Hamburg - "Am Hafen, die Schiffe und die Fische schlafen"

I found Hamburg really dull, myself - though quite pretty. Get the train to Koln??

oh don't say that! Koln is dull. Hamburg's beautiful (as I recall), and I have friends there too. Does nobody have any not-nine-years-old tips at all? Feh.

well, it has about 4 old buildings max, due to 2 disastrous fires in the 19th century and the RAF in the 20th. The Rathaus is nice (actually it might be a parliament thinking about it as Hamburg is ein Land in its own right). There's a nice park with a big lake in the middle of it. Can't remember much else about it.

no! Eat currywurst!

Do not, I repeat DO NOT, tell my other half this opinion please...

Any further thoughts on the 'Burg?

I'm leaning towards Planten Un Blomen, the Fernsehturm, the Süllberg in Blankenese (cos I used to live there and it's purdy) and hopefully some gig/club action at Kir/Mojo/Logo. Oh, and the Alster in some shape or form.

thank you! i've spent some time recently wondering whether this is a word or not. thank you- apparently it is. as for hamburg, i only spent one night there. stay away from the beach, thats my only advice. schleswig-holstein or wherever it is. i've heard that the nazis were afraid to enter some of the working class parts of hamburg.

I need some Things to See and Do in Hamburg. Come on, I'll be over there next month and would appreciate some (insider) info. Don't let me rely just on Lonely Planet!

Bump for a new day. Hamburg: like, what is the deal?

Walk through the old Elbe Tunnel. Go up in the steeple of St Michaelis.
This is a really cool bookstore:
http://www.sautter-lackmann.de/

I visited my then-fiance for a month in December 2007, and we walked around a lot, mostly north of the Elbe and west of the Alster, just wandering. St Pauli, Sternchanze, Ottensen, Altona. Altstadt and Neustadt too. One day we walked around the Alster.
I made him take me to the Museum für Kunst und Gewurbe, the history museum (wish we had gone earlier in my stay rather than later!), and the Kunsthalle.
We are lol old and didn't go out to any clubs!

I'm here now! It's raining, the hostel internet won't let me log into facebook, and my feet ache. Otherwise it's all gut. Doing the 'Beatles' sightseeing thing today.

The Z and the Y are in different places on the keyboard, crazy Germans.

I guess you've been/are going to St. Pauli? That's an interesting area if you're into alternative culture, some good record stores there too. (Sadly, I don't remember their names.)

My hostel was basically in the backstreets of St. Pauli, which had numerous cool, tiny bars and cafes dotted about. I don't know if it was me projecting my Beatles fandom or what, but the beatnik 'exis' of early '60s Hamburg still has an influence. By that I mean I saw two or three black-clad Astrid Kirchherr(/Jean Seberg) lookalikes, perched on sofas in dimly lit bars around there.
Many really good record shops in Shanzenviertel, just north of St Pauli. Big Turkish community too, I sampled some delicious kebabs there.

The Reeperbahn is just ridiculous at night.

Owen Hatherley's take on Hamburg is interesting if you're able to spar with telos a little bit.

Any other top Hamburg tips for a first-timer?

Don't go when there's a football match on.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/apr/04/love-me-do-quite-good-wrote-john-in-revealing-cache-of-beatles-letters