:: SPRING IS COMING SOON! :: BE PREPARED FOR FRESH GREEN PLANTS ::

If you wanna go for a walk and are interested in flowers, plants, trees, dessert, … at least nature! Check out the Botanical Garden in Hamburg. It’s awesome!

Even the last drizzly weekend I was there and was really impressed again. So many different flowers. Have a look in the fragrance-tactile-garden – there I found a flower that smells like chocolate. Hilarious! Small labels and big “try-it-yourself” walls inform you about plants and their smell, touch and use. Discover the Botanical Garden, through all the different theme gardens from “plants of the bible” to “evolution of the rose” through all the continents.

The blue futuristic Loki-Schmidt-Building is a museum for economic plants encouraged by the ZEIT foundation.

One of my favorite places is the dessert garden with glas pyramids (which was a present of United Arab Emirates).

Special programs: Both, the state institute of teacher training and school development and the University of Hamburg (faculty biology), are the ‘Green School’ which hands out indoor plants and test plants for cytology, also carnivorous plants, succulents, etc. for learning.

Historical excursion: Since 1919 the Botanical Garden Hamburg (established in 1821) belongs to the University Hamburg. Due to shortage of space and after a 10 years construction period, it was reconstructed and opened again in 1979 in Hamburg-Osdorf, at the S-Bahn station Klein Flottbek (S1).

Art excursion: In front of the Botanical Garden Hamburg, at the entrance, there is a sculpture, by artist Waldemar Otto which called: Adam plundered his paradise. The original plan was a second sculpture of Eve as well. Public protests because of the exceedingly high costs and the design made the artist reduce it to only Eva’s hand in the golden apple tree. Really funny is the fact: some unknown painted Adam some underwear, several times, again and again. Now it still exists.

Relaxing excursion: The Palme – the palm, is an outside café for some chilled coffee, ice cream and lovely cake. Also you’ll get sausages and potato salad there for absolutely affordable prices.

Music excursion: Every first Thursday in the month there is a concert for free!

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Botanical Garden | Art & culture, Music, Relaxing | Free
Ohnhorststraße 18 | Altona & Ottensen | +494042816476
09:00 – till 1 1/2 hour before sunset daily

A bit of a distance lies between this café and the Schanze and maybe that’s the reason why it’s neither trendy nor „cool” but very relaxed and cosy.

The interior – with old chairs, antiques, wooden shelves and little cupboards – makes yourself feel very comfortable.

The people who come here don’t seek the funky flashy style but a decent coffee or tea, a good piece of cake and a place where you could sit for hours if you feel like reading or writing. As they sell used booked as well and have some readings from time to time, it really is the right spot for those who love books and coffee. Not the worst combination!

You can also just browse through the books which is a good way to get to know writers you havn’t heard of before while enjoying your cheese cake or the great cocoa – they have a big variety to choose from if you like that warm sweet liquid. The area is a quiet one with many old Hamburg houses, lots of families and elderly people who live in that area for quite a while.

So this quiet cafe (apart from rainy Sunday afternoons – maybe the reality for some of the next few months) will give you a complete different impression of Hamburg. And it’s a good spot for writing your postcards if you don’t want or can’t enjoy the books written in German.

And you know what!? There is even a neat little fireplace to warm you up on a cold winters day!

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Café Mathilde | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Shopping | cocoa € 3.30
Bogenstrasse 5 | Hamburg North | +494041495384
Mon – Fri 12:00 – 00:00, Sat 12:00 – 20:00, Sun 10:00 – 20:00

On the way to Park Fiction (see this article) you’ll drop by CaféBar Hensel, usually just called Hensel. It is a real insider tip. They employ a very mindful and patient staff, and the head of business Peter is a very calm and amiable guy.

There are plenty of drinks and you will find the best beverage list I know. They have an amazing range of affordable creativite drinks.

They offer more than 30 types of beer (Astra, Beck’s, Desperados, Jever, Pilsner Urquell, Rothaus Tannenzäpfle, Sol from Mexico, Baltika from St. Petersburg, …).

The hot beverages put no limits on your imagination. Laced Hot Chocolate, Lumumba (Chocolate with 4cl Hansen Rum), Apple-Cinnamon-Punch, … and now think about Espresso with one of the following added spices: almond, amaretto, banana, caramel, chai spiced, chocolate, cinnamon, coconut, coffee, hazelnut, mango, peppermint or vanilla….

Combined with my favourite: a big piece of old-Bohemian apple cake with honey caramelized walnuts. Don’t miss the macadamia whipped cream!

Beside all these culinary masterpieces, try the snacks prepared with much love and care, i. e. curry-banana-soup or homemade Sicilian potato salad (garlic!!), Casseroles, Pennines, Antipasti, …

Very interesting for me: the current exhibitions of a young artist from Hamburg.

