a hamburger in hamburg

back in germany!


there's a lot to love about germany, from what little i've seen of it -- and i'm looking forward to spending more time here when next i get to spend a holiday here.

the food's amazing, the people are great, and for the beer lovers out there, well, German beer has one of the best reputations in the world, no? (or is Oktoberfest just an excuse for men to get completely sloshed and for women to strut about in cute little dresses carrying large glass buckets of beer?)


Hamburg has that inexplicably special feeling about it, like many cities around the world that are built around or near a large body of water -- i guess the water just provides a city with a little something different than streets and streets of skyscrapers (not that i don't love streets and streets of skyscrapers, i love you New York, no offense meant, seriously, you're one of my favourites, you don't even need water to give me that special feeling)


if you're one of those lucky people who speaks/understands german, please make sure you stick around to the end of this blog entry, there's a special part just for you!

my adventures in Hamburg:
stroll down to the harbour, (i'm told it's actually named "Hafen Hamburg" - Port of Hamburg, but calling it "the harbour" suits me just fine) and lazily walk around taking in all its glory -- it's the second largest harbour in Europe, after all, and that's pretty glorious in itself, no? . admire the many small groups of friends just sitting around the harbour, drinking beers -- at 3pm, which is just as good a time as any to be drinking beer in Hamburg, is it not? (ok, i promise that's the last time i'll ask you to agree with me) . try to kick a pigeon . fail at trying to kick a pigeon . be very impressed with a lot of very important-looking buildings, but still don't find out what they are and what their purpose is . "i'll have a venti chai tea latte, on soy, no water, no whip, no foam, extra hot, to go, danke schön" . be very impressed by a ten-minute breakdancing display done by some street buskers, but be even more impressed by the seven year old girl who tries to mimic them . go shopping at the local produce market with grand plans of stir-fry, shortly before realising that you don't cook -- let alone in a hotel room with no stove . go for dinner with some friends at the Hofbräuhaus Bier Garten and drink beer from one of the aforementioned glass buckets of beer -- seriously, those things are humungous, it's a wonder the aforementioned girls wearing cute little dresses don't get RSI in their wrists (yes, i'm sure that's what most men's minds are concerned with when they see a girl walking around in a cute little dress carrying steins of beer) . still at the beer garden, try to convince one of the male waiters to sell you his lederhosen but just have him smile and walk off without validating your request with a response (maybe the smug little smile was a result of him knowing just how silly i'd look wearing leather shorts -- how come they can manage to not look stupid in them?) . while roaming the streets at night, find a discarded pile of coat-hangers, so snag a few for yourself (one can never have too many decent coat-hangers, and i refuse to steal them from hotel rooms!) . refuse to believe that your map-reading skills have allowed you to lose your bearings, my hotel is just around this corner, i'm sure of it, ok ok maybe the next corner, wait, no it was back there, oh shit, hang on...*sigh* i'm hungry . watch a driver struggle to find a park, so just settle for launching the front of his car up on to the gutter: there, a perfect fit . buy some german beers to take back to your mate in your hometown, and some german sausages in a jar for a different mate . purchase the obligatory fridge magnet for the collection . successfully manage to keep a handle on all your money this time, unlike your last visit to germany .


here are the photos:



...ok so here's where i need some help from my German-speaking friends:
i've visited a coupla places across the globe now, but i've never seen any other city make their garbage bins talk! and quite frankly, i'm damn interested in hearing what these ones have to say!

so if you could kindly translate them for me, i'd be most grateful... although, if we're being honest, i'm probably just as happy to translate them myself, i'll tell myself they're saying something of the likes of:
"the homeless bum around the corner thanks you for his next meal" --or--
"littering sucks ass, and not in the good way" --or even--
"i may be a trash can, but i'm still less full-of-shit than George W. Bush" or, no, you're right, i'd prefer it if you'd translate them properly for me.

so if you know what these bins says, please write me and let me know...or even if you don't know what they say, write me and tell me anyways, i'll have no choice but to believe you!


stay tuned, next week: MOSCOW!!!


let the good times roll!!