Saturday, June 22, 2013

To the top of Germany

To the top, as in both the northern part of Germany as well as the top two cities.  Hamburg and Berlin!  Boom, these places are funky, large, alternative, crazy, amazing and wonderful all in one.  Been grand to explore and check them out, visit some old friends and make new ones.  Plus put some good miles on the shoes.  Walking all over without an end in sight, and loving it.

I explored Frankfurt for a couple days after the fun long weekend in Heidelberg, staying with an old friend Christian.  Good times there in the city, with an awesome long park along the river Main.  Great times hanging out and relaxing there.  It was super hot in the city, so I properly sweated through most of my clothes (no double wearing of anything this time) as the weather reached 38 degrees Celsius (I started with 2 degrees in Iceland, had 10 in London and normally 15-25 the last couple weeks).  We won second place at a pub quiz, and explored the cool areas in the city.

Then came the impromptu visit to Hamburg.  Everyone raves about how cool the city is, so I changed the plans (quite easy on this trip) and booked a bus two hours before I left after sorting out a couch surfing host in the city.  Done.  Just like that, I was off to my first new city in Germany.  The last few weeks have been with old friends in places I've been before, which has been amazing, fun and a bit relaxing as I haven't needed to go all over exploring a new city.  Now, it was back on!  Get those feet moving!

Hamburg is a wicked city, that although spread out, seems quite walkable.  From the funky bar area of St. Pauli, to the city centre in the Altstadt, with the large lake Alstor there, it's got lots going on.  Plus the whole harbor scene with more land below to explore.  In my two days in town, I saw more than most people do in a week.  Definitely made the most of the time there.  I was hooked on the city, already one of my favorites in the country. 

It all started with meeting my host at a city park where loads of people were listening to a concert (for free outside the fences) picnicking and fire dancing.  I showed up hungry and was fed homecooked food.  Can't beat that.  From then on, just good times in Hamburg. 

Now I'm in Berlin, staying with my foreign exchange sister Steffi.  Great times in about 24 hours so far.  And more to come.  And more words to come later on.  Stop reading, enjoy the pictures:

Frankfurt and El Capitan!

Local street artists working their magic

Hamburg street art

Part of the harbor in Hamburg

Hamburg City Hall (Rathaus makes it sound classier than city hall) on the lake

How about a sail around the lake in Hamburg?

More Hamburg street art

What box will you choose?

The Chile House which is has ship-like characteristics in Hamburg

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