Hamburg: How does it differ from Berlin?

In the words of Frau Baumeister, "Hamburg is very...chic." The women seem to wear more makeup and have more avant garde hairstyles and fashion. It is cold and snowy, as well. Maybe more so than Berlin. The Reeperbahn was fun to see, but I would like to see it at night, just not by myself! The tunnel under the Elbe was very cool. Hamburg is known as "Germany's Musical Theatre Capital" so there were lots of advertisements for "Der König der Löwen" and other shows that I would have loved to see. The hostel was comfortable enough, but the noisy kids kept me up most of the night. Overall, I had a great time in Hamburg.

Off we go to Hamburg...Shoo Be Do Be Do!

The train ride to Hamburg was a great experience.  It was a really good chance to see some of the German countryside, and typical german homes and lifestyles.  It was a definite retreat from the big city scenery, as well as a very efficient way to travel.  I think most germans take the trains as a reliable means of transportation paired with a cost effective effort as most residents take advantage of discounts for long term travel permits.  The first picture is the train map for Berlin.  Precise navigation using this map was a must to ensure we made all of our scheduled meetings on time.

The following pictures are of a large train station in Berlin, the large train station upon which we arrived in Hamburg, and a shot of a tunnel in the same Hamburg train station.

I really enjoyed taking the trains.  It seemed a lot easier than trying to drive a vehicle or rental, worry about and find a place to park (which would have been minimal in the big city's), and budget for the fuel costs.  Our host family told us that he sold his car 12 years ago when he moved to Berlin, living less than a block or so from an underground train station. (U-Bahn)

German Food

Coming from German backgrounds as a child coupled with the idea that I've rarely met a meal I didn't enjoy, I knew that the local fare would be a big part of the experience for me.  Anytime I travel, which in recent years has been quite a lot, I make it a point to eat and drink what the area has to offer.  Sometimes I even take the advice of locals or go to places with an outward appearance that may scare away other travellers that are less dedicated and not as willing to take a chance with their meals.  The first picture is my first authentic meal in Berlin.  I ordered the Schnitzel with boiled potatoes in brown gravy and a salad.  You can also see the meal my roommate ordered which was a steak in rice with salad as well.  Schnitzel is typically flattened pork cuts that are then rolled in raw eggs before they are dipped in a mixture of flour, seasonings, and spices before they fry it.  Needless to say, it was very good, although probably not so good for you (Ha Ha), I enjoyed every bite and hope to attempt my own recreation for friends and family.

The next picture is of questionably my favorite meal while in Germany.  What made it so delicious was the 3 different meats that came out on 2 skewers, accompianed by the french fries.  Looking back, I would have replaced the fries with something a little more authentic but it was a quick meal as I recall.  The meats were pork, beef steak, and a spicey sausage that was out of this country! (Ha)  The sauce that was on the meats only made it better.

 The last and final picture is of the typical German breakfast that we experienced with our host family.  It mainly consisted of hard rolls, salami and pastrami meats, several different cheeses, and lots of spreads, butters, jams, and jellys.  I really enjoyed the light but filling meals in the morning that are different from the bacon and eggs, sweet cereals, or other large and greasy American breakfast plates. (Which are also scrumtious! Ha) 

The same. Only Different.

Gutter Guards:

USA

Germany

Trash Cans:



Toilets:

Exit signs:

Grafitti:

Souvenir Shops:

Names:

Hamburg

USA

Traffic Signals:

Hier

There

Quotes:

Brandy rides a train. (And compares it to automobiles and a transatlantic flight.)

 2) The train ride to Hamburg: What was it like to spend 2 hours on a train? Why do you think Germans take trains? What are the dis/advantages of taking the train?

As a little boy, I had always been fascinated with trains, flying through the countryside at 130 mph. It was a wonderful experience to be able to board the ICE train to Hamburg, sit and relax, not have to worry about crashing into cars and things, or falling out of the sky in a large fireball of death! (After a trans-Atlantic flight, just about anything seems incredibly safe.) Compared to in the USA, where we can always hop in a car and drive wherever we want, the train system seemed somewhat limited in nature. However, it's incredibly efficient, when you learn how to use the system. As a whole, Europe is much more dense than the USA (Manifest Destiny!), and so building a reasonable rail network for cheap, passenger usage would be a much grander undertaking than that on the European continent. For this reason, gasoline is much cheaper in the USA, based on the need for its consumption. It's a little more comfortable than an airplane, honestly, and there's more room to move about. There's a dining car, it's much easier to board and get off than an airplane, and honestly the ride is much more comfortable. I'd take a train over a plane almost every time! Being American, though, I haven't much choice in the matter, if I want to see exotic places and not have to pay first-class prices...

