Hamburg -- 31st March 2006

Oh well, to make things simple for an uncomplicated mind like me, i shall adhere strictly to listing out the places in chronological order. There's quite a lot of backdating to do but i shall take my own sweet time. Haha anyway i doubt much people will be reading it also, so it will just be another one of my 虚度光阴 activity :p

Arriving in Hamburg was a major experience and i would say a significant milestone in my life. Yup, the wish of always wanting to go to Europe had finally been realised on my graduation trip (and yes, that's why i was so determined to go to Europe and not join the rest of the gang to Taiwan. Ok , maybe there was another reason :p butthe childhood dream definitely plays a big part ^=^)

Hamburg was definitely not part of my planned itenary. It just happened to be part of an Emirate Airline's offer which i gladly took up. The plan was to go Spain but all flights were full and so i had to think of alternative routes to get to my destination. Ha, well the expenses add up to almost the same in the end too. So much for being smart... Bleah!

Come to think of it retrospectively, i actually began my Europe trip on a note that sets the tone for all my future travels, or simply put it, my Holland skill were there from the start. Haha. Anyway, i had set out from the main train station, using the station map that i was given. I had a good 4 hours to spare before catching my connecting train, so i decided to take a look at the place. The train station was like a divider, which divides the city into 2 districts, the posh and the forgotten. Well, mayb its a bit too harsh to put it as forgotten but the contrast couldnt be felt more. Anyway, it was really an eye opener for i unknowingly wandered into the gay/lesbian districts in Hamburg. It seemed like any other normal neighbourhood and i did not even realise it until i walked into one of the book stores that was on the street. Well, it was kinda reflexive cos i had the tendency to walk into book stores and so there i went when i saw it beckoning to me. Honestly thinking, i really have no idea that it was a gay bookstore because the guy was like any normal guy. I did wonder a bit when i saw the many magazines and books with hunky man on its covers. Plus, i atributed the multitude of books on homosexual topics to the liberalism of European society.. Hehe..

Anyway, i also took a visit to the hospital. Haha its not on purpose and honestly speaking, i was quite horrified when i realised i was standing in front of the hospital because thats when i realised i had wandered so far off from my map!!!!! Its quite a daindy little place with old style European lighting. Not exactly scary but not welcoming either. ha. In addition, it was here when i felt the strong German hospitality. All i did was to stand in the middle of the road when this nice lady actually came up to ask me if i needed help. This was only the tip of the iceberg, for i also had people who didnt know English offering their help.

Haha that's so much to write for one single day in Hamburg. Guess u guys finally realised why i didn't blog any of my travels on my main blog. And i m not ending yet. Yes, i havent mentioned that i actually found a shop selling local products there in Hamburg. (Yes, local products as in the canned longan, maggi mee and the lychee jelly). Oh, and there's also a public toilet where its not exactly that well covered. Haiz, so many interesting sights to see in Hamburg that i doubt my words do any justice to them.

Finally ended the day with KFC for dinner. Was quite tired out by the end of the day to look for anything else. Well , i guess my stupidity was to be blamed also. I actually forgot that i can deposit my bag in the locker at the train station and yes, i was lugging my entire backpack across Hamburg. Stupid me almost destroyed my own trip by being so stupid. Was one tired boy when i finally got on the train to Dusseldorf.

PS: One important thing to note when in Europe is that the cars are left hand drive, so one will have to reverse all that were taught in school on crossing the road. I used my left-right-left and was almost knocked down by a car. Right-left-right from now on! Right-Left-Right... Right-left-right... right-left-right...


City rating : Inconclusive (to be rated again)