Read on...
Who to go with?
The wife/hubby - Possibly? As long as you're not expecting an excessive amount of sight-seeing or culture...
The lads/ladies - Yes. Get yourself down the infamous Reeperbahn for a cracking night out.
How to get to Hamburg?
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| EasyJet Inspire Me |
We managed to get return flights for only £44 (flying from Manchester on Wednesday, returning Friday evening).
Where to stay in Hamburg?
I'd recommend St Pauli. It's central, has good metro links and the nightlife is mostly found here. We secured an AirBnB apartment on Hopfenstrasse, which was a street just off (and parallel) to the Reeperbahn. This meant it was close enough to the nightlife, but far away enough to get some peace when needed. It took us roughly 3 minutes to walk to the Reeperbahn area. First impressions of the area were mixed due to all of the graffiti and fly posters, but we soon found that this was normal, and it seemed there were very few walls/lamposts in the city which didn't have some sort of "art" scrawled all over it.
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| Brilliant bike shop name (note graffiti) |
Cool things to do in Hamburg?
For great 360 views of the city get yourself up the Church of St. Michael. If you're in a rush (or scared of heights) take the lift up and down. If you fancy a challenge then take the stairs (apparently 425 steps).
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| Love locks at the top of St Michael |
For a quick underground walk head to the docks and enter the Alter Elbtunnel which leads you to the other side of Hamburg with great views looking back at the city. Entrance is free.
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| Alter Elbtunnel |
What to avoid?
Don't cross the road without waiting for the pedestrian signal. The Polizei will pull you up for it.
How much is a pint?
Expect to pay roughly €5 for a large beer and about €9 for cocktails.
Or... get yourself down the Reeperbahn and there's a bar called Bar 99 Cent where ALL drinks are 99cents (and come in a plastic glass - so you can imagine this is a classy establishment).
Where to eat in Hamburg?
For a cheap breakfast head to Cafe Klatsch. It's a little hidden and you have to go down some steps to find the entrance. Menus and pens are available on your table and you simply mark off what you fancy eating (you do have to do some guess work if you're no good with German). If in doubt, go for something expensive as it'll likely be a larger meal. The scrambled eggs and chopped tomatoes are worth a shot!
For a traditional-ish German lunch, head to Braugasthaus Altes Madchen. It's roughly a 20 minute walk from the Reeperbahn, or (as we found out later on) there's a train station right outside it. It has a massive amount of craft beers available and serves proper food. If you like to try a variety of food/drinks they offer a meat & cheese platter which you can wash down with a beer stick (small glasses of various beers which the waiter advises the order to drink them in).
Beatles in Hamburg?
The Beatles spent their early years here between 1960 - 1962. Being a big Beatles fan, I was expecting lots of Beatles themed attractions, but to be fair - Hamburg hasn't milked the opportunity. There's the Beatles Platz on the Reeperbahn which is some steel silhouettes of the fab four - pop there for a quick photo. Then there's the clubs they played at - Indra Musikclub and Kaiserkeller. If you head to 33 Paul-Roosen-Strasse, opposite a bar called Clockers, there's a house there (covered with ivy) where The Beatles lived during their time in Hamburg.
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| Here lived The Beatles 1960 |
Unique bars in Hamburg?
Throw some smart clothes on. Head to Empire Riverside Hotel. Grab the lift up to the 20th floor and you will find the Skyline Bar 20up. Getting a decent table is tough, so you'll either need to book in advance, or get there early. But you'll basically end up with a near-panoramic view of the whole city (great profile picture opportunity). The cocktails are €15+ and the service isn't the best... but the views are! Even the toilets have great views (gents only, apparently).
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| Skyline house cocktail |
On the docks there is cool beach bar called StrandPauli. Nice wooden interior with good beers (although I misread the menu and ended up with a white wine, instead of a weissbier) and excellent guacamole. We ended up here on a cold evening, and it wasn't too busy, but I would imagine that when the sun is out it'll fill up quickly.
Back towards the Reeperbahn you can find a quirky bar called Drei-Zimmer Wohnung which translates as three room apartment. It's dimly lit with red lights and decorated like a retro apartment (the back room even had a bed in it).
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| Drei Zimmer Wohnung |
How long to stay in Hamburg?
I'd suggest two nights in Hamburg. Spend one of them drunkenly staggering around the Reeperbahn. Then spend the following day working off your hangover by seeing the sights and filling up on currywurst.
Note: the entirety of this blog may be inaccurate as we were really drunk for most of our time in Hamburg. Danke schön.
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