The ride to Hamburg was quite pleasant. The view was essentially only of snow and large windmills, but it was much better than a large wing, flexing more than you would think the only thing between you and 34,000 feet of death and screaming should be flexing.

I took a few pictures of trains, while in Germany. See for yourself, America.

 This photo is taken from where my face is. You can see, barely, Dr. Sheehan's head grazing the roof of the cabin. I'm a bit taller than he, and as can be imagined, I busted my skull a few times on the way to my seat. It's funny that I pay the exact same amount for a flight as a 110 lb lady would, but her legroom, comparatively, is so much greater than my own, right? I didn't ask to be tall. Did I mention that they manufacture airplanes based on the characteristics of the average Smurf?

 The look on Regis' face says it all. Traveling over the Atlantic, and he is clearly not amused. He's just as tall as I.

America, this is how we get around. He even had an American-shaped tag on the back. Try this when fuel isn't cheap, though, and you'll be miserable, especially when you're driving and you see the train doubling your speed right next to you, every passenger simply reading, sleeping, using the restroom at will, and purchasing sweets off the trolley.

 The inside of the S-Bahn during a slightly-less-busy time of day in Berlin. Note the spaciousness and plethora of seats available on the urban rail network.

 Is this platform not much easier to board from than the little airplane-arm-tunnel-thing? This is living, people.

 Final night in Berlin, at Hauptbahnhof. Admittedly a little later on in the evening, but it's not crowded and swarming with security or red-lights, car-wrecks and traffic laws.

 It should be noted, on our never-should've-happened flight back to Frankfurt a.M., I had a whole row to myself. This was nice, if only for an hour of our 10+ hour excursion. (Yes, I did strap the bag in.) Even the newspaper had room for the newspaper to have its own seat. When Bandy travels, he travels like a boss, as is clearly indicated by the thumbs-up being displayed as the focal-point of the photo.

This looks better than a lot of cars on the road, no? Just /look/ at that glass. It's been wiped very well, free of bird-droppings (Unlike my coat in Hamburg, but that's another tale entirely...) and the great risk of collision and running over cyclists. Take that, cars.

 Here, you'll see an example of my least favorite form of transportation: the bus (bendy, triple, double-decker or otherwise.). While in this case it appealed to my love of football to see a bus like this, I nearly witnessed the death of a fellow student by way of the triple-bus-splatter-kill. It's the only time I ever saw bus x3, and someone nearly died. What does that tell you?





All in all, I think riding the train was a good experience, but I have to admit, it did feel good to get behind the wheel of my car again, and hit the open road. I think that the train system in Germany is magnificent, and I would utilize it often. However, I don't like all public transport. I'm sorry, bus-lovers, but I just can't hear your opinions... over my freedom.

Brandy samples German food.

1) German food: what surprised you? What tasted good/bad. What would you recommend to your American family and friends?

 Talking about German food is like talking about roller coasters. The first time you ride one, it's an amazing experience because it's so different than the ground-based life we're used to. However, if you ride the same roller coaster all day long you begin to miss the variety! In America, we have a large variety, for the most part, due to our generally multicultural background. Admittedly, everything's "americanized" but it still provides for a large variety! When you go to another country, you tend to feel drawn to try the local specialties, but after ten days of eating mostly one "genre" of food, you start to miss the familiarity of variety. 

And so with that, I went after variety! As someone who has been to Berlin twice before, and already had the specialties, I wanted this time to see just how American their "American" dishes were, such as the hamburger and fries duet that most Americans know and love, topped as the Americans would have it. I couldn't get a photo of the burger I ate, prepared at an Irish pub (funny, right?) because it really was that good... slathered in BBQ sauce, made me feel right at home, so much so that I couldn't hit the button on the camera before I'd devoured the entire thing. And trust me, there was a lot of burger. Even to a Man vs. Food extent, they know how to do burgers over at Kilkenny's Irish Pub under S-Bahn Station Hackescher Markt, which lies just north of Unter den Linden and Northwest of the infamous Alexanderplatz. (We also went on St. Paddy's day (I bet you can guess which picture was taken that night.). Naturally the atmosphere was a little more vivacious that night than the average, sleepy pub. It was interesting to compare how the Germans celebrate a holiday that has little to nothing to do with their nation, much like Americans celebrating Oktoberfest.)

