After talking about my plans for this summer in my last post I decided to turn words into action. So instead of spending the week at home I listened to my own preaching to fill this summer with exciting trips and exploring and thus bought a return ticket to Hamburg to visit a really good friend of mine. I was incredibly excited at the prospect of seeing her again as we hadn't met up in a while and as she had moved flats in the meantime. But the best thing about true friendship is that neither distance nor time matter and so it still felt like we had only seen each other a week ago. I have been to Hamburg quite a lot of times so this post isn't your typical travel post but hey don't worry - I still managed to take a picture of the famous city hall so I got all of you travel enthusiasts covered.
I spent only two nights and therefore one full day with my friend in Hamburg so we actually spent the majority of our time catching up and reflecting on old times. It is crazy that we've known each other for nearly five years now - they went by so quickly somehow but on the other hand I can't remember life before knowing her. Time is a weird thing. When we woke up on Tuesday morning we first had a long and nice breakfast before heading to Hamburg's most famous park 'Planten un Blomen' which basically means plants and flowers. I had heard a lot about this park but I'd still never visited so it was definitely time to change that. In the park we just wandered around and took way too many pictures - you just can't resist pretty flowers, right? The park itself was incredible and so was the little botanical garden we visited which is home to plants from all over the world. You can find anything from tea plants to succulents and we spent ages in there discovering and admiring some truly unique plants. My favourite ones were the succulent that reminded me of fussili pasta - I can't just write a blog post that doesn't involve pasta, can I? - and the plants bearing fruits. But it's hard to pick a favourite amongst all these unique and equally intriguing plants.
After visiting the botanical garden it started pouring down so we headed to the old town where we had a quick lunch and did a bit of shopping - Hamburg just calls for shopping doesn't it. Oh well I'll try to find any excuse to satisfy my passion for fashion. After wandering around the shops for two hours we spent the rest of the afternoon just walking around exploring the city further. Someone recently told me that Hamburg was home to more bridges than Venice and my first reaction was that this really couldn't be true - but after visiting Hamburg again I can see that. And that's definitely the charm of the city, together with its beautiful harbour and old town. Another place I really enjoy in the city is St. Georg, an area that is known for its countless (gay) clubs and cocktail bars. We went there to have a drink and I loved the relaxed atmosphere there, it definitely formed a contrast to the rest of the city that appears rather fast paced. After sipping down my Sex on the Beach - and being teased by my friend about having such a basic drink - we spent the rest of the night in her flat watching an old movie and indulging into the best Indian food I had had in a while. Yes we are wild like that. But I'd choose movies and good food over clubbing in a heartbeat and we ended up having the perfect night in. All in all I had an amazing day in Hamburg and I'm hoping to repeat this experience as soon as possible. Have you ever visited Hamburg or any other city in Germany?
P.S. I would list the clothes I'm wearing but they are all from the same store (Topshop). xx
P.P.S. I am going away on a family holiday so I'm taking a break from blogging & social media for the next two weeks. I'll be back soon! xx