeperbahn, a red light district that is physically much larger than Amsterdam's and Europe's biggest. Walking down the streets of the Reeperbahn was an adventure. There weren't any women in windows but there were more than its fare share of sex clubs and strip shows accompanied by a series of interesting bar concepts with an eclectic group of people milling around the street. I could have stayed longer, but I don't know if I was ready to experience whatever happens later at night there. 

So on my way out, I somehow found my way into a much more family friendly environment just a few blocks away In the Hamburger Dom, Hamburgs permanent carnival. 

The carnival in itself was a peculiar sight full of top notch people-watching opportunities as families strolled around with kids, eating corn from a cob, or these little donut bites while equal numbers of Gothic punks strolled around drinking. I must say, out of all the countries in Europe, Germany by far takes the most advantage of the lack of no open container laws, as you can't go a single block without seeing someone with a beer bottle in hand, no matter the time of day.

The carnival didn't seem too different from what you would find in the US, not that I'm a carnival frequenter or anything. The place was very repetitive though, as the same 7 or 8 stalls and attractions seem to repeat themselves. The basic order would consist of ride, attraction, beer garden, sausage place, corn on the cob stall, sweets stall, attraction, beer garden etc. As i was walking through, the FC Pauli stadium seemed to spring up out of nowhere and is literally surrounded by the carnival grounds.

After having enough of the carnival, I found myself in a small park, with the following statue: 

The graffiti is a pretty telling difference between the U.S. and Germany, as at home, people would be freaking out of the slightest bit of paint were to touch a public monument like this. Here, not so much. I like it.

The park was also right near St. Michael's church, One of Hamburgs most well known non destroyed churches:

I walked around for another hour or two, walking through some more business and commercial areas that were dead on a Sunday night. Having not gotten enough sleep the previous couple of days, I ended up crashing early that night. It was actually my first time by myself in a hostel, which was fine.  It was interesting to fall asleep with only 2 roommates and wake up with 5, but hey, the more the merrier.

I rose early, and tried to fit in as much as I could before heading of for Berlin in the afternoon. My first destination was Miniature Wonderland, basically a warehouse full of elaborate miniature sets. Most of the sets were recreations of certain countries with their notable landmarks and features . There is also a hugely intricate system of trains running through all the exhibits, as well as moving figures and parts. Even cooler, the entire museum switches between day and night on a coordinated loop that adds another detailed element.

The exhibit's first set is based on Switzerland. It is dominated by a large mountain based on the Matterhorn.

In addition to the Alps set, it also includes a more low lying Swiss location that includes a Swiss chocolate factory that actually dispenses chocolate, and a festival fairground, complete with stage.

The festival set even includes live performance by the wonderfully named DJ Bobo:

I was most impressed with how accurately they depicted a concert venue:

like the rows of porty potties

This set also included an interactive midieval fair, with jousting.

Being in Hamburg, the exhibit understandably took advantage of its home cities most notable locations and landmarks.

The train station and TV tower

the home of the Hamburg SV

its well known harbor

The Hafencity 

Which apparently had a late night aerobics class in the penthouse suite

Hey, i've been there!

The biggest set in the warehouse belong to its full scale model airport, which I am sure my brother will enjoy, what with its airplane that both takes off and lands every 15 minutes.

There were plenty more recognizable sets of other German cities and locations as well. 

The museum also offered a European perspective of the United States in its America exhibit. Apparently when Europeans think of America, they think of the the great plains and the western desert, which was the predominate theme in the exhibit. It had the Grand Canyon: 

Mount Rushmore: 

Native American landscapes: 

And everybody's favorite, Las Vegas: 

And then weirdly enough, the set took a complete turn in direction with its Miami set: 

Why?

Other displays included:

ski slopes in Austria: 

And a Scandinavian harbor: 

They are also currently constructing similar displays for both the UK and Italy, that should be finished within the next few years.

Italy in production

In addition, they had some smaller scale displays as well which focused on the development of land over time, tracing one patch from early civilization appearance, through the Medieval ages, the industrial revolution and to the present.

I was most impressed with the small little details they put in:

Another series of dioramas showed the changes that appeared in the development of Berlin from before the Second World War, it's aftermath, the establishment of the Berlin Wall, and when Germany was reunited.

The place was definitely a big hit with children, but I won't lie, I really enjoyed it as well.

There was also a ton of little Easter eggs hidden throughout the displays, like the Red Bull flugtag 

There was also, whatever was happening in the backseat of this car:

Not exactly PG

I can assure you that Hamburg is not just a museum of miniature models, although there are miniature models of Hamburg's most noted places. The city has plenty of history as well. During WWII, allied forces attacked the German home front through a series of air raids in retaliation to similar attacks in the UK. Hamburg was one of the German cities hit most heavily through the air raids. Over a span of three nights, over 75% of buildings in the city suffered serious damage from the attacks. The history of the air raids is chronicled in the former crypt of Mahnmal St-Nikolai, a church whose main body was destroyed in the air raids. Before the attacks, the church was by far the center sight of Hamburg with its enormous bell tower shadowing the city.

Today only the tower remains standing. 

Pieces of the church wall remain and are accompanied by memorials for the air raids as well as the Haulocast

An elevator has been installed to transport tourists to the upper floors of the tower. It's a creaky free standing elevator and doesn't appear to have much supporting it. I'd be lying if I said i wasn't a little bit nervous riding up the thing by myself. While i was visiting, the tower was undergoing some heavy refurbishments, so this was the best view I could get from the thing 

So pretty

Now I have to admit something. During my short stay in Hamburg, i did not try a hamburger. (Gasp). To be fair, the hamburger probably wan't even invented in Hamburg so I don't feel any remorse.

I enjoyed Hamburg. I assume most people don't know too much about the city, with obviously Berlin, Munich and probably even Cologne being much more touristy attractions. It was a good first choice for the first part of my foray into Germany, as i believe the city is quite reflective of German culture. The first impressions i made in Hamburg were often very repetitive during the later stops on my trip. Impressions like how there is an abundance of street art and graffiti, far more than you normally see even in the biggest cities. Punk culture is still alive and well. Pretzel dough is used for everything. The people seem to drink anywhere and at anytime and with anyone. Everyone speaks at least broken English. etc.

After 24 hours, it was time to say goodbye to Hamburg, as i collected my things and hopped on a train en route to my next destination, Berlin.

Till next time. Cheers.