This place just doesn’t slow down!  I have been here 3 weeks, and there is still more to see and do!  This last week has been pretty busy, even with the rain…

Monday 25.06.07…  After attending the local district and updating the journal I attended the Alster River… Very nice.  So nice in fact that the first thing I did was find a local watering hole where I could sit on the banks of the river and watch the boats drift by whilst sampling the local brew… Ah… there is something about holidays that makes drinking beer in the middle of the day… well, normal.  Besides, everyone else had the same thought as me!  The intention was to have a quiet ale, then walk around the banks of the river and view some of the splendid houses built here.  No sooner had I finished the first beer, then the heavens opened up again for an afternoon of rain… sigh… nothing to do but have another beer… whilst sampling this, the view of Gucci, Armani, and other shops was just too much… a spot of looking at that which you can not afford was in order… besides, it was not raining in the shops and there were many arcades to explore… and there was ice cream.  The evening was spent with more festivities and beer drinking at home with my cousin, Steffan attending for dinner… and a promise to take me on a pub crawl of the Reeperbahn on Friday night…

Tuesday 26.06.07

First up was a trip to the Hamburg airport… Not for me, but for some friends travelling for a couple of weeks to Russia.  Then it was off to the garden block for a couple of hours.  My uncle Gerd had injured his back and was unable to mow the lawn… considering the amount of rain we had had over the last couple of weeks, I offered to mow it for him.  Considering the free accomodation and meals I was being given, this was the least I could do in payment.  It was also good to get out in nice weather for a change and do something physical… did I say nice weather… doh… no sooner had I finished mowing the lawn then the storms rolled in.  These were not little showers of rain that you could dodge and hide in shops… this was a full blown storm that covered Germany with gale force winds, thunder and lightning.  It would have been interesting to find a sheltered spot down at the harbor and watch the storm, however, the Elbe flooded and most of the port area was not accessable.  We travelled into Altes Land (old land) by car in an attempt to get out of the house.  The rain was so intense it was difficult to see the road.  We stopped for coffee and cake and got soaked in the run from the car to the cafe…It was still good though and worth the drive in the weather.  The storm raged through the night and into the next day…

Wednesday 27.06.07

Today we were going to go to the zoo, but with the storm still raging outside we changed our plans.  By now we were getting very inventive with things that could be done without getting wet.  There was no point in travelling to any other part of Germany to escape the weather.  It was no different anywhere else.  Instead we headed to the Speicherstadt where Minature Wunderland occupied one of the warehouses.  Minature Wunderland is a railway track incorporating minature replicas of major cities from around the world… there was Hamburg, Las Vegas, Swiss Alps… all done in minature, with over 700 trains roaming around on tracks… sounds boring?  Not at all… Houses regularly burst into flames and required the immediate attendance of the fire brigade, which would attend with lights and sirens from all over the warehouse, car crashes were regular, requiring police attendance, ships sailed in the harbour and docked into port… It took us well over three hours to wander around all the displays.  Upon exiting, the storm was abating, but it was still raining.  We had built up a hunger, visiting all those cities, so it was off to the Zipplehaus for a bit to eat… and beer, of course.  The news that night showed the extent of the storm… Yep… it was a good one.

Thursday 28.06.07…

A peak out the window… and no rain, well, compared to the other days, there was very little rain.  I caught the S-Bahn to Reeperbahn and from there made my way to the St-Pauli district… not too far to walk.  I went to the Museum for Hamburgische Geschitchte… in simple, a museum of Hamburg history.  This was an excellent museum as explanations were given in English as well as German.  I spent about three hours in the museum (ok… it was a big museum!!) and by the time I came out… NO RAIN… not even drizzle!  The afternoon was spent at the local zoo.  This zoo is said to be on par with the Berlin zoo.  It is privately owned, and the animals are not kept in cages, but rather enclosures with moats around them.  It was a great oportunity for photos!

Friday Reeperbahn… pub crawl…

It is cold and rained all day… I met Steffan and his girlfriend Maya in the Reeperbahn.  What is it that makes one think they can do a pub crawl in the Reeperbahn?  The night started casual enough… one beer, one bar… but as the night went on, I swear the beers got larger and larger!  Well, they do serve them in half litre glasses… to say we were slightly intoxicated is an understatement… and we only made it to 5 bars… By the end of the night, Steffan was wanting to sing Karaoke, and beer was starting to look like the enemy…  I made it home in one piece though and thought nothing of it.  It was a great night with live bands, entertainment in all directions… beer everywhere…

Saturday 30.06.07…....

Oh my god… crawled out of bed… then crawled straight back into it again…  the hangover from hell was thumping in my head and screaming to get out… the thought of food, especially if it was going to be raw herring, was unthinkable… I managed a cup of coffee before deciding to gracefully retreat for another couple of hours and hope like hell that the pounding in my brain would abate… the light show behind my eylids was quite impressive!  I finally surfaced at about 2:00pm, much to the amusement of my Aunt and Uncle who decided a bit of fresh air would do me good.. besides… it wasn’t raining.  Their idea of fresh air was a harbour cruise on the Elbe… I looked doubtfully at the choppy water… my god… would I be able to spend a couple of hours on a rolling boat with the remainder of the hangover from hell?  Yep… I did manage.  Actually it was very good and my hangover rappidly disappeared, leaving me with a very enjoyable cruise on the Elbe.  After that, we went walking through the Reeperbahn, with my Aunt laughing at my feeble attempts to explain where we had gone the night before…  She has a wicked sense of humour…  With a sideways glance at me (who was just starting to liven up by 6:00pm), she bought us cocktails made of rum, lime and brown sugar… I am not talking about little ones… they were big glasses.  With a grimmace I took the first mouthful… It was like glass.  With a grimace, I finished my drink… it took about half an hour to get it down, with my Aunt laughing at my attempts… nice.  I crawled into bed early with the intent of recovering and getting a good night sleep.  I lay awake until 2:00am… 

Sunday 01.07.07

We got up early so that we could catch the fishmarket at the harbour.  They don’t just sell fish there!  The markets start at about 5:00am and only go to 9:30am.  The entertainment is with the stall holders, who will do almost anything to get you to buy from them.  Half the crowd has just stumbled out of the night clubs of the Reeperbahn.  Beer is flowing freely and the food is wonderful.  You can buy almost anything here, but it is great just watching the crowd… and it is so crowded that you can not move, but are merely pushed along with the crowd… It is hard to explain the atmosphere in writing.  I would suggest if you are ever in Hamburg, to get up early on Sunday morning and experience it for yourself. 

The afternoon was spent strolling around parks and gardens, and eating ice cream.  The weather, believe it or not, was fantastic.  For the evening, we met with my cousin Nils, and went out for dinner.  After that, a local brewery… Yep.  More beer.  Good beer!!  It was another great night out in Hamburg!  And this time, still daylight when we got home at 10:30pm….

Monday 02.07.07

This is my last entry from Hamburg.  I start my trip home on Wednesday and will be in Australia on Friday morning.  I know some people will question my decision to stay in Hamburg for the whole time, but in all honesty, this place has so much to offer that it could not have been appreciated in two or three days.  The opportunity I have had to catch up with my family has been fantastic.  My cousins and I have forged new bonds of friendship and we had many fun nights out.  I know I have not written much about those nights, but they were family times and I think of little interest to anyone else.  Just know that I had a fantastic time in Hamburg.  The rest of Germany can be explored at another time. This city is enough to be a country in its own right.  The culture here is amazing.  I take home with me many fond memories, and the feeling that I have come to know this city as best as I can….  Until Australia… Goodbye for now.

Cass