Hamberg

So as I write this we are starting the second of four legs on our daunting overnight journey back to Leuven. It is now 5:30 AM Monday. I’ve been sitting in the Cologne train station for two hours. My roommate Max and I went to visit friends of his in Hamburg this weekend. A great adventure this weekend was. Even the trip home has been quite eventful as we missed our direct train to Brussels and our only options were stay and return on Tuesday or take four different trains back through the night to Brussels. I’ve never felt so exhausted in my life. The last time we slept was Saturday.

The exhaustion is but a small price to pay for the great time we had this weekend. Hamburg is by far my favorite city I’ve seen here so far. The family that we stayed with was the most hospitable on this planet. They picked us up from the station Saturday morning and immediately took us to a wonderful breakfast buffet. We then went back to their house where they had rooms waiting for us. The house is set in a quaint suburban community about 10 minutes drive from the city. With an indoor pool, sauna, foosball table, and more beer than even the most destitute of alcoholics could ever want, the amenities were far more than just accommodating.

After a nice long nap we awoke to our first of the many delectable German lagers we were to consume over the following days. Our hosts invited their daughter over for some cake and coffee. Three types of homemade pastries were served, each one just as tasty as the previous. A round of champagne was to cap off the socializing. The two sons of our hosts then took us out for dinner and a night on the town.

Our night began in the meat district where we were taken to the best schnitzel place in town. I still refuse to believe that what we had was veal as they don’t make baby cows the size of the cutlets we were served. The only thing that rivaled the hunks of meat on our plate was the size of our one liter beer mugs. The boys also thought it would be funny to order roast beef for desert so we continued to eat more beef than I’ve eaten in a very long time.

We then proceeded to the red light district. Bar after bar lined the streets. And yes just like any other red light district the prostitutes were out in full force. We started by going to a cocktail bar which was very nice. We then bar hopped from place to place staying at each establishment for no longer than one drink’s time. At about 1 AM we decided to go to a few clubs. Dancing and general hilarity ensued.

We finished the night off by getting currywurst which is basically chopped up sausage smothered in curried ketchup and hot sauce. Max was feeling brave and ordered the medium spicy one. The pain in his face was reminiscent of a child finding out Santa Claus isn’t real. One bite was fierce, I can’t imagine how torturous it was to finish the whole thing.

The following day, we were shown the other half of Hamburg. We took a ferry ride up and down the harbor of the Elbe River. We were taken to a beach bar on the river. It was actually so warm for a day in the middle of February that we laid on beach chairs and drank while we sunned ourselves. We then went to the remains of a bombed out cathedral that had fallen victim to the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. We then saw the town hall, and then went out to dinner for hexel which is basically a giant leg of pig. German portions are not to be scoffed at, as once again there was enough meat to give a man a heart attack and a one liter mug of beer to wash it down.