The next morning I went and ate breakfast near by and then went into town to take the free walking tour that I have done before. Surprisingly there were only about 10 people that wanted to do the tour. Usually there are about two groups of 30 people doing the tour. I don't think Hamburg is very touristy but I was all for the small tour group. The tour was informative and interesting but the tour guide was very plain and didn't make it fun. The good tour guides make it a performance, adding humor, information, and cool facts. This guy just had the information so it was more of a history lesson than a tour. After the tour I walked back to the hostel, which was about an hour walk. Hamburg is a very nice city. Although it is one of the largest in Europe, it really doesn't feel like it.
Here are a few pictures from the tour
Supposedly if Swans are in this area than everything will be okay in Hamburg
This is what is left of St. Christopher's Church. Hamburg got bombed really badly in WWII and 60% was destroyed in a fire 1500 feet high
And this is the new Symphony hall in a new part of town that is not finished yet
I got back to the hostel and took a nice nap. Then since they had a kitchen I decided to go to the supermarket and cook myself some dinner. I bought an onion, some potatoes, and some chicken. It took me a while but I made some good chicken and some Bravas (fried potatoes). Some people were in the room now and I met a kid traveling with his mom. They suggested to go to some Japanese gardens near bye so I decided to take a nice walk down there. They turned out to be pretty amazing and if they had not told me about the garden I would have had no idea about it.
On the way back I stopped at a bar at watched a soccer game. I didn't know either team but it was a pretty exciting game. The only problem was that the people next to me were smoking cigarettes the entire time. Between the two of them they must have had 30 cigarettes...then my hair and shirt smelled.
When I got back I did some research about a concentration camp near bye called Nuengamme. It was about 50 minutes away and free to enter. I had to take a train and then a bus through the german countryside. The countryside is beautiful with lush grasslands, forests, farms, and red brick houses. When I got to Nuengamme I was not sure what to do but I found a card with a map and self guided tours. I chose to do the long one which was three hours. This camp was not a major one and it was a working camp. They mainly made bricks at this one but towards the end, private companies were buying the factories for slave labor. It was a little spooky being here. It was a very sunny day and there really were not that many people around. About 10 minutes after I got there a crow started chirping at me. This was an evil crow chirp though, not some cute little bird. Then it started swooping down towards me and flying right above my head. I don't know if is just because I am scared of crows, or I have seen the movie Birds, but it got to the point where I started running as fast as I could to get away from this bird. That was a strange first impression and I started to associate this negative place with this negative experience.
On the way there was a memorial section of the camp. It had this large statue that I thought was kind of disturbing. I forget what it was called but it had a specific name.
I did enjoy the camp overall. This was the first time I had actually visited one but I think it is an important thing to do if you have the opportunity.
When I got back I wanted to go to a street that the tour guide recommended for lunch but they were all closing. So I just grabbed some cheap chinese food. I also gave my leftovers to a homeless woman and she was speechless. It made me feel good about myself. I will never give homeless people money but I will be happy to give them some food. I just went back to the hostel for the night and cooked the rest of my chicken. I also grabbed a bottle of wine and booked a flight home for the 8th of June.
The next day I had to check out and I went back to the same place for breakfast once again (I went the day before too). My plan was to go to the airport but I didn't book a flight and didn't really have any plans. I have always wanted to just show up at the airport and get one of the last minute deals. It didn't really turn out the way I wanted though. All of the flights were like 400 euros and the round trip flights were cheaper than the one way ones. So I just got on the internet and booked the flight to Brussels that I was looking at earlier that was a quarter of the price they were giving me. I also booked a train to Brugge and a hostel there. Everything turned out great and I got to my hostel in Brugge around 10:30 PM.
I walked from the train station. Brugge has been described to me as a magical medieval city and that is exactly what it is. I checked in, went to an ATM, and then went to the bar next door to get a snack and a drink. It was a nice local bar and very quiet. The owner/bartender suggested a beer called Westwallen Tripel and some finger food. It was great. Belgium supposedly has the best beer and after being in Brussels for two days and Brugge for two, I can say that I agree. Wherever I went I tried a different beer and they were all so so good. The bartender also told me what to see and do to see all of Brugge in a day and he suggested some not too touristy things.
I woke up early and started walking around Brugge. It is very small and I had a somewhat planned route to see some of the cooler buildings. I eventually got to the main square where there is a very high tower. I decided to go up to the top for only 4 euros. It was 366 stairs up to the top and there was a bell up there. The top was cool but not as sweet as I imagined. I snapped some photos and started to head down but stopping at all of the rooms.
Right below the bells there is a room with a large contraption that make the bells ring. I am not sure what it is called but it was a giant cylinder with pegs that play notes as it rotates. It is like one of the lullaby machines that play a nice tune but on a massive scale. It also started to ring while I was in the room.
Brugge is such a beautiful city. It really does feel magical and from a movie. There are tons of canals and old medieval buildings
Then I went to get some lunch at a place that was recommended by the bartender. I sat down and ordered a drink and then realized they didn't have food. So I had a beer for lunch and it was also a very strong beer so I basically had two beers for lunch and I was kind of tipsy. I also needed to move to a different hostel which was about a 20 minute walk and slightly out of town. On my way I got a sandwich, and I took a little nap when I got there.
When I woke up I wanted to rent a bike and bike around the other half of Brugge that I didn't see but one bike place was closed, and the other was out of bikes so I just walked around some more. I went to some wind mills, an exhibit about how the people lived for the past 200 years, and walked around for a while. I also went to an internet cafe and figured out how I was getting to London. I found a bus for 45 euros that goes directly from Brugge to London. It was very convenient. After that I went to get some dinner. Nothing special, just some pasta and Brugge beer.
I forgot my shampoo at the first hostel and was in the area so I stopped by and saw that my mom was on skype so I chatted with her for a bit. By this time it was kind of late and I was exhausted. I started walking back and stopped at a beer store with 380 different beers. I grabbed two of them and went back to the hostel. There was a soccer game on so I watched that and relaxed for a while before going to sleep.
In the morning I ate some breakfast and then randomly bumped into my Canadian friend from Berlin. It was very random and the first time I ran into someone I knew in Europe. We were both checking out and headed our separate ways. I had a few hours to kill so I went to a laundromat and washed my clothes. At 1:30 I hopped on the bus towards London. The ride was easy and not too long. The Chunnel was kind of cool. I thought it was a tunnel like any other but it is actually a train that you park inside. I also got the chance to write this on the bus.
Ill post again in a few days. Tomorrow I am going to Stonehenge.
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