Veltins wrote:rigger wrote:I know, mate - I stayed just off the Rieperbahn and could see into the St.Pauli stadium when I came and went from the station nearby.
They're a club I really admire politically and would love to go back and see them play, too.
I was there for four days with my sister and we walked everywhere - all around the city - as I find that's the best way to see everything.
While it's a lot like Southampton (where I live) it's much, much bigger but I liked how it still felt communal - there's clearly divided districts and people take pride in their city, unlike most British urban areas which tend to be grimy and not so well kept.
You live in Southampton? I've been there 3 years ago - I am still missing 'The Standing Order'. A pub with about 30 different sorts of beer. Never seen that before. In Germany we have maximum 4-5 kind of beers in a pub. And the food was also good there - it was like heaven
Do you know the pub?
Reeperbahn is not a street for everyone. I am on this street like 2 times a week but I cant do it forever
The Standing Order ?
It's part of a chain called Wetherspoons and there's at least one in every town in Britain. There's actually four in Southampton, all told.
Ironically, the owner is a rabid Brexiteer so I find it quite ironic that you love the place - I'm sure you're NOT his target market
I loved the atmosphere in that part of Hamburg, but don't drink myself. I did see a few stag and hen parties though - there's lots of sex shops there as well as pubs so it was quite funny people-watching.
We really enjoyed the big pub/restaurant that had a nautical theme - there's actually what looks like an old wooden ship built into the interior of the place. The first night we tried it, there was traditional German music on - Oompah, you know - and then a DJ started playing German pop records from the 1950s onwards. For a music fan and DJ like me it was really great to experience that, with people singing when certain songs came on.
On another trip, I went to Berlin with a couple of friends and ended up in a little side-street bar just north of Mitte in an area called Gesundbrunnen where we were the only people drinking (I still drank alcohol back then). The owner was a big blues fan and I got talking to him as I love that music and he proceeded to play all the big German blues artists for the next hour or so. I didn't even know there were any