Hamburg!

This past weekend I went to Hamburg, a city famous for its port. My companions this time were fewer and consisted of a mixture of American and Canadian kids also participating in RISE (my internship program), as well as my neighbor Yasemin. My trip can be basically summed up in a series of facts and myths.

Fact: People eat a lot of fish in Hamburg.

Myth: Hamburgers were invented in Hamburg.

Fact: A couple of my companions felt the need to eat hamburgers in Hamburg nonetheless. Yasemin ate four because she made a mistake when ordering in German.

Myth: Water is never free in Germany (we found a drinking fountain!!)

Fact: It's cooler to be American than British.

Myth: Women can't enter the "men's only" section of the street.

Fact: Women who enter the "men's only" section get sprayed with a super-soaker by an angry prostitute.

Myth: It's easy to stay up partying until 6 a.m. then take a train home.

Fact: If you try to sleep in McDonald's, they will kick you out.

Let me be more explicit...

We left for Hamburg on Saturday morning and got there at noon. We then spent the whole day walking around the city and saw virtually everything. It's a very nice, family-friendly city (excluding Reeperbahn) and not too touristy. There are a few very cool old churches that we saw. This is a statue above the front door of one called St. Michael:

There were lots of bands playing on the streets and festivities going on in the city center. When we first arrived, we passed through a huge clump of people interacting with each other and wondered what was going on until we realized that they were all exchanging soccer trading cards! Within the city center also lies the Rathaus (town hall), which is a very beautiful building with an equally beautiful courtyard. As a Kansas Cityian, I was particulary fond of this fountain:

We walked along the harbor, which was very pleasant and peaceful. There were many cafes along the waterfront where people were sitting and reading. There was also some playground equipment and musical instruments on the ground that you can play with your feet:

The port was nice but my favorite spot in Hamburg is in the picture at the very top, which really doesn't do it justice. The green rooftops on the buildings were truly stunning and seemed to go on for miles.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant called Kartoffel Keller, or "Potato Celler." Almost all the dishes were made with potatoes and the waitresses wore potato sacks. It was lovely! And the food was DELICIOUS. I would consider going back to Hamburg just to eat more potato dishes from Kartoffel Keller. So smooth. So creamy. So hearty a meal.

After dinner we went to watch the World Cup game of America vs. England at a big public viewing. It was tons of fun as there was much support for the U.S. and much amusing rivalry between ourselves and the Brits who happened to be there. Most memorable chant from the British side: "You f***'ed our language!"

After the game (which was, by the way, a tie, for those unaware), it was on to the infamous Reeperbahn, a street where sex is solicited about every few feet (or meters if you're so inclined). This includes, but is not limited to, the "section where women aren't allowed," or, "prostitute alley" as I like to call it, mostly since I don't know its real name. Anyway, I scoff at the notion of "men only" so as a feminist I was naturally obliged to walk through. The consequence of this action can be found in the Facts and Myths above.

After much dancing, bar hopping, and general merry-making, it was finally 5 a.m. and the sun was beginning to creep up the horizon. Any Hamburger knows what this means on a given Sunday morning--Fischmarkt! It's basically a big market where a lot of fish is sold, as well as your average fruits, veggies, etc. It lasts from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and hundreds to thousands of people attend, many of them pooped-out partyers like ourselves.

Finally it was time to go home, and boy were we ready. We were exhausted...this city definitely showed us who's boss! It was a great weekend.

Tchussi!

<3>

Fact: This post was entirely too long. I apologize.