Hamburg, Germany

sunburnt

Hi all

I am going to Hamburg for 5 nights, myself and my girlfriend are going to a gig there. Just wondering i ye have any recommendations on what to see Also do I need a travel adopter or will my Irish plug work in the sockets in Germany?

Thanks
Sunburnt

munchkin_utd

irish plugs only work in Ireland/ UK and Malta but everywhere else in Europe uses some variation of one or other of the two pin german plug(s), funny enough including germany.
heres a nice wikipedia article on the matter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets#Swiss_SEV_1011_.28Swiss_10.C2.A0A.2F250.C2.A0V.29.28Type_J.29

in Hamburg theres heaps to do.
Firstly id definitely advise you to do the bus tour. You'll get a nice overview of the city to start off with.
You can also take a tour of the harbour on a boat which is also well worthwhile, and the biggest container ships in the world dock in Hamburg which are a sight to behold.
Theres an emmigration exhibition which is good as you get to see that it wasnt only ireland where there was mass emmigration to America 150+years ago
Down in the harbour warehouse area (which interestingly isnt considered as germany for tax purposes) theres the worlds biggest miniture railway. I brought the wife there and she was sceptical as hell about it. She left stunned at what they have done as its really a miniture world rather than just a few poxy trains going in circles. It can get busy there but its really worth a visit.
The reaperbahn is the seedy area so you definitely need to go there, but avoid the fake irish pubs and dont even attempt to bring the mrs down herbertstrasse which is a road full of whoore houses, not least as its illegal for women (who dont work there) to go there!!
Otherwise you can just wander about town which in itsself is quite lovely.

jester77

When are you going, lots of different street festivals and events coming up?

I'll expand on some of munchkin_utd's tips

Schanze is really nice and chilled out area with nice bars and good restaurants plus some cool little clothes shops. It's not too crazy compared to the Reeperbahn and would be a better place for hanging out during the week as the Reeperbahn is pretty dead.

Lots of interesting boat trips from Landensbrucken, around the harbour, the lakes or the canals (Speicherstadt). Strand Pauli beach bar is there as well, can get busy when the sun is out.

It's worth taking the elevator to the top of the Michel, church just off Landensbrucken. It has a great view of the city and harbour. You would walk through the Portugese Quarter to get there, some really nice fish restaurants in that area.

Some nice beach bars along the Elbe, if it's really warm and you don't feel up to doing anything then it's worth taking a trip out to the beach bar at Wedel (good bit out though), it's nice place to hang out but not much else happening out there.

If the weather is crap then Minatur Wunderland is the name of the model exhibition, it's really amazing and I would put it down as a must see.

There is a great Pixar exhibition on at the moment but it's due to finish up in a week or 2.

Lots of gigs and theater shows on the Reeperbahn, everything from Opera to Drag Shows, Pulverfass is actually entertaining but not for everyone. The best bars imo are along Hamburger Berg, the street that runs down from KFC. A few decent bars around Hans Albers Platz, although the prostitues can be a bit annoying and in your face around there. Won't be an issue if your girlfriend is with you, they just pester the guys.

The Rathaus is an amazing building and there is plenty of shopping around there on Mönckebergstrasse (Typical high street shops) and Neuer Wall (Designer labels).

There is a nice casino at Dammtor if you like to play poker or roulette, but you will need a blazer jacket to get in. If cocktails are your thing then the 20 Up bar is a place with a great view of the harbour and lots of pretentious people.

ScottSF

Definitely visit the Fischmarkt open every Sunday from 5am! Definitely get there early as the crowds do build. I'm told it is a popular place to hit after a night out, especially for a tasty fried but fresh fish sandwich.

Here is a fun blog post about the experience:
http://www.sidewalksafari.com/2012/12/hamburg-fischmarkt.html

One more idea is a day trip by train (less than 1 hour) to the quaint historic town of Lübeck, famous for its marzipan.

hardCopy

Hi Folks,

Any recommendations for Hamburg in the winter? 7 lads heading over for a weekend in December.

We'll be staying pretty much on Reeperbahn and that will probably be where we spend our nights. Can anyone recommend any nice clubs to check out, ideally somewhere big enough to have a mix of different music in one venue? What's good to do during the day? There seems to be quite a few Christmas Market, which one has the best Gluewein?

Thanks

jester77

hardCopy wrote: »

Hi Folks,

Any recommendations for Hamburg in the winter? 7 lads heading over for a weekend in December.

We'll be staying pretty much on Reeperbahn and that will probably be where we spend our nights. Can anyone recommend any nice clubs to check out, ideally somewhere big enough to have a mix of different music in one venue? What's good to do during the day? There seems to be quite a few Christmas Market, which one has the best Gluewein?

Thanks

Check out http://english.hamburg.de/hamburg-events/ to see what is happening around the time you are leaving.

Depending on when you are going the bundesliga may already have finished up for the year. There is not much happening around the Reeperbahn during the week, Schanze would be a better place to hang out.

I'm not that familiar with the clubs, the bars are open all night and they cater to different tastes, so the music can be excellent. There are some excellent bars along Hamburger Berg. Komet, which is behind Hans Albers Platz would be one of my faves, they have some fantastic retro nights.

The Christmas markets are not so good in Hamburg compared to other cities. The one at the Rathaus would be the biggest, the one at Stadthausbrücke is ok. The Christmas market on the Reeperbahn is fun, it's an adult themed one with strip shows, hand made sex toys for sale, etc.

The Glühwein in general is not great, most stalls just empty premade cartons into their containers for serving. But you can always get a brandy or vodka added to it. Feuerzangenbowle is fantastic and much nicer imo. Most markets will have at least one stall selling it. You'll recognise it by the large copper pots with alcohol being poured onto sugar cones and set alight.

Where I live in Altona, only 2 stops on the S-bahn, from the Reeperbahn, there is a Talinn stall. This is my favourite, they do various different Schnapss but it us usually overcrowded there.

PhosphoricAcid

Anyone here ever been to Mainz care to enlighten me on the quaint little city? Wiki not helping really

ScottSF

PhosphoricAcid wrote: »

Anyone here ever been to Mainz care to enlighten me on the quaint little city? Wiki not helping really

Mainz is nice enough, but many people use it as a base to head up the Rhine river by ferry to see the castle towns. Unfortunately after October the boat schedules are quite limited but not impossible. If you are looking for a town to visit near Frankfurt it is certainly easy to get to and worth a few hours of shopping/eating/strolling. Another place that is popular is Heidelberg which has an old and interesting castle to visit. One more place you can get to by train/S-Bahn that has real medieval character (if you are looking for ideas) is Speyer.