Day 15 & 16 - The Hanseatic North

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End of Day 14
I had a shower and everything to feel fresh, checked the weather on the internet (not looking great) and then returned to my room, where I met a German guy Toby. I sat and read and went off to sleep!

Day 15 - Hamburgers

Up early again, I had breakfast with the English guy and a German lady, who was organising a volunteering camp. I then walked to catch the tram (without a ticket, thanks to the broken coin-operated machine) and then had a nice wait for the train to Hamburg - a fast train again taking little more than an hour and a quarter.

In Hamburg (Germany's largest port; its second biggest city, half the size of Berlin; and also a separate German state) the S-Bahn immediately prooved efficient, and by half 12, I was at Landungsbrücke station climbing the steps of the footpath to the Youth Hostel.

I waited a while to check in - and saved €7 by getting a mixed dorm with the shower and toilets outside, rather than a smaller male dorm with shower and toilet inside.

I then caught the S-Bahn to Jungfernstieg and saw the town hall (Rathaus) and its Market (Rathausmarkt), but feeling a few spots of rain, I dived underground again and caught the S1 to the Hauptbahnhof and then the S21 to Sternschanze in the Schanzenviertel (an area of North Hamburg, also known as the Schanze with buildings covered in graffiti, but just generally another suburb). Not long after I got off the train, it poured with rain, so I dived under a bus shelter until it calmed down. Deciding to walk back the couple of kilometres to the Hostel, I carried on, only for it to pour with rain two more times.

The Reeperbahn (one of two red-light areas in Hamburg) is rather interesting, and probably better seen in the day time, I think. I got back to Landungsbrücke and had a ham and cheese baguette from the station, before returning to the hostel up the little hill. The hostel has a great view of the river and the massive container port, which really is quite a sight from the lounge window of the hostel - especially at night. The Hostel was rather nice too, with a colour-changing neon-lighted reception and a floor chess game and pool table in the lounge.

At half 9, with no sign of my facebook friend Jen who was staying there, I went to bed.

Day 16 - The Town of Fairytales

First being woken at 5.30, when the Swiss guys gob back from clubbing. I got back to sleep to wake at 7.40 and discovered Jen had text me the previous night to say she'd arrived at just after 10pm. I queued for the shared toilets, and then went downstairs to find an enormous queue for breakfast.

Instead I bought a hot chocolate from the machine and packed up my things ready to go. I sat and waited, but there was no sign of Jen or her friend (who I presume were still sleeping), so at 9 I checked out and caught the S-Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof to catch my IC train to Bremen. Rain on the way didn't really really make a difference to the otherwise sunny day.

In Bremen (Germany's smallest state), I put my pack in the station's luggage lockers and got a salady sandwich thing, and set about exploring the town/city/state - let's stick with town! The highlights include the amazingly out of place windmill, with its suitably dutch looking flowerbeds; the church, town hall and cathedral in the market area; the Böttcherstraße (a specially designed narrow street); and the Wallenlagen, a series of ponds which, along with the river Weser, surround the city centre.

I collected my bag from the station and dropped it at the Youth Hostel on the riverside to the west of town. I had a short walk along the river in the sun, taking a few pictures.

I had read in my Lonely Planet book that the Schnoor area of Bremen (former red-light-district, but now full of shops and restaurants) was good for silver and amber jewellery, so I headed into the maze of tiny streets and found a very small shop selling a huge array of Bernsteinstuck (Amber jewellery), as well as lamps and other things made from amber, and bought a necklace for mum for her birthday. I headed back to the hostel to properly check in, and met two guys in my room, before quickly falling asleep (4.30pm!).

I wasn't asleep for long, and after a quick wash, I went out to find my favourite cheap eat. I can tell you that Bremen has at least 3 McDonalds', so I chose the one on Martinstraße - there's another near the main station and one right near the centre of town. There are also two subways, a number of Döner kebab & pizza places and an undiscovered Burger King. End of Linden's Bremen Fast Food Guide.

By 7.30, I was back at the hostel, and went and sat on the roof terrace enjoying the cool, yet sunny, evening, and the view - Beck's brewery steaming away on the opposite bank of the river, and the Kellogs factory off in the distance.

I decided to get an early night, speaking briefly from with the two guys in the room, discovering one was from Hong Kong, and the other from Italy.

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