Sunday, June 23, 2013

Places to go to in Hamburg (2)

Elbtunnel - the old tunnel in Hamburg. Today it's mainly a tourist attraction and not used very often. You can still go down there in a car but most of the time it's used by pedestrians and bike riders. The lighting down there is great. And it's definitely worth a fun visit!

Musical - well...I've been to broadway, but haven't gone to a musical here. I really want to go - anyone want to go with me? ;)
I think it's an extra special thing to do here because you get over there by taking the boat. So you have a little extra anticipation time.

Fischmarkt - gotta go there after a night of partying and being happy. It's so fun. Especially when you're in a large group of a couple of people.

Miniatur Wunderland - it's supposed to be amazing. It's German für "miniature wonderland" (wow, big surprise there, haha). There's basically a gigantic mini-landscape with trains, trees, people and everything you usually have in a model railroad kit - just in an amazingly big amount. Haven't been there but it's on my to do list. Just not all the way at the top.

Planten un Blomen - yeah. Well I've been there. And lost my phone there while writing postcards - funny story. It's a pretty park in the middle of the city with all kinds of flowers and plants (translation from Hamburg-German to English: plants and flowers). Great place with a little lake/pond, places to sit and things to see. Need to go back there again soon. And watch my phone carefully. (Luckily it was still on the bench where I lost it last time :) )

Maritime Museum - I'm not quite the museum type but I really need to see it some time...Someone want to go?

Speicherstadt - a really beautiful part of town (but only at night) Very old. Its translation is "storage city". This is where they used to store all the goods that came to Hamburg from all over the world by ship. There are still some in use. For example the tea and coffee storage. But lots of them have been altered into business locations or even apartments. The lights at night with the reflections in the water are really great.

Dom - biiiiig carnival that's here a couple times a year. For really long. I was surprised how often they are here for over a month! They have pretty much everything a carnival needs. Slow rides, fast rides, crazy rides, food....


Pictures are going to be up by the end of the week!

Monday, June 17, 2013

Craft Stores

After posting my favorite fabric stores I will now post my favorite craft places and suppliers.

Before I came to Hamburg I always thought - "Wow, I think Hamburg is the most crafty place in Germany!" It is.

First of all: The place I went to three times in December: Porzellanfräulein.
Paint your own ceramics, have a great comfortable and realxing afternoon there. Read my post to see more!






Then the place where I've been twice in the last three weeks: Nuena.
Paradise for bead and color lovers. I'm telling you: They have every single bead you can think of. And you can also spend an afternoon in their little store. There's always good music and a calm environment you can work in really well.
This is what I made on a spontaneous trip to the store: Necklace.







idee. Craft store. They have pretty much everything one can need. A very little amount of expensive fabrics, washi tape, cardboard, paint, decoration, wood materials...told you so: everything. I love going there just to have a look...sometimes I even make it out without buying anything. Woohooo!






...and then I found another really cool craft store at a mall that's pretty far away from my house. I was like "well they couldn't have built it another place, huh?" Well..someone heard me. Because a month later I saw a sign in the mall next to my boyfriends house saying "Panduro. Opening in March" I was like "Ooooh yeeeeeeeah!"

Monday, June 10, 2013

Places to go to in Hamburg (1)

Since I've been living here for 10 whole months by now (which is amazing and absolutely unbelievable) I thought I'd share some more information on this city.

I love the phenomenon that is reconfirmed over and over again: You barely ever visit tourist attractions in the city you live in. And if you do it's mostly not for yourself but for guests that are visiting from a different place. You plan trips and realise you haven't been to most of the places yourself.
Luckily I came to Hamburg before I lived here. That way I saw a lot more things than I would've otherwise...

So this is a list I compiled from different sources on the net while looking for the most well-known and most popular attractions. Some of them I have seen, been to or done, others I haven't. And most of those I still want to see...(People: Visit me! ...one person in specific and you know who you are! :( )
Hamburg Dungeon - A little bit too spooky for me. Sorry, but I can't ;) I'd be screaming nonstop, might hit one or two people and probably wouldn't be able to sleep for the next two to three weeks. Not happening.

Hafencity - Been there more than once and it's pretty cool. By day it's definitely best to go when the sun is shining from blue skies - it makes the buildings look amazing. But if the weather isn't good it's worth it to go by night. All these expensive houses, buildings and apartments have great lighting. They really put a whole lot of money in there.


Harbor tour - Fun boat trip, totally touristy but also used by the locals as fast transportation seeing that you can use it with your public transport ticket for Hamburg. It goes all the way to the docks and back to "Blankenese" which is one of the most wealthy parts of town.


Strandperle - One of the oldest bars in the city - haven't been there myself - but definitely planning to do so. Oldie but goodie! Facebook page

Dialog im Dunkeln - Museum about the dark, blindness and experiences life without light. Amazing exhibition, definitely a To Do for people visiting Hamburg. I did it back home in Frankfurt and it was great!

Reeperbahn - Also called "Kiez". Want to see the second heart of Hamburg? Go here. It's the only place in Germany where you have bars, clubs, pubs and other night-activity things (you're not forced to see these - I didn't either ;) ) in a radius of 1 km. Fun for a night out - especially if you like to party. (I've only been there 4 times or something like that...)

St. Pauli - The district where "Reeperbahn" is ;) It leads up to the river and has a cool beach bar: StrandPauli

Michel - Hamburgs main church with a platform from where you can see Hamburg from above in a height of 82 meters. Need to go there soon to finally have an "overview" of the city :)

...so this is the first part of my Hamburg To Do List. The second part with annotations for the grid will be coming soon!

Monday, June 3, 2013

Projects

I actually managed to fulfill some of my goals in sewing. I was productive. Can't believe it. Each time when I look at my best friends' blog I feel bad because she is so much better at the whole blogging thing. But this time a achieved something. Not everything but at least I started. (A little credit there, please)

Here are my outcomes. I might even get some tutorials done. (I case anyone reads it and is interested...)