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CaféBar Hensel | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Lasagne € 5.00
Antonistraße 4 | Harbour | +4940134965
From 11:00 daily

The black box with big white letters stands inconspicuously on the Altonaer Balkon (Altoner balcony) in the beautiful harbour scenery. If the sun is shining – don’t be scared, just go in and close the door behind you.

You have to wait few minutes till your eyes acclimatise to the dark. You’ll see the harbour upside down moving projected picture on a white wall.

The Camera Obscura is deemed to be the forerunner of photo cameras. Invented in times of Renaissance also know as pinhole camera. It is a camera without a lens and a single very small aperture. The smaller the hole, the sharper the projection, an upside down and right-left reversed picture.

Pretty nice experience! And for free!

BTW: The current projected picture can also be seen in the foyer of the Altonaer Museum.

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Camera Obscura | Art & culture | Free
Palmaille 75 | Altona & Ottensen
Tue – Sun 10:00 – 17:00

It’s raining again in Hamburg? Don’t let that spoil your vacation! Hop on the metro and visit the Deichtorhallen. Located between Central Station and Speicherstadt, they enjoy a reputation as one of the best known exhibition galleries worldwide. The two historic buildings, constructed from brick and steel, once served as wholesale vegetable and flower markets. After undergoing thorough refurbishment in the late 1980s, the structures now provide 6000 sq. m. of exhibition space for international photography and contemporary art.

As a hobby photographer, I favor the ‘International House of Photography’ where works of well-known and newcomer artists are presented highlighting the diversity of photography. A modern ambiance enhanced by tall ceilings and light colors ensure a rather delightful experience far from the often dreaded dull museum feel.

Currently, the House of Photography presents a very exciting show (open through February 28, 2010):

“Lillian Bassman & Paul Himmel – First Retrospective“ is the first comprehensive exhibition in Europe presenting photographs of the American couple that were published in well-known magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar as well as unpublished work. While Lillian focused predominantly on fashion photography, Paul preferred to experiment with time and overexposure. Don’t miss these incredible works of art!

Bonus: There are free 1-hour guided tours every Saturday and Sunday at 15:00!

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Deichtorhallen | Art & culture | Ticket € 7.00
Deichtorstr. 1-2 | City center | +4940321030
Tue – Sun 11:00 – 18:00

The early bird catches the worm: For everybody who likes to take a long walk or to jog along the Elbe river in the early morning, here is a really nice spot to take a Nordic breeze.

The big stone, erratic boulder, is the oldest and probably first immigrant of Hamburg. During the Kansan glaciation (around 400.000 years ago) or the Wolstonian Stage (around 135.000 – 200.000 years ago) it came from East-Småland in Sweden to Germany and “slept” on the ground of the Elbe river in the Elbe valley till September 17th, 1999.

That’s when they tried to deepen the Elbe river to increase the turning circle for big container ships. The stone became a dangerous obstacle. Only one day later, it was like a big event for many Hamburgers to watch the scenery at the harbour. Divers prepared the “alter Schwede” with steel-nets to lift it out of the water. A massive crane singled it out of the water, shortly after it came out it suddenly fell back into the river. Only five days later they tried it again, with hundreds of curious onlookers, and it worked!

The 217 tons Småland-granite was baptizided June 6th, 2000 with Elbe water and given its name: Alter Schweder (old Swedish). Between “birth” and “baptism” are 1,7 or 1,8 million years. The measure is 19,7 meter and 4,5 meter high. For geologists it’s very interesting to see the striation of the glaciers.

In the summertime it’s a nice spot for couples to watch a bit seperatly the sunset or making a fire with friends.

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Der alte Schwede | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Hans-Leip-Ufer, 22605 | Harbour
24 hours daily (the stone is always there)

Dialogue in the dark: For sure an experience you will never forget: get a real feeling of how it is to be blind. You are lead by blind guides in small groups through specially constructed darkened rooms, in which scents, sounds, wind, temperatures and textures simulate daily environments.

It is fascinating how soon another kind of “seeing” starts: How “seeing” the people next to you just happens when they speak. And when they are quiet they just disappear. How you can experience your environment only by touching it, smelling it.

Of course what is different to reality, everybody is blind in the darkened rooms. Therefore my spontaneous thought: “oh my god, hopefully no one just saw how stupidly I stumbled into this room!”was quite unnecessary.

Because of that, my personal advice: you don’t need to care about what colour you are wearing when visiting this very special exhibition, but maybe you want to make sure that you are good smelling!

Only guided tours, make a reservation in advance and tell them you need an English guide!

