Hamburg

I got on the train to Hamburg and sat next to a guy who, the more i noticed him the stranger he got, he was almost a little reluctant to move over so i could get a seat (the train was totally packed by the way) anyway as the train ride went on his behavior got more and more erractic, like checking his watch every 15 seconds, looking at his luggage (at one point i thought he had a bomb in his bag) then i noticed on his left hand he was wearing one white glove, then i figured it out. the reason he was so strange was that he was a Micheal Jackson fan. what a weirdo!

So got into Hamburg about an hour late, which i felt was strange seeing that the Germans are known for being on time. anyway, got in and finding a hostel wasn't as easy as i first thought, they were all booked up, but i eventually found one which wasn't far from the infamous St. Pauli district, even the guy at reception was surprised i found the place. it ended up being a bonus because the St. Pauli area is probably what Hamburg is known for.

A bit of a highlight was meeting a band from Sweden, called 'Final days Society', (click here to check out there myspace) they had just released there debut album and were in the middle of doing a week tour. they had a show in Hamburg but it was cancelled due to a booking stuff up so they just had a day off and were staying in my dorm at the hostel. We got on quite well and watched a few funny videos on youtube (click here to check out one of them) looking at them now i think they were funnier at the time. and we went down to the St. Pauli area and had a couple of beers. we got on so well in fact that they offered me a lift with them to Copenhagen (where there next show was) but i had already brought a bus ticket. but i think i'll check out there show.

The St. Pauli distict is pretty cool in parts of it, some of the bars and shops are quite 'interesting'. but also there are parts that are REALLY seedy. Sometimes i felt i was blinded by a sea of red light. the place is full of topless bars and peep shows, i'm trying to keep this blog a PG rating so i'll let you use your imagination. there were plenty of drunk and emotional German men running around saying something around the lines of 'i love youse maaaate...' but in German obviously.
i can see how some people might like it but i can't say that this part was really for me. the part i did like about it was this is where the Beatles started there careers, they toured here and played in bars just before they got a record contract. there is a street named after them here also.

St.Pauli has a bit of a reputation of being a bit rowdy, sometimes rough and a bit kooky. They have a football team here and they won the premiership a couple of years back. and instead of doing what normal clubs would do like, buy new players or fix up there ground, they threw a MASSIVE rock concert for 100,000 people and drank all the profits away. oh and another interesting thing about the club is the president is a female but used to be... a MALE!

The St. Pauli area is not far from the harbour, which kinda explains why St. Pauli is the way that it is. but the habour itself is actually quite nice, it looks like they have cleaned up that part because there were a few posh stores around, i kind of liked the view of the big ships and giant metal contraptions sticking out of the water, though i can see how some people might not.

The city was quite pretty, its pretty old in the city centre (it was strange to see a Burger King in a 200 year building) in some parts they have canals running through it. Probably the best building is the Rathaus, which means City Hall. but some of the outskirts are newish with modern architecture but nothing to write home about really. (hang on, i think i just did)

I'm definately glad i came but i was only here a couple of days and that was more than enough for me. i think perhaps i didn't enjoy it as much because i just had such a great time in Berlin. but one thing i have learnt while i've been traveling is sometimes your gut instinct is right and if your not enjoying a place, just move on. having said that, I'm off to Copenhagen on a 7am bus, hopefully the ride is ok.