Hamburg

I have just spent the weekend in Hamburg with my Mom, visiting the sister of one of her co-workers. We took an ICE train (inner city express) about 1 hour and 45 mins. north west to get there. The tickets were wicked expensive (mom payed...sweet) in fact, they cost more then my flight from England! However, the train ride was smooth and comfortable. Gosh those Germans just really know how to travel! We arrived at Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (main train station) and realized that we had told Helga (our friend) the wrong time to meet us. So we had no idea what platform she was going to be on, or where we should wait, as the station is pretty big. Luckily, only 5 mins. after we arrived we practically banged right into her on a main walkway. Phew! I should preface this by saying that neither my mom or I know Helga, so it was a question as to how the weekend would go.
So Helga was ready to go, had bought us transportation passes and had a plan for the day. The trains in Hamburg run the same way as in Berlin. There is an S- bahn, an U-bahn and busses that you can use with the same ticket all day. First we headed to Helga's house to drop off our stuff. She lives in a 4 floor walkup nearby the train station. She is almost 70, can you imagine walking up all those stairs at her age? She had some apple strudel and coffee waiting for us, honoring the German tradition of Coffee and Cake in the afternoon. I've gotta say, Germans really know how to do breads and pastries! So we were refreshed, and we were off!
I should tell you about Helga! First off, she has lived in Hamburg her whole life. She grew up in the building right across from the one she lives in now! She doesn't speak that much English, but with our German, her English, and 1 English/German dictionary, we managed to communicate just fine! She is so nice, very energetic and just so positive about life! She has travelled all over and continues to do so every year. She chooses to spend her money on travellling rather then new and fancy things. Her philosopy on life is so wonderful, and you can see it in her eyes...she is so young! She was married twice, has no kids, but is not alone in the world. She told me many times that she likes not having a man now. She makes money, and she can spend that money how she chooses. She doesn't have to cook if she doesn't want to , and she can leave on vacation whenever she wants to . She has tons of friends and she is happy! So for me, being a single girl, she is inspiring!
We set out to see the sights of Hamburg. Hamburg is a port town on the Elbe river, so at first, we took a boat ride. It was a nice way to see the city, to really get a feel for it. We got off after about an hour and proceeded to walk around the city center. It had all the things you might expect a European City to have, City Hall, wide open squares paved with cobblestones filled with people sitting and drinking coffee, beer, having a snack etc. We passed some churches, shops, rivers and canals with swans. I think Helga told us that Hamburg has more bridges then Venice! It's definitely a town for those who like the water! We ended the day at a really old restaurant on the outskirts of town. Typical German fare, beer, etc. So yummy!
The other thing of note that I have to share with you is the FischMarkt! Every Sunday from 6am-10am an area along the river turns into a bustling market selling fish, bread, pastries, fruit, souveniers, clothing, you name it. The sellers are yelling and kind of putting on a show for the buyers. Everyone is jovial and loud and it is just so fun! A Hamburg specialty is Fischbrotchen. This is a very delicious roll cut open and stuffed with fish (in my case, a type of herring) and finished with onions and pickles. Washed down of course with a large beer! At 10 in the morning on a Sunday it is OK to drink here, in fact it is encouraged! We joined the masses inside a huge hall filled with picnic tables. There was a live band playing really bad renditions of Rolling Stones songs, the Beatles, etc. Everyone was having fun though, singing and rocking out! What a fun morning that was!
I think the best thing about Hamburg though was Helga. What a treat to meet such a nice woman who so graciously took 2 strangers around and filled us with information (and food). She put up with our fledgling German, and bore all of my questions on how to say things correctly. It was so great to have to speak so much in German! There were even some times where she would rattle on for a good 5 minutes and I was still following the conversation! Ha! So I had a great time and can only hope that I am half as cool as Helga when I get older!