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Dialog im Dunkeln | Art & culture | 60 min tour € 15.00
Alter Wandrahm 4 | Harbour | +4970044332000
Tue – Fri 09:00 – 17:00, Sat 10:00 – 20:00, Sun 11:00 – 19:00

The air is filled with the shouting and yelling of vendors, clusters of people are crowding around stands and trucks, empty cardboard boxes are flying, bags are stuffed with fish, baskets are filled to the rim with produce and sold for as little as € 20.

Hamburg’s fish market is legendary and simply a must for every visitor. Since 1703 merchants have been trading everything you can imagine. Today the choice of products ranges from a wide selection of seafood and meat, exotic fruits and veggies, pastries, household items, Hamburg souvenirs to live animals including guinea pigs, bunnies, geese and chicken.

A unique feature of this market is that many items are sold and traded in bulk, often directly from the truck. Things get very hectic and exciting for both merchants and customers when closing time is announced over the loud speaker – gotta make that last deal!

In addition to the early birds, many night owls come here to conclude a long night on Reeperbahn with a fish sandwich and some coffee. The brunch at the historic “Fischauktionshalle” (fish auction hall) with live music (Jazz, Country, Western, German classics) is special highlight!

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Fischmarkt | Art & culture, Shopping
Fischmarkt 2 | Sankt Pauli
Oct – Mar: Sun 07:00 – 09:30, Apr – Sep: Sun 05:00 – 09:30

Ok ok, if you are not a native German speaker or you just started with your German language skills maybe this is not the right place to be. But, if… Check out some of the theatre plays, concerts or interviews!

Eg with Moritz von Uslar, who used to work for Tempo and a Süddeutsche Zeitung magazine and who is well-known for his unconventional interviews.

This tiny theatre and place for plays, discussions and events lies in the very heart of the so called Neustadt, the new part of town – despite the fact that quite a bit of that quarter does not look new with its old warehouses, charming old-fashioned buildings and lovely waterways (called Fleet in Northern Germany!).

Fleetstreet is not the place where the crowd rushes to but worth a look. It’s run by Angela Richter, wife of Daniel Richter, the famous painter. Why not visit the “Dead Parlour” mid of January. If you don’t wanna listen but dance – free entrance for Fleetstreet Club with Smallville Seniors, every last Friday in the month – next end of March.

Check the motto „We start before we get tired!”… New programme starting from February on every second friday: “Filmklub” (a movie with free popcorn…) - have a look on the website!

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Fleetstreet | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Music, Theaters
Admiralitätstr. 71 | City center | +494039993883
No regular dates (check the website)

A little history journey in advance: The Große Bergstrasse was the first big city pedestrian zone from Altona Trainstation to Nobistor. But this was a long time ago – now you can find on one hand some specialised shops like Claus Kröger, lock and key service, health food store and on the other hand many Turkish bazaars and 1-Euro-shops. The street became more and more low-priced. No bookshops or sportswear.

Many shops have been empty for many years, as well the “Forum Altona”-building and the former shopping centre Karstadt (that’s why everybody’s still calling it: Karstadt-building) and the main post office.

Since 2003 many citizens’ initiatives and social- and artists-associations moved in and brought back the cultural life in the Große Bergstrasse. They also picked the city reconstruction planning out as a central theme. Caused in the renovation all of them had to leave the “Forum Altona” building in 2009and moved out or in the empty building right beside, the Frappant-building.

As long as it is possible around 45 artists try to stay at the old, not-in-use-anymore shopping centre. Exhibitions and fashion shows with electronic music makes it a nice place to be. The entrance atmosphere is like an Alfred Hitchcock’s movie. Behind the building you have to climb up the access road of the car park to the second level (by the way: nice view over the roofs of Altona), then follow the white line till the entrance of the building and climb up all steps in the 7th floor. On your way, don’t miss all the great street art in front of the Frappant-building and inside everywhere.

Unfortunately it’s a limited thing – that means: This year, 2009, the big Swedish furniture store Ikea (slogan: “Make a house a home” – “Wohnst du noch oder lebst du schon?”) showed a greater interest in that building and a brand new concept for a first full product range inner city, which polarized the local people into the Anti-Ikea-Initiatives and the Pro-Ikea-Initiative.

More important for you is what happens now, what’s going on. Check out the Frappant website and have fun and good talks on one of the really creative events. And then you’ll see if it’s a good base for “make a house a home” or if it’s still like lively home.

PS: The fight between the artists and IKEA is finished. The artists have to move out at first weekend on March to the old police casern “Viktoria-Kaserne”. The first Innercity-Ikea-Store will open expected 2012.

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Frappant | Art & culture | Free
Große Bergstraße 174 | Altona & Ottensen
Check online event schedule

Spring arrived in Hamburg!!! Best time for Frau Hedi!

