Hamburg [Part 1]

Friday, 18th May '12
Over the weekend I travelled together with Sowon, Nicole and Marlene to Hamburg. I didn't sleep at all on Thursday night as we didn't actually have anywhere organised to stay. All we had organised was a way there and back. It was terrifying, I thought we'd end up sleeping on a park bench or something. Turns out, we got everything sorted out. It was all part of the adventure!

So I met with Nicole at HBF. Nicole was very much out of it, having stayed up all night. It was cute. We took a train to Hamburg, and the train ride took quite a while. We left at about 1:30, and arrived in Hamburg at about 5:45pm.

The ride, though long, was quite relaxing. We stopped for about an hour in a small German town called  Schwerin, and just sat outside in the sun for a bit.

We got a call from Sowon during the trip to say that we'd found a place to stay. Marlene and her had arrived earlier in the day and literally walked to every hotel/hostel they could see from HBF to see if they could find a place. We found a separate place for each night.

 First Shot of Hamburg!

I also contacted my great aunt who lives in Hamburg, and as I was organising meeting her when we arrived, my phone cut out. So I was walking around the HBF like a madman, just hoping I would somehow run into her. Miraculously, I DID! It was crazy, I cannot believe we actually found each other! 

When I told my great aunt Rose where we were staying for the Friday night, her face was picture perfect terror. Her eyes went glassy and she clutched my hand the whole time, shooting me these super worried looks. That should've warned me about what kind of place we were staying in...

Looks harmless enough right?

So, to get to the 'hotel' where we were staying, you have to walk down a long street that is 99% sex shops and stripper bars. At night, it is also lined with prostitutes. We arrive at the lobby of the hotel to pay and get the key, and a transvestite prostitute walks out of a small change room.

We then move to the bedroom, it has a double bed, wardrobe, shower and sink. All in the same room. We also discover that the door does not have a proper locking mechanism. We can kind of lock it, but it is unlocked using a coin. Yes, that's right. A coin. From then on, it has now been dubbed "The Hooker Hotel".

Afterwards, Sowon, Nicole and I walked around Hamburg, trying to walk along the Port and somehow finding exclusively the ugliest, emptiest parts of the city. No idea how we managed that.

 Ugliest building in Hamburg

 Chile House

 Sowon: "I wanna be in your camera!"

Pining for Berlin... So close.. but so far.  

 Sowon: "I WANNA BE IN YOUR CAMERA!"

Our first view of the 'water'. >___< 

Obviously, none of these pictures are in order. We met Marlene with her friends in Sternschanze later on at night, where I had the biggest meal of schnitzel and chips and I smashed through the whole thing so quick. I was so hungry!! We eventually started home around 11pm, with Sowon clutching my arm tightly, terrified about what would happen at the Hooker Hotel. Turns out everything was fine, nothing bad happened. Still, it was an experience. At one point we walked past a room where on the bed was some towels, toilet paper and condoms... haha.

TBC.