Day 7: Berlin to Hamburg

Highlights:

• First dorm hostel experience (with a jogger and someone I think is usually homeless)
• Hamburg's canals at night
• Using German hostel computer. Hello unlauts ü ä ö Ü Ä Ö

So I left the safety of Gurk's apartment and headed for Berlin Hauptbahnhof. I used my finest German on the ticket lady "Ich habe ein interail fahrkarte aber, brache ich ein andere fahrkarte aus hier auch?". I must be convincing enough, as they always respond in German to which my standard response is a slight pause, and then "Sprechen Sie Englisch?"

Anyway, comfortable, smooth 2h train ride into Hamburg. I entertained myself reading the headlines of a German newspaper over a man's shoulder. Seems the Germans have their own equivalent of the page 3 girl in their 'Bild' paper; "Maria Wohnt Wieder Allein" (Maria lives alone again)

I made a complex job of finding my hostel (even with the free map I picked up at the station) and eventually found it right next to the train station I'd just walked away from...I treated myself to a congratulatory beer before heading out into Hamburg. 

So, a few interesting facts for you about Hamburg; 

• The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (mouthful) has more bridges than Amsterdam and Venice (c. 2033)
• It has an overemphasised (if the number of maritime museums and monuments are anything to go by) connection with water and the Elbe
• Hamburg is massive (seven times the size of Paris). Per person, they have the largest living space in the world (c. 30 s/m pp)
• I think it invented the Hamburger

I walked from my hostel over to Jungfernsteig, which is on the edge of the Alster Lake in the centre of Hamburg. I was going to take a boat ride, but some quick research told  me I could save a bomb if I just took the public transport boat a few times back and forth instead...This was right next to the shopping district, so I tried to keep to the edge along the canal, rather than walk through unremarkable Mangoss and H&Ms. 

So, a slight side point, but C&A is well and truly live and kicking in Germany. They can even afford Cindy Crawford in their advertising campaigns. ANOTHER side point is the German obsession with sticking to the green man road crossing rules. There are some completely dead streets, but if the green man isn't showing, Germans will NOT cross the road. Apparently Jade Walking is illegal, and people stick to it. Gurk told me her friend crossed with her bike and was caught and fined €120 and 3 points were added to her drivers license. I'm not German though.

So I spent the afternoon wandering through the canals. There are some really beautiful streets in the city, and it has a nice relaxed feel to it (I think like with Berlin and Amsterdam, this is mainly because of the lack of traffic).

I came back to my hostel to freshen up and met one of my dorm mates. My criteria for booking this hostel was entirely price-based; it cost maybe 8 pounds (no pound sign on this keyboard!) a night. This woman was German and said her name was "Jurdy, it rhymes with Hurdy and Gurdy. Though it's hard to pronounce, so call me Jo". I popped out again to go see the canals again at night and to grab some food. I walked north of my hostel to start, and ended up briefly in the St. Georg's area. A quick bit of research after told me this was the gay part of the red light district, which explains the rainbow flag and the 'Men's Heaven/Erotik Heaven' shop front I saw. I turned back round, and headed to the busier, central part of town.

I came back to the hostel, had another beer, and then headed to bed for an early night. I didn't meet any of the others in my dorm, though heard them come in at various times during the night, and got a sense of their characters from the noises they made:

1: Big guy. This morning, he went out for a run, so I presume he's here slightly longer than most

2: Hurdy Gurdy Jurdy

3: A girl, friends with 4

4: Got undressed in the room, if the zip and belt noises were anything to go by. I thought he was also friends with 7, but I think they just communicated about turning on the ligh

5: Empty

6: Homeless man. He was asleep when I arrived back around 9pm, and I only saw him briefly this morning after he came back from having a cigarette

7: Suit wearing, apple crunching older guy. Seems pleasant

8: Me

It was a slightly restless night, but for 8 squid, I can't complain.

End of Day 7.