Germany - Hamburg
Well, there’s not much to say, so I won’t say much. People come here, yes they most certainly do. They come here from reasonably close places in Europe to visit the Reeperbahn. Which, of course, is a 4 or 5 block strand of bars, restaurants, strip clubs, brothels, street food, drug addicts, drunks, trash, and all the other things associated with an area like this. I found it boring and a little crappy.
I walked around the old part of Hamburg, yes they have old buildings, a giant square where the City Hall building is, a massive train station, and everything else that every other big and old city in Europe has. Definitely not a reason to come here. I walked around the Elbe area, yes they have restaurants and a grand outdoor Fischmarkt (not much guessing needed for that German word) but the market is only really big on Sunday mornings, and they have nice views and places to sit, and everything else that every other big and old city along a river in Europe has. Again, not a reason to go here. By the way, a lot of their statues and monuments have graffiti on them, kinda fucked up. And I mean giant monuments, old, grand, spectacular…with graffiti. Way to go douchebag2000, nice tag.
Anyway, perhaps the only truly original area in Hamburg is the Reeperbahn, and that kind of sucks to say. I did visit a few spots. There were ads for more serious Thailand type shows but I stuck to the more normal path. Usually about 15 euros to get in and that includes a free drink. The next drink usually costs…you guessed it, 15 euros. But, to be honest, the US is the same or worse depending on what you’re drinking. They did have girls dancing on the stages, which isn’t always guaranteed, and when they aren’t it’s annoying as shit because then you are just hit up ten thousand times an hour. I did meet a cool group of Londoners out for a bachelor party and hung with them for a bit. They definitely indicated that the “‘bahn” was a big deal in Europe. Nice peeps, but I got the impression that is was the trashy Amsterdam, like the Reeperbahn is more about frat parties. It was a Sunday night, and it was rainy, so my impression may be skewed…but overall I’d say, ugh. In any case, my hotel was right on the edge of it so that was nice once I reached hammer town.
Notes to self:
-Done and done.
Arcotel Onyx Hamburg - May 2015
Awesome looking building…only that’s not your building! It’s like next to or attached to the awesome building that they show in all the pictures. Stayed on the 7th floor, great location right on the edge of the reeperbanh (but far as shit from the train station, killer walk). It was also right next to a river promenade that wasn’t too shabby. Room was fine, modern which was cool but quite minimalist. They have these interesting giant port hole like windows, but there wasn’t really a view. Shower and stall were totally separate rooms. Had 2 single beds which was funny, she said I could push them together like a cruise ship. The mini bar was good and was used extensively. TV was fine, with almost too many channels (you know when you just want to round that corner late at night…). They had extremely limited room service. No pay per view. Lobby was pretty nice with a bar, a café, and a business center (which was free and came in handy for me). Staff was totally nice. Boring but good location for me. Lastly, it was only 70 euros a night! For serious, hotels in Hamburg were cheap.
Notes
-Whatever.