Day #142 - Travel Day & Hamburg, Germany

Hamburg, Germany

Great views of the buildings lining Lake Binnenalster

Awesome!

Fancy!

My restaurant

Tuesday, August 3rd

Major travel day for me today. I took an 8am train out of London to Brussels, Belgium -- arriving around 11:30am (only 2 -1/2 hours as Brussels is 1 time zone ahead). I then took a train from Brussels to Cologne, Germany. I then took yet another train from Cologne to the 2nd biggest city in Germany. Do you know what it is? Three guesses. Nope - Hamburg. Before this trip, I would never have said this. Maybe you guys are alot better than me. The largest cities by population in Europe from the biggest to smallest: Moscow, London, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Kiev (Ukraine), Paris, Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hungary), HAMBURG.

I was going to take a train from Hamburg to Copenhagen, but I would have arrived after midnight. With no hotel booked, I chose to stay in Hamburg for the night. I'm currently writing this blog at a McDonalds next to my place - about midnight.

One thing that's so hard for me on this trip is managing hotels/hostals/places to stay. It's really the most challenging thing I do. I can't get away from it. It's not easy as a single person to keep cost down. With 2 or more, a $150 room -- no problem. I can't swing that high. Some nights I'll pay $150-200, then another night I'll pay $15. Booking the 'low-rent' places is an art. You have to be very careful - else you'll be putting yourself in danger. I've walked the lines a few times on the trip. It's all good - but the amount of time I spend finding a place, and then locating it once I arrive in the city -- large quantities of time. Any advice? I don't want to give up my flexibility on moving locations. And, rolling into a town and walking up to a place is generally 'way more' costly than booking on line. Plus, the places near the trains are always booked. Anyway - just something I was thinking about earlier.

I got to my place in Hamburg about 8pm. Just in time to dump my gear and go out for a walk through the city. Money. A photographer could have made some magic today. The skies were amazing. Unlike you ever see. The white clouds were brighter and more pure. They were gathered in these very unique formations. I took a 1-2 mile walk to the 2 main lakes in Hamburg - Lake Binnenalster (smaller) and Lake AuBenalster (larger). Large buildings lined the banks. I wanted to see a specific place - a hotel mentioned in my book. The Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten - it's supposed to be ranked as one of the greatest hotels in the world (strong statement). I just wanted to see what it was all about. I wasn't able to get inside, but the views the guests must have from their balconies, and the exterior furnishings, both screamed "high-class". I don't think I'll be staying in a place like this anytime soon.

A great evening to walk around - I'm glad I stopped off in Hamburg. It's amazing how things change in 1 day. I was in an English-speaking country - very comfortable with my surroundings - and generally in smaller towns the past couple weeks. Then, BAM, I'm off the train in rush-hour traffic in the 2nd largest city in Germany and the 11th largest city in Europe. It's like - OK - now - perform. I switched from pound to euro, booked a hotel, and was in the game in about 1 hour.

Here's to German folk - a good bunch.