A Hamburger would be nice right about now…

The next stop on the road is Hamburg. After a city as rich in recent history as Berlin, Hamburg is like taking a break from history lessons. While it is a historic city, Hamburg is not as tourist centric as Berlin and there are fewer recognisable reminders of historic events. I arrived in Hamburg by train, and upon arrival was extremely happy with my preparation before departing Berlin. Finding your hostel in a big city can be a challenge, but printed map in hand, as well as the nearest S-Bahn (yes, they have those here too) station written down, I was much better prepared than my rather stupid arrival in Berlin. I arrived at the very stylish Meninger Hotel (that’s right, hotel) with ease and after a lengthy wait to check in, settled into my room and acquainted myself with some maps of the area. The hotel caters to both hotel and hostel guests, both enjoying the comfortable lobby and lounge, and free internet. It was impeccably clean and everything seemed well managed. I went around the corner to a grocery store and picked up $21 worth of groceries, which I am proud to say lasted me three days, lunch and dinner. It turns out Hamburg is much like Berlin when it comes to food and pricing. Ethnic delicacies such as donner kebabs are common, but a little more expensive. Hotdogs/sausages are a little more popular, and fries start to make a serious appearance in local food joints.  Prices are similarly low, especially on beer, where €0.60 will get you a large bottle of a good brew from the grocery store. I made myself a delicious plate of spaghetti (the first of three) and planned my next two days in Hamburg before a restful night of sleep. I suppose I should mention that this day was November 3^rd, which happens to be my birthday. To celebrate, I really didn’t do anything at all. Oh well, it’s just another day really.

Wednesday the 4^th, I tourist-ed things up a bit, walking downtown and taking the sightseeing bus around town. My first tourist bus out of an English speaking country, I expected a tour guide to speak in German while audio tracks accessible by headphones rattled off other common languages. I wasn’t disappointed except by the quantity and quality of information I received. While the tour guide rambled on and on, I was treated to rare tid-bits of information, interspersed with terrible (or rather terribly corny) selections of music supposed to go along with the surroundings. Determined to see more than the bus (not worth it in my opinion) showed me, I departed by foot to explore more on my own. I wandered east to the new development of HafenCity. Meaning ‘port city’ or ‘harbour city’ it is currently the biggest single construction project in Europe, intending to create a whole new city within Hamburg. Built on old port land, the port was torn down with the formation of the EU as international shipping became slightly less important to Hamburg. Residences are being built for over 7000, and work places for over 40,000. Also in the works is an expansion to Hamburg University, and a new Opera/Concert Hall, which is supposed to be so architecturally distinct, it will be Hamburg’s Sydney Opera Theatre. Completion of the whole project varies by section, some already finished, some not done until around 2025. All buildings in the new development must be done in a modern style, points given (although no real points are given, I know...a real shame) for tributes to Hamburg’s oceanic history. I only hope that like so many developments in the past, Hamburgers (not kidding, that’s what someone from Hamburg is called) don’t look at HafenCity in 40 years and think “what the hell were we thinking?” Continuing east, past the areas where HafenCity will occupy in the decades to come, I eventually reached the docking facilities for U-434. Built by the Soviets in 1976, she was in active service until 2000 when bought by a group of Germans, and put on display in Hamburg as a museum ship. Total cost for the submarine and transport? €2m. Hitting it in the off season, late in the afternoon, I got a personal tour for €9, walking all throughout the boat. The sub is in excellent condition, and I appreciate the fact that the restorers respect naval tradition with small superstitions. To this day, the captain’s cabin is still locked, because as the tradition goes, when the captain locks his door and leaves the ship, only the captain unlocks his door again. A nice touch at least. I would recommend this to any naval fanatic, because while U-434 was never involved in any significant historical events, it was an active vessel in the Soviet Navy during the Cold War, and was inhabited by a crew of 78 for 24 years. My “that was cool” fulfilled for the day, I headed back to the hostel by U-Bahn, stopping off at the grocery store for a beer (call it a belated birthday gift for myself).

After having seen much of the city, but not knowing what much of it is (no thanks to the sightseeing bus) the next day I got to the city centre in time to catch the NewEurope free tour of the city. We were guided around the city, learning plenty about the sights I was curious about, from the historic city centre, to HafenCity. As always, NewEurope came through and for free (plus a tip of course) the tour was definitely worth it! I walked back to the hostel, making a point to venture through Reeperbahn. Reeperbahn is a notorious street in Hamburg’s St. Pauli district where the red lights glow all night, and the pleasures of the flesh are well advertised. Come night time however, the most common sight is the police who are standing on almost every corner, keeping the district safe. The police presence has definitely kept this area clean, and rather than some cities’ scummy red lights, Reeperbahn is clean and safe. So safe in fact, it is advertised by the tourist bureau as one of the city’s sights to see when visiting!