You want it all crazy and freaking out, here we go:

This tiny barge has the funniest program I’ve ever seen from “Le Superdisco Française” to “Scandinavian Pop Party” to “Australian Spring Celebration” to “Russian Datscha Party”. Left of all footbridges at Landungsbrücken 10, there you’ll find “Frau Hedi” every hour (check out the events before).

Pay the entrance ( € 6.00 – € 10.00) and have an awesome (and every hour different) way around the harbour with crazy music and dancing.

Around 01:00 the party relocates from the barge to the “Frau Hedis Landgang”, a pub in the Schanze (see this article).

It’s always great fun for me! One of my best insider’s tips!

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Frau Hedi | Art & culture, Music | Entrance from € 6.00
Sankt-Pauli-Landungsbrücken 10 | Sankt Pauli
Fri – Sun from 17:00

In the middle of Hamburg, in one of the countless office districts made out of glass and steel there is the Gängeviertel. Between Valentinskamp, Caffamacherreihe and Speckstraße are 12 houses with historically worthwhile, extensively original old building substances. The Dutch investor Hanzevast Capital n.v. by Jaap Wolters is planning to tear 80% down. Leftovers should be restructured and extended with new offices.

Many artists squated the district and live and work there. Almost every night there are events like concerts, readings, exhibitions, installation and performances – all for FREE! You can visit the buildings from inside daily from 13:00 (except Mondays). The people there are very friendly and open-minded, can give you loads of information and tea.

Discover the different houses and rooms: Puppenstube (dollhouse), Butze (cubby), Tischlerei (carpentry), Fabrik (factory), Druckerei (printing house), Kutscherhaus (coachmen house), Kupferdiebe and Speckstraße.

The Gängeviertel is not only AGAINST everything, they have a new concept, a new use zoning plan. You can find very in detail on www.gaengeviertel.info (click on Nutzungskonzept).

I stop here to explain more about that beautiful, creative place – KOMM IN DIE GÄNGE – get on with it – get your own picture of it – your own view – ask and talk about what you think.

!!! UPDATE: Suddenly the Dutch Investor paid and the artists had to clear the Druckerei (printing house) and the Fabrik (factory)!!!

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Gängeviertel | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Music, Relaxing, Theaters | Free
Caffamacherreihe 43, | City center
Tue – Sun from 13:00 (special events check on website)

Indie, Rock and 80s music fans can feel at home her. People who like to dance between the twenty-something people are very at home here. This old inconspicuous forester’s house (that’s why it called “green hunter”) is the place for alternative concerts of unknown bands from all over the world.

The entrance fee is around € 2.00 to € 6.00 (you can’t negotiate the price). Every Wednesday there is ByteFM residency (concerts) for free, give them a try!

The beer is cheap (€ 2.20). The wine is bad. You can sit in summer outside at tables, or inside on sofas.

During the weekends it is a well filled dance area. Or you can go upstairs to play table fusball or just relax in a relaxed ambiance on old sofas for smoking and talking about all the world.

Once in a while there are theme-nights like watching “Tatort” (famous German criminal series) on Sunday, other cult movies or radio play night.

At the moment they often have free entrance for concerts. Just check out the programme!

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Grüner Jäger | Art & culture, Bars, Music | Beer € 2.20
Neuer Pferdemarkt 36 | Schanze | +494031814617
From 20:00 – open end daily

Ooooooh…I love this place! It just exudes history – past and present. After the old town hall fell victim to the Great Fire in 1842, construction of a new magnificent city hall was completed in 1897. It is here that the current Lord Mayor Ole von Beust has his seat of government. The high tower flanked by two imposing wings holding a total of 647 rooms exemplifies beautiful Northern German renaissance architecture.

Virtually unscathed in WWII, the copper roof, the carved sandstone on the façade, numerous turrets and bays, and as many as 20 statues of emperors and saints form a harmonious structural composition.

The splendor of exterior is met by an equally remarkable interior: ornate wrought-iron gates adorn the main entrance leading to the lobby that is frequently used for exhibitions. Its vaulted ceiling resting on 16 pillars and the two elegant marble staircases indicating the location of the senate (right) and the parliament (left) are just a glimpse of what this landmark has to offer!

The lobby is open to the public during regular business hours. The remainder of the building can only be accessed by means of a guided tour. Due to frequent official functions, tours are not available on certain days. Please call ahead for specific information. Don’t miss the beautiful courtyard with its cascading fountain!

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Hamburg City Hall | Art & culture | guided tour € 3.00
Rathausmarkt 1 | City center | +4940428312064
Mon – Thu 10:15 – 15:15, Fri 10:15 – 13:15, Sat 10:15 – 17:15, Sun 10:15 – 16:15 | courtyard open until 23:00 daily

The art exhibitions in the Kunsthalle are always worth a visit, not only on a rainy day. Besides the worthwhile permanent collections, there are always current exhibitions, that you shouldn’t miss. There is so much to see, that its difficult to keep up, even though Hamburg has its fair share in rainy museum days.

