“People in Hamburg care about what happens around
them and many are involved in shaping the city”
1
23The main colour of Hamburg has to be blue because
of all the water. I also associate the city with the colour
red – it’s in our coat of arms and there’s our red-light
district Reeperbahn, where you’ll find many music
clubs. Music is a key part of the city Tthe Beatles
are said to have begun their stage career in the Indra
club, just off Reeperbahn).Tell us about the people who live in your city.
Some say the people in Hamburg are a bit cold, I’d
say they’re just reserved but still friendly! We’ve been
a multicultural and open city since way back, probably
due to the harbour. Honesty and respect matter a lot
for Hamburgers – in our economic history it’s always
been considered important to be a “ehrbarer
Kaufmann”, or honourable merchant.Where are your favourite places to go with friends?
You can often find us in the Vietnamese kitchen, Ban
Canteen, and at weekends, enjoying the sun at the café
Hermetic in Sternschanze with a coffee from their
roastery and slices of amazing New York cheesecake or
apple pie. We might have a walk in the park at Planten
un Blomen and end up watching a movie in the
arthouse cinema, Abaton.Tell us about eating in your city?
Two typical foods are Franzbrötchen and fischbrötchen.
Brötchen means bread roll, but these are two totally
different things. The first is a cinnamon bun found in
almost every bakery (for an award-winning bun, go to
Kleine Konditorei in Eimsbüttel district). Fischbrötchen
is a sandwich filled with fresh fish, which you can eat
at one of the stalls at the harbour. There’s fine Nordic
cuisine at Haco in St Pauli and top-notch Mexican in
Salt & Silver at Hafenstraße. If you’re on a tight budget,
the best falafel is from Kimo and for pizza the no-frills
spot Pizza Bande, next to the Reeperbahn, is popular.What’s your favourite way to get about the city?
Hamburg is f lat and the perfect size to walk around.
For a quick overview of the city I recommend the
subway U3. It rides above ground most of the way and
stops at a lot of important spots (central station, town
hall, harbour, St Pauli and Sternschanze). A day ticket
also gives you access to the ferry line. The best ferry
for a harbour tour is the no62 to Altona, a slightly
forgotten part of town, but definitely worth a visit.What types of shop do you most like to visit?
The street Marktstraße is especially good and has two
of the best vinyl record shops: Groove City and Zardoz