HAMBURG TRIP

Hamburg is a city I know very well, having visited for various reasons on a number of occaisions.

I was in Hamburg for a Cock Sparrer concert, their only one in Germany and on their 40th anniversary, and combined it with a groundhopping geekfest, a match at Altona 93, and lots of other wonderful things that I hadn't planned.

But let us start at the beginning. The journey from Bückeburg to St.Pauli (where I was staying) is an easy one. Train to Hannover, change and sit back for a couple of hours while the Inter City delivers you to Hamburg's main station, whereupon a short walk to the U-Bahn station for the U3.

May I take the chance to say that Hamburg's public transport system is fantastic. Being a geek I have an App which tells me how I get to things. This would see me in good stead throughout the weekend.

I arrive in Hamburg

 I stayed at an Ibis hotel, one of those cheap chain type things. I'm not proud, but it suited my needs, central, cheap (ish) and at least you know what you are getting.

After unpacking it was time to hit the town...well, St.Pauli, where there was a little Christmas market.

Very droll!

 I had a tip of a good Portugese restaurant, so went in search for it, only to find it was packed. As was every restaurant in the Portugese/Spanish quarter. So I consoled myself with a drink in a travel agents...with a bar in it!

Not your average Thomas Cook

In the end I found a Thai place and settled down there, then after a little drink in the Christmas market, went back to the hotel, to sleep.

Most hotels these days do not offer breakfast included in the price, and I refuse to pay their prices for a buffet, so the first thing on my mind on the friday morning was coffee and food.

In search of coffee

 My first port of call was to have a mooch around a Russian Cold War submarine. That's how I roll. 

Please...no seamen jokes!

 I was early for the opening times, but luckily found a lovely place to have breakfast, just a 10 minute walk away. Feeling refreshed I ambled back to the sub.

It was 9 am. Entrance was €9, a bit steep but I was willing to pay it. For an extra €2 I could have a guided tour and see the control tower, which I couldn't for the price I paid. "It's at 11", said the lady behind the desk. "But it's 9 now", quoth I. What she expected me to do for two hours in anyones guess.

Like trying to get into a giant washing machine

She could have also mentioned that going round with a rucksack was also a tad silly. 

I won't bore you with all the details of the sub, suffice to say when I got back home I ordered The Hunt for Red October and Crimson Tide. 

Ooh, hello sailor!

 

 The look around the sub only took roughly 40 minutes, and then I emerged into the Hamburg morning, a light drizzle in the air, and turned into super geek, as my groundhopping festival was about to start. More of that in part two.