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| Me outside a WW2 flaktower/air raid shelter |
Allow me to explain.
I'm here for work and, for various reasons which I won't bore you with (but are in turn frustrating, alarming, bewildering, Tutonic and hilarious) it's been pretty busy. So I've only managed to see 28% of what Hamburg has to offer. This includes the Reeperbahn, so as far as many people are concerned (you know...sex people), I've seen 100% of it. The Reeperbahn contains shops selling things called "dongs" and contraptions that seemingly suck your fanny inside out
Anyway. What is my analysis of Hamburg, its ways, customs and peoples?
It's peoples are indistinguishable from British peoples. I was expecting them to barge around taking up the pavement and invading everyone's personal space. I couldn't have been further wrong. The evidence of this is that I found myself being able to stroll around without muttering "get out of my fucking way" under my breath. In London I do this all the time. In Shanghai I just announced it out loud, relying on their lack of English to prevent me getting a roundhouse ninja kick on the conk.
Not only that, you only have to look as if you are thinking about crossing the road, for traffic to screech to a halt and wait while you a) wonder why the traffic has stopped b) get cross c) realise they're waiting for you and finally g) start crossing the road at exactly the same time they decide you're an idiot and set off again.
And they all speak English.
Hamburg contains the largest Italian community outside Italy. Why? I don't know. Simple as that.
What that means is that a square entitled Grosseneumarkt, not 20 yards from where I am staying, contains no fewer than 8 Italian restaurants. And as any of my three friends will tell you, I am a big fan of pizza. Though if the truth be known it's cheese but...you know....pizza is about 50% cheese, so you can see my point.
Though if you come to Hamburg on a weekend, have breakfast at the restaurant perched alongside a lake called the Binnalster. You pay about £12 and there's a buffet system where you can eat as much as you like and go back for seconds, thirdfs and fourfths. Don't have the raw mince. Just don't.
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| Where I live. Nice. |
I have mainly been eating (by that I mean almost every night) at a bar called Thamers. Who's specialite de la maison is Eva's Burger. It is a chicken burger and it's bloody delicious. I don't know what they put in the special sauce but the girls seem to like it. Heroin I expect because it's very moreish. Anyway. I normally accompany this with a pint or two of Duckstein, a sort of dark lager. So a typical dinner for Andy B consists of a chicken and two ducks. Ha ha ha ah ah ha ha ha ha.
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| Eva's burger and a Duckstein |
Auf Wiedersen!
