swing life away
Today, my friend took me to the rest of Hafen City. I guess this is the port side of town, There is not much here other than a long stretch of parks, expensive waterfront villas and beaches. Perfect recipe for a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Easter is next week. (eggs on the trees)
crowds!
Along the way, we passed by a Sunday market. I asked if we could go check it out, so we made a stop here. Apparently this is where all the young people live and hang out. Nonetheless, the streets were still very tidy. There wasn't really much there, but that's how most markets are right?
funny bunny
moving along, I wonder if I asked to drive he would let me.. (probably not)
Dockland, an office building with a public viewing platform
This office building is being super fancy in the shape of an angular rhomboid. It looks like a ship from the side, but if you look at it straight on from the bottom, it looks sort of like an Aztec pyramid. It's a pretty steep incline to the top, 141 steps, but there's a good view at the top and you really do feel like you're on a ship's bow. There's also this really smooth concrete under the railing along the stairs that is perfect for sliding down. (You just have to endure two bumps along the way, but you can swerve around it) I didn't try it of course, because if you slid off the slope you would totally end up in the sea. Plus, there was security, but it's really tempting, there must be other kids who have done it before.
1. Aztec! 2. You could totally re-enact the Titanic scene here. (if you wanted)
copper buildings. Corel anyone?
someone's wacky home. What an exuberant architect.
exports, imports, trade. Did you know this (Hamburg Sud) is owned by the Oetker group? Yes, that's Dr. Oetker for you.
And here, we spent most of our day at the seaside. The stretch of land-by-the-water is super long, so my friend skipped the really cool part of it because we also wanted to check out the fancy houses and the Airbus plant on the other end. I did, however get a glimpse of it as the sun was setting and we were driving by (that's how I can tell you it's cool). I never thought construction could be pretty, or that a super cold industrious look would be nice to stare at for a landscape, but there's something funny about it. Kind of like the way abandoned buildings and rubble have character. Also, those thingamajigs look like giraffes. DoyouknowwhatI'mtalkingabout?
1. BEWARE OF WATER. 2. Trees, grass, rocks, water
On the other side is the Airbus headquarters! If you squint, you can see a plane or two and a carrier. Somewhere in there, is a double decker.
"Aren't you scared?" He asked. I paused, even though I knew the answer, "Yes, but well, actually, the question is really: should I be?"
One of the craziest things about being in Hamburg, other than the fact that it was an extremely last minute decision, is that I'm sleeping in a stranger's home. I met this friend of mine for fifteen minutes in Berlin FGS, and upon departure he said, "Come visit Hamburg sometime!" and I said, "Sure!" neither of us knowing if our words were true (or maybe it was just me). You know, it could be like the typical HK filler phrase: "When you're free come and yum-cha!" But I went anyway. I told a friend about it and she understood, with some people, you can just tell, it's like an intuitive feeling that it's all right. Although if you ask me, I would normally just brush it off an naivety. (Interestingly so, I've been recently told to let myself trust it more often.) Anyway, what's in your heart shows in your face right? And for all you worry-warts out there, alles klar!
(this is science, and this is not science)
English houses or German houses?
Ice cream! Cherry yogurt and chocolate? omnomnom
like a fancy favela
someone is sitting at the top of this hill and won't get flooded.
sunset! I had to catch my bus, so this is all the golden glow I got.
On my way home, I slept. My feet were tired from walking, and what else is there to do on a dark bus? When we got into Berlin, I woke up, and an overwhelmingly familiar feeling of sitting on a greyhound and arriving in Ottawa or Toronto (both of which I call home) came over me. It's kind of like deja-vu. As I looked out the window and saw the streets and wondered where I was, I was almost expecting the street signs to be in English. It was a really weird feeling.
It's interesting, because perhaps I have been wired to think that when I arrive after a long bus ride from one city to another, I am going home. So when I arrive in Berlin in the late night the way I do in Ottawa, the same feelings occur. It's funny, how our habits make us. Or maybe it is much simpler, and it is just finally becoming true that Berlin is beginning to feel like home.
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