Exhausted after a day with demanding art? For a break with coffee and cake you have two nice possibilities: the Bistro of the Gallery of Contemporary Art with a nice view on the Alster or the Cafe Liebermann in the historic columned hall. I never tried the brunch buffet on Sundays at 10:00 (30 Euros). So if you do share your experience with me!

Here some ideas whats going on at the moment:

Views of Hamburg. The city in the painter’s gaze
9 October 2009 – 14 February 2010
Hubertus-Wald-Forum

Hamburg has always been an attr

active city for artists. In this exhibition of some 80 paintings the broad spectrum of motifs that Hamburg was able to offer the artists of early modernism will be presented for the first time.

Pop Life Warhol, Haring, Koons, Hirst

12 February to 9 May 2010
Gallery of Contemporary Art

I am really curious how  this exhibition willl be. Surely a total different approach than “Views of Hamburg”. The page of the Kunsthalle says very promising: “With its strong visual sensations, Pop Life has the seductive and lively atmosphere of a market place.”

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Hamburger Kunsthalle | Art & culture | Adults € 8.50
Glockengießerwall | City center | +4940428131200
Tue – Sun 10:00 – 18:00, Thu 10:00 – 21:00

Behind big red walls is the most sinful street of Hamburg. Around 250 women work there, sitting in shop windows, waiting for any male walking the only 60 m street. It’s probably the most polarizing street ever.

Here the history in short: In horrible times of National Socialism there was a prohibition on stripteases and prostitution. But in St. Pauli they couldn’t eliminate the typical business. So it was only allowed in one narrow street – Herbertstraße. To let nobody see what is officially forbidden, the head of Nazi district built barriers on both ends in 1933. Since 70’s there have been big signs forbidding women and teenagers under 18 years to enter.

So that’s why I collected all quotes from male friends, after waiting for them on the other side: „Women in shop-windows flirt with me.”, „In my imagination this street was bigger.”, „Why the women do that?”, „I saw a nurse had hardly got a stitch on.”, „Clear offers everywhere.”, „This way is much shorter, than the long way around!”, „How long did you wait for me?”

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Herbertstraße | Art & culture
Herbertstrasse | Sankt Pauli
24 hours daily

The tiny and “rough-looking” gallery Hinterconti in Karoviertel started in the year 2000 and is run by a bunch of people. There is a nearly weekly change of exhibitions of international young artists.

Check out the website for current exhibitions as in these alternative gallery all goes along a lot slower. There is a new opening in mid of March with art of a female drawer. But if you have a drink at neighbouring pub Yoko Mono you will see anyway if art is on display. All folks are welcome. You can be sure that any kind of vernissage will differ from what you might expect. No evening suits needed!

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Hinterconti gallery | Art & culture | Free
Marktstraße 40a | Karoviertel
No fixed opening times

HVV – Hamburger Verkehrsverbund -public transport company of Hamburg. Beside metro and subway trains as well as busses here we have the public ferries. Every 15 minutes the ferry number 62 travels from Landungsbrücken to Finkenwerder and back (just stay on the ferry). If you have a common HVV-ticket for the day or single ticket for €2.75, don’t miss it.

Fortunately there are no annoying voices from bad speakers trying to explain the harbour with unfunny jokes. Step up on the roof, enjoy the wind and the great view. Start at Landungsbrücken Bridge 3, ferry 62, short stops at Altona/Fischmarkt (see the Fishmarkt article), Dockland/Fischereihafen (see the Dockland article), Neumühlen/Övelgönne (Elbstrand), Bubendey-Ufer and Finkenwerder and back.

If it is too cold, walk down inside the ferry, with great view, too. They even serve hot and cold beverages!

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HVV Fähre | Art & culture, Relaxing | Single Ticket HVV € 2.75
Landungsbrücken Bridge 3 | Harbour | +494019449
See the timetable

This small place for art is set in a very nice old building downtown St. Pauli and the store used to be a bakery and even a liquor store once which you can tell from the old tiles in the rooms.

They regularly show small exhibitions from German and foreign artists. The gallery is an easy-going and “non-posh” setting for small but interesting art. So don’t expect any fancy gallery but dedicated makers who want to give space for young and talented artists. On the website you can check-out the dates for Vernissage and Finissage, if you wanna mingle with the crowd.

The current exhibition in March is called “Secret volume” by the the artist Judith Mall. New thing to be found: on Wednesday evening (fortnightly from 10th March) there is a special movie on display. Some of them will be in original  -so check it out!