This was pretty much the end of my time in Hamburg. It was short, just a couple days, but I got a lot into the abbreviated visit. It’s hard to see a large city like Hamburg in two days, but you can certainly get a taste of it. It is Europe’s second biggest port after Rotterdam, and has a long history of business in the city. Hamburgers (don’t laugh, even though I am) are very businesslike and Hamburg is still an important business centre for Germany. As part of the British sector of Germany post WWII, it continued to prosper within the Western world, and visual reminders of this barely interrupted prosperity are plentiful within the city. Hamburg was not untouched in WWII however, the victim of a major allied bombing campaign codenamed Gomorrah (should give you some idea of the destruction intended) Hamburg still shows scars of the battle, kept as a reminder of the horror of war. I enjoyed wandering through Hamburg, seeing how city planners are mixing the old with the new, but it was extremely enlightening to take a tour to actually understand the significance of what you are seeing. While not a major stop on my trip, it was highly enjoyable and a place I would be most curious to visit 10-15 years down the road to see how its radical construction program has changed the face of the city.

But enough of the big cities! It’s time to go somewhere smaller, somewhere a little more charming. It’s time for Kiel, Germany. A city on the Baltic Sea, its economy and history is based largely on its biggest feature, it’s harbour. It is also built at the mouth of the Kiel Canal which bridges the Baltic and North Seas, also the busiest artificial waterway in the world. Home to wonderful sailing festivals in summer, I decided a local might better navigate me around the city in the fall, and I met Burkhard and Katrin through CouchSurfing. A local couple, they both study languages (esp. English) in university, making communication a breeze. They welcomed me at the train station, taking me back to their lovely apartment somewhat out of the city centre. After getting to know each other, we got right to sightseeing, heading to a place called Laboe. Kiel is located on the West side of the harbour, with a frequent ferry service crossing the harbour in summer to Laboe in the North East, but in the off season you are in a situation much like that of the Halifax Harbour. The only alternative (with no bridges, and no ferries running) is a bus which takes around 40 minutes. Laboe is a popular summer tourist destination, with lovely beaches and shacks catering to the needs of tourists on a beach. In the off season it still has the monument to sailors lost at sea, and (most impressively), U-995, the only remaining type VII U-boat from WWII. We took the stairs to the top of the impressively high memorial, enjoying the view of the surrounding area, only to discover we could have taken an elevator to the top of the 80+m tall building. Yay stairs. Visiting the U-boat, I was surprised how much smaller it was than U-434 I had visited a few days before. A film was being filmed inside at the same time we were visiting so we were hurried through one particular section while filming halted for us. We must be very special (or an annoyance)! Burkhard and Katrin had visited the memorial before, but never been inside the boat, so it was a new experience to all. Heading back into the city, I made my own way back to their house while they had a prior engagement. I relaxed for a bit, before heading down the street to meet with Katrin’s brother and his girlfriend. They were having a board game night with a few other friends, and welcomed me warmly into their club. I learned a new (and intensely complex) board game, had a drink, and enjoyed getting to know these people.

The next day we had planned a trip to the beautiful town of Schleswig. A fishing port, it was a charming little town I was glad to see, and glad to have a local showing me around. We got there by train, meeting another of their friends along the way, and were picked up at the train station by Katrin’s mother who lives in Schleswig. I was shown the cathedral, the charming little fishing village, and then we met Katrin’s mother at a local restaurant for some good local cuisine. Daring me to attempt the Senatorpfanne (Senator Pan), I accepted the challenge not knowing what was to come. Served in a sizzling skillet, a full ensemble of vegetables form the bed for a generous steak, pork chop, piece of chicken (I believe) and creamed mushrooms. The portion was huge, and I valiantly dove in, managing  (somehow) to finish it completely. I was informed mid way through it was a plate usually shared, but my macho manliness wouldn’t let me give up of course. After enjoying coffee with a view at Schleswig’s tallest building, we headed back to Kiel by train and hung out at the apartment to play more board games (I could really get into this whole board game playing thing!) before bed.

The next day (let’s see...it’s Sunday the 8^th at this point) was mine to explore Kiel. Not having seen the actual city yet, I was looking forward to see what could be if I were here four months earlier. The city really would be beautiful in the summer, a harbour full of small sailing vessels, pedestrian streets lined with stalls. Unfortunately, most of this was closed, and the Christmas market was only then being set up. Despite the lack of touristy sights, Kiel is home to a good deal of maritime history, and is a valuable asset for Germany. It is home to Germany’s main naval base, as well as truly gigantic ship building/maintenance facilities including the production facilities for Germany’s well known submarines. I visited the maritime museum which was luckily only €1.50 for student, because the “half English displays” I was told about by the lady at the door turned out to be nonexistent.  While I flexed my comprehension muscles, trying to work my way through German text (keep in mind I speak and read NO German), I enjoyed the displays, the historic relics from ages past, and wonderful paintings of life at sea and in port. Lack of English aside, it was worth it to get a peek into Baltic seagoing history. Starting to get dark, I enjoyed some typically good German pastry on the way back to the apartment. The three of us enjoyed chatting the evening away over tea and biscuits, sharing stories from each of our adventures.

In Kiel I was very glad to have stayed with locals, as they were able to show me a side of the area I would never have thought to have seen. On my own I would have been bored with the city which is essentially shut down for tourism at this point in the year. Burkhard and Katrin were excellent to me with warm hospitality, great conversation and amazing stories. I have never met a European who has canoed through the Yukon! I haven’t even canoed through the Yukon! I hope to meet them again at some point for sure. Kiel marks the end of my stay in what I deem the “Northern” half of my exploration in Germany. I depart for the more Western parts of Europe to return in early December to explore the “South”, including Bavaria.