Again in my hunt for comparison, I decided to take a sampling of the McDonald's classic, the McRib. It was actually not quite as good as the one prepared here, but that may just be because I live in the south and people, even in a corporate setting, take their ribs incredibly seriously. However, believe it or not, I decided to do the unheard of and order Pommes mit Majo, which, precisely as the name suggests, means "fries with mayonnaise." Truth be told, this German adaptation to our traditional methodology on eating fries was actually something that I preferred to eating them with ketchup, as is more common stateside.

On our mid-voyage voyage to Hamburg, I didn't have a single hamburger. However, it was strongly recommended before I left that if I did one thing in Hamburg, it would be to try the fish. This is what I ordered, and I was not disappointed. How good was the fish? So good that I couldn't really put it into words. I'll never have my fish fried again, I don't think. I also would have never thought to put it in mustard, but again, the people of Hamburg didn't let me, or my palate, down. (It should be noted, the glass above the meal was only there for decoration. As it was local, I felt the picture wouldn't have been complete without it... The things I do for academia.)

Finally, on a return to Berlin, I tried the famous Berliner Currywurst, a spicy testament to the multicultural element that a city like Berlin has to offer. To drink, a nice glass bottle of freedom- i mean- Coke. The currywurst was delicious, as I expected, and the coke was even better than it is here, both because it was bottled in glass and because the Germans serve their coke with real sugar. You'd think that in the land of obesity, the least you could do would be to give us a little sugar in our coke, right? Regardless, currywurst is a fast-food-type-thing that I would order again in a heartbeat, even at the risk of my own heartbeat.

Train Ride

The train ride to Hamburg: What was it like to spend 2 hours on a train? Why do you think Germans take trains. What are the dis/advantages of taking the train.

I loved the train ride. The scenery was beautiful, and the seats were more spacious and comfortable than an airplane. I think Germans take trains because it is practical, affordable, and available. Reliable public transportation is such a great thing. I would definitely choose riding a train over driving. There is no need to worry about gas or parking, and you are able to work, sleep, read, etc. instead of focusing on the road. The negative aspects of trains are a limited time schedule and route. The convenience of having a car and the ability to go wherever and whenever is nice, but I would rather have a stable public transport system.

German Food

German food: what surprised you? What tasted good/bad. What would you recommend to your American family and friends?

I have been most surprised by the lack of sausages and sauerkraut. Although, I did see many advertisements for “McCurryWurst”, I am not a fan of McDonald's so I did not try it. Instead, I visited Curry 36, one of Berlin’s most famous food stands. The sausage was very tasty, but the sauce was mostly ketchup so I wasn’t too amazed by the taste, but the convenience was great for me. It was right by my U-Bahn station, a block from the Baumeister house, and it only cost 1,50 Euro. Ashley and Olivia and I found a nice German restaurant with potatoes, sausages, rotkohl, and sauerkraut. One strange thing I noticed is the use of corn. I would never put corn on pizza or in a side salad, but I had both in Berlin. I enjoyed most everything I have eaten. The döner I ate a Alexanderplatz was better that Gyro Dude in Cookeville. I also enjoy quark, sweet more that savory. There is a better variety of fresh and healthy food than in the US. 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187323-d779563-Reviews-Curry_36-Berlin.html

Gruppenbild mit Dame(n und Herren)

(The title of this post plays on the title of Heinrich Böll novel. I couldn't pass up the opportunity! - MPS)

Here are all the pictures of the group I took during the trip. Some are better than others, but they all show how cold it was in Germany during our trip and how happy we all were to be in Germany!

10 Life Changing Days...

The ten days in Berlin were simply amazing. I loved every second I was there and would do it all over again if I could. When in Berlin I felt alone at first since it was my first time in a foreign city. After the first couple of days I got used to being in the city. Berlin had changed my perspective on the world through its culture and history. Being able to first hand see remnants of the Berlin wall, seeing the castle's, seeing the Hamburg harbor, and just being able to enjoy riding the trains everyday with other German's changed my outlook on life. I now see things as I am not the only person with problems, everyone has problems and even if I am having a bad day someone else probably has it ten times worse. On the final days I found my self not wanting to leave because of all the fun trips and times that I have had. I wished I could live in Berlin and speak fluent German but eventually I think I could do at least one them.