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Kunst- und Kulturverein LINDA eV | Art & culture | Free
Hein-Hoyer-Str. 13 | Sankt Pauli | +494021999292
Sun 15:00 – 19:00

You want contemporary art? You can have it!

You find Kunstverein Hamburg close to the main station and Deichtorhallen (check the Deichtorhallen article). Kunstverein was founded in 1817 and is one of the oldest associations for art in Germany.

About 15 years ago the Kunstverein moved to the building at Klosterwall which used to be a market hall and offers around 1.200 m² exhibition space. At the end of March 2009 they started all brand new with a new director.

Check out the current installation of the Hamburg artist Stefan Marx with its title “Pleeease”.

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Kunstverein | Art & culture | Entrance € 5.00
Klosterwall 23 | City center | +4940322157
Tue – Sun, public holiday 12:00 – 18:00

“We love you, we love you, we love you, and where you play we follow, we follow, we follow, ’cause we support Sankt Pauli – Sankt Pauli, Sankt Pauli, and that’s the way we like it – we like it, we like it, Ooooohhhhhh – Oooohhhhhh”

There is no big wow-effect if you come in the stadium and you won’t think: jeeesus, this is huuuuge! No, the Millerntor is simple and cult. Here I lived through cheers to black despair, from being stunned till my eyes were filled with tears. The fans are unique! The football players step in the arena supported by AC/DC’s “Hells Bells”, the people sing and dance everywhere and show the brown and white colours of their flags.

That moment gives me goosebumps. Old-punks and alternatives, students and businessmen come together singing the same songs. Not only is the game important but also the atmosphere. Whether you come just for a beer (of course Astra 3,50 Euro) or jumping and singing with the Ultra Sankt Pauli Fans in the south stand.

If FC Sankt Pauli scored, Blur’s “Song 2″ is the song of the moment. If they lose the game, there is only one sentence in the air: “As a fan of St. Pauli you need to be suffering!” and singing goes on: Ooooooolé, forza Sankt Pauli!

Millerntor Timetable till end of season:

14.03.2010, FC St. Pauli : SC Rot-Weiß Oberhausen28.03.2010, FC St. Pauli : FC Hansa Rostock

Between 09. and 12.04.2010, FC St. Pauli : FC AugsburgBetween 23. and 26.04.2010, FC St. Pauli : TuS Koblenz

Last Season Game: 09.05.2010, FC St. Pauli : SC Paderborn 07

After the season and the hopefully move up from second to first Bundesliga, in June 2010 the FC Sankt Pauli became 100 years old and the plannings are running at full speed.

By the way, in summertime (in the soccer summer break, around middle of June till middle of August): Movienights at Millerntor. It opens at 20:30. Come early and you will get one of the 1500 seas. A new big screen and the all-weather-roof are fantastic! The movie starts at 21:30  (after sunset). The prices are affordable: movie 6 Euro, Astra 3,50 Euro and popcorn 1,50 Euro.

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Millerntor-Stadion | Art & culture, Festivals & events | Entrance for the South Stand € 11.00
Auf dem Heiligengeistfeld | Sankt Pauli | +494031787451
See program

:: SPRING ARRIVES! GET OUT TO THE PARK FICTION! ::

Less tourists, more St. Pauli’er!

Park Fiction is a collective project by active residents from St. Pauli. It’s a green oasis in the middle of Hamburg with a nice view of the harbour with Blohm & Voss‘ dockyard 10 and 11 . This small (only 1500 m2) artificial park is an absolute insider tip.

The lawn was created in waves and equipped with artificial palm-trees. Lots of bike performers and skaters are around. For children, there is a tartan playground with big tulips on the ground and also (very hard to find in Germany) a dog park.

I really love this small recreational park for reading a book and drinking a sparkling rhubarb juice from the Amphore Café (see the Amphore article) beside.

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Park Fiction | Art & culture, Relaxing
Bernhard-Nocht-Strasse | Sankt Pauli
24 hours daily

The service is always amiable, sometimes with their heads up in the clouds, sometimes serving at the table, sometimes self-service, in this seventies furnished Pony Bar. Situated beside the campus of the University of Hamburg, you will meet lots of students shortly before seminars or relaxed after class.

I really adore the red wine there; not really cheap (€ 3.00 to € 4.50), but affordable. Merlot costs € 3.00. All the other beverages are cheap. They offer milk-coffee (€ 1.90 ) with soy-milk with no surcharge. Try out the fresh mint tea (€ 2.10 ).

The red back room is the music-area. On Mondays songwriters give their best, on Tuesdays there are very good! Open-Mic-Sessions (HipHop), contemporary Life-Jazz on Wednesday, and … and … and …

Beside that I love to watch “Tatort” (famous German criminal series) on Sunday, readings, listen to DJ’s, or watch an exhibition.

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Pony Bar | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Music | Milk coffee € 1.90
Allende Platz 1 | Grindelviertel | +4940428387895
Mon – Sat from 09:00, Sun from 10:00

This place in the middle of Schulterblatt is in in absolute contrast to the scenic hip shops and sushi-bars on the Schanze .

This former theater has become a successful culture house. In 1989, in response to plans to turn it into a musical theater it was overtaken by squatters and became the alternative culture house it is today.

The facade of the Rote Flora changes every few weeks, from my perspective it is always creatively done. As a political and cultural center, it is the center of a lot of art events, block parties, flea markets, and alternative political neighborhood work.

The parties in the Rote Flora are great, which is a great contrast with the pabulum of the scenic Schanze. The music varies from punk, reggae, dub to drum’n'bass or house. The people are very mixed from alternative rasta-piercing-guys to political activists to (unfortunately too many) just-have-fun party people.

By the way, beside the parties you’ll find a self-help service station for bikes and the Volxküche (with lunch).

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Rote Flora | Art & culture, Music
Schulterblatt 71 | Schanze | +49404395413
See the program

This is the kind of book shop where you only have a chance to come out of the door after some minutes, when you know exactly what book title you wanna carry home. But even then, its more likely that the atmosphere inside will take you in. Hours later you will stumble out, still dizzy with all the beautiful things you have seen.

The book shelves in the long stretched corridor reach far under the ceiling and are filled with all kind of art, design, photography and architecture books. This is heaven on earth for bookworms and art lovers. No worry when you cant read German, there are definitely enough pictures to look at! The staff are experts and will help you out when you are overwhelmed by the possibilities.

They also have once in a while interesting book presentations. So if you can understand some German, give them a go.

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Sautter+Lackmann | Art & culture, Shopping
Admiralitätstraße 71/72 | City center | +49040373196
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 19:00, Sat 11:00 – 17:00

Located between Deichtorhallen and Baumwall, the “Speicherstadt” is the world’s largest warehouse complex. It is here that precious goods like tea, coffee, spices, cocoa, tobacco, computers, and oriental carpets and rugs are stored.

Built at the turn of the last century, it constitutes an important Hamburg landmark and is one of the main attractions of the harbor boat trips. Take a close look at the architectural details as you float along the narrow canals. The reflections of the romantic Wilhelmine Gothic style constructions with their peculiar turrets and gables convey an idyllic atmosphere.

To learn more about its traditional and current functions, you can take a guided tour of the district or visit one of the various museums. At the “Hamburg Dungeon“, professional actors, exciting shows and rides will take you to the dark side of Hamburg’s past where you’re definitely in for a good scare! Or visit the word’s largest digitally operated model railroad at “Miniatur Wunderland” with realistic reproductions of Hamburg’s popular districts, parts of Austria, Scandinavia, the USA, and Switzerland. “Dialog im Dunkeln” (check the Dialog im Dunkeln article) is another highlight – there is nothing to see but lots to discover! Experience for yourself how sightless people perceive the world.

At sunset, the Speicherstadt is engulfed in a mysterious atmosphere when the facades of the red brick buildings and steel bridges are artfully illuminated. Enjoy this magical moment along with the aromatic scents of commodities from all over the world…

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Speicherstadt | Art & culture
Am Sandtorkai | Harbour
24 hours daily

Once an impressive Gothic church, St. Nikolai now serves as an anti-war memorial. You may wonder why as you approach the intact tower from Rödingsmarkt. The reason becomes evident as you walk around the structure where you’ll be surprised to find the nave practically non-existent: sadly, St. Nikolai was largely destroyed during WWII.

Merely skeletal window frames, desolate remnants of statues, and jagged wall fragments remain creating an eery atmosphere that makes me want to turn back time and undo the damage.

Thanks to a group of locals who founded a society dedicated to saving St. Nikolai, visitors can visit the crypt for Gospel concerts, readings, and exhibits. Serving as a documentation center, the exhibition hall currently shows photos and documentary films depicting the scope of destruction in Hamburg’s districts during the 1940s. Restored fragments of the original altar, illuminated stained-glass windows, as well as photos and drawings of St. Nikolai convey the former beauty of this church.

For a breathtaking 360º view of the city you can ride the elevator to the top of Hamburg’s highest tower. Impressions of the inner city, Speicherstadt, City Hall, the Alster, and the harbor from a bird’s-eye view will let you forget that you’re 75m above ground. Pictures on the platform present the view people had from the same position in the 1940s.

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St. Nikolai Church | Art & culture | Lift & exhibition € 3.50
Willy-Brandt-Strasse 60 | City center | +4940371125
Oct – Apr 10:00 – 17:30 daily, May – Sep 10:00 – 20:00 daily

For the more athletic adventurer, Hamburg has something fun in store: discover the city on inline skates! Come out on a Sunday afternoon to join a weekly group skate for a 2-hour tour of some beautiful spots in Hamburg. Regardless of whether you’re just visiting or new in town, this group of fun loving locals is always happy to welcome newbies. The only requirement for participation is that you have some experience and know how to brake!

Meeting point for this year-round activity is the ice rink at Planten un Blomen, and from there you’re off to Fleethof, Jungfernstieg, Mönckebergstrasse, Speicherstadt, Hafencity, Landungsbrücken, and Reeperbahn. The tour usually concludes with a nice dinner at a restaurant in Schanze. A decent, comfortable pace and frequent stops will allow you to keep up with the group, and give you the opportunity to get acquainted with your fellow skaters. I bet you will learn a lot of interesting facts about the various spots.

The annual highlight of this recreational skate is the celebration of both the beginning and the end of the skating season (spring and fall). This tradition involves skating around town in costumes, which always attracts quite a lot of attention. So what are you waiting for?!

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Stadttour Hamburg | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Holstenwall 26 | Sankt Pauli
Sun 15:00 (in the summer, after daylight savings time,16:00)

Theatre Thalia has two great locations: one in the city at Alstertor (photo) reckoned as the more established, and one in Ottensen in the Gaußstraße 190, the more “wild” version.

Of course to have some working knowledge of German could be useful to understand the plays, but maybe its also an interesting experiment without.

Last but not least you also should have a look into the atmospheric bar on the rooftop at Alstertor: the now so called Zentrale (formerly called Nachtasyl). Open from 19:00 it is always nice for a drink.

They also have a lot of interesting events, ranging from chanson evening to poetry slams and other interesting lectures. Check out the website for more information.

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Thalia Theater | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Theaters
Alstertor 1 | City center | +494032814444
Tickets (Alstertor) Mon – Sat 10:00 – 19:00, Sun 16:00 – 18:00

Whether you want to attend a special rock-, jazz- classic-, theatre production, a reading or a political event, you will find yourself in a unique atmosphere in the FABRIK in Ottensen.

Here you can combine cultural events with a look into the industrial history of Ottensen that once has been big in producing machine parts for the ship industry. The famous alternative and multicultural “communication center” was founded in 1971 in a building of a former machine factory that is around 150 years old.

Unique surrounding, unique program: In the FABRIK you don’t find mainstream events, its more for the particular taste or even more particular taste. So check out the website, if there is anything that makes you curious. And maybe you are anyway a fan of the “sounds of the Mongolian grasslands” or the “festival of the monsters of ska-punk” and don’t understand at all why I stress this point so much!

The famous Fabrik indoor flea market is my favourite in the cold season, when the hall and the gallery are packed with the Ottensen folk that emptied their attics. There is always a treasure to find here and for sure also one or two German scurrilities. Good luck with your own hunt!

In the cold season the flea market is once a month on a Saturday from 09:00 to 15:00. Check out the website for more information. Entry is for free.

The next dates are:
13 March 2010
17 April 2010

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The FABRIK | Art & culture, Music, Shopping | Tickets from € 8.00
Barnerstr. 36 | Altona & Ottensen | +4940391070
Presales Mon – Fri 13:00 – 17:00

Let’s descend to the bottom of the Elbe river! The old Elbe tunnel, opened in 1911, is one of the oldest still operating tunnels in Europe. Open to traffic and pedestrians, it connects the inner city of Hamburg at Landungsbrücken (north entrance) with the shipyards at Steinwerder (south entrance). The south side of the Elbe river offers a spectacular view of Hamburg’s cityscape that is most impressive when it’s lit at night.

If you feel daring, you’ll walk down the staircase, which takes you 24 m below the surface. If you’d rather save your energy, hop onto one of the elevators instead.  The best time to explore during the week is after 20:00, or on weekends when the tunnel is closed to traffic. Take in the full scope of the decorative elements, and admire the glazed ceramic reliefs depicting maritime motifs on the walls of the 426 m long tiled tubes.

Recently, this historic landmark has inspired various annual projects: For the past 8 years, 100 Marathon Club Deutschland e.V. has been organizing the Elbtunnel marathon every last Sunday in January. Since 2007, ElbArt has been inviting local artists to exhibit their work in the tunnel in the summertime. One day, a friend and I encountered two musicians playing with the acoustics of the structure reverberating sounds of their instruments. That was amazing!

As the tunnel is currently undergoing renovation, look for signs pointing you in the right direction of the elevators. When you get to the south side, pass the toll booth, and turn left (make a u-turn at that building) to walk down a little paved path to the Elbe.

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The old Elbe tunnel | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Landungsbrücken 7 | Sankt Pauli | +4940428474742
24 hours daily for pedestrians & cyclists