Hello everyone! I don't usually post two days in a row but I really wanted to quickly share how my day went today (hint: it went well).
If I remember correctly, Hamburg has at present a population that is around 1,75 Million inhabitants. Somehow despite this, I managed to bump into, without meaning to, a few people I know today.
When I was in Denmark, I bought a small Danish flag as my souvenir from there. Recently I have been wanting to get a flag representing all of my travels so far, one for each country and one for each major city/state in Germany that I've been to. I've been really lucky - the tally of my travels this year is already at: Hamburg (of course), Denmark (soon to go for a second time in Easter), the Netherlands, Berlin (twice), Munich, and Poland.
I woke up this morning not sure what to do, and decided to head out and search for some flags. I headed to the train station in my town, and as I was heading up the steps to the train platform, I accidentally met up with a girl from my class at school! We both had to keep moving on, as I had to catch a train, and she needed to go home, but we had a quick conversation, and it was a nice surprise.
I went to the Hauptbahnhof (Central Train Station) and asked in the information centre where I could buy some flags, and they drew out two main locations on a map Hamburg I could go to. I thanked them, and went on my way, catching the S1 train, which goes towards Wedel, and got off at Landungbrucken, a very tourist-y spot that is nonetheless beautiful for it, right on the harbour, a prime location to take ferry tours of the harbour (tip: if you have a public transportation card, you can take a free tour of the harbour using the public transportation ferry there, which is just as beautiful but much nicer on the pocketbook). There are a multitude of tourist shops and also a Hard Rock Cafe strewn alongside the Harbour, and I went through all of them searching for flags - but without any results.
I then got back on the S1, this time in the opposite direction, heading toward the airport, and got off on the next stop in Jungfernstieg. Jungfernstieg is also an extremely beautiful place to visit - it is right on the River Alster, the river that goes through the centre of Hamburg, and is perfect on a sunny day. There are plenty of really nice shops on one side of the road and the river glinting on the other side. When it gets warmer, I can see myself going there more often, maybe purchasing an ice cream or something of the sorts, and just hanging out by the water for the day. Anyways, I was intending to continue looking for the flags, but I realized that I had no clue where I should go. So I decided to just ditch that idea and go to Europa Passage (which is also right there by Jungfernstieg), a three (or maybe four?) story mall, and wander through, looking first in a craft store (also with no luck). The craft store is in the underground level of Europa Passage, and so I was heading towards the escalator so that I could head up a few floors to the bookstore (how could I be near a bookstore and not go in?). And as I set foot on the escalator, someone else set foot on the same step at the same time. I looked over, and the person looked at me as well - and we immediately recognized each other! It was my friend Y, from my German learning class, who I mentioned in my post from yesterday! We couldn't talk for long because he was there with his cousins and I did not want to hold them up, but we talked for a good two minutes, and it was really cool! Imagine - bumping into two people I know in such a big city as Hamburg!
After that, I quickly went through the bookstore (and by quickly, I mean I think I only spent about an hour or so there) and then caught a train back to the Hauptbahnhof, from where I could catch another train to head home. As I was on the first train, I was just standing there, hoping that a seat would eventually open up for me. And then I felt a tapping on my shoulder - and I turned, to see yet another person I know from the other German learning class at my school! He is very new to learning German, and to be honest it didn't even cross my mind to try and speak English, so once again we couldn't talk too much, but it was really nice to see him. He is a really nice guy!
When I got to the Central Station, we parted ways, and after a bit of wandering through the train station, I headed home.
Not much more to say about today, really, but I wanted to share that with you guys! I can't help but wonder what the odds are, of meeting three people you know in one day in a city the size of Hamburg?
I hope you guys are all having a great day, and I will hopefully talk to you soon!
-Jason
If I remember correctly, Hamburg has at present a population that is around 1,75 Million inhabitants. Somehow despite this, I managed to bump into, without meaning to, a few people I know today.
When I was in Denmark, I bought a small Danish flag as my souvenir from there. Recently I have been wanting to get a flag representing all of my travels so far, one for each country and one for each major city/state in Germany that I've been to. I've been really lucky - the tally of my travels this year is already at: Hamburg (of course), Denmark (soon to go for a second time in Easter), the Netherlands, Berlin (twice), Munich, and Poland.
I woke up this morning not sure what to do, and decided to head out and search for some flags. I headed to the train station in my town, and as I was heading up the steps to the train platform, I accidentally met up with a girl from my class at school! We both had to keep moving on, as I had to catch a train, and she needed to go home, but we had a quick conversation, and it was a nice surprise.
I went to the Hauptbahnhof (Central Train Station) and asked in the information centre where I could buy some flags, and they drew out two main locations on a map Hamburg I could go to. I thanked them, and went on my way, catching the S1 train, which goes towards Wedel, and got off at Landungbrucken, a very tourist-y spot that is nonetheless beautiful for it, right on the harbour, a prime location to take ferry tours of the harbour (tip: if you have a public transportation card, you can take a free tour of the harbour using the public transportation ferry there, which is just as beautiful but much nicer on the pocketbook). There are a multitude of tourist shops and also a Hard Rock Cafe strewn alongside the Harbour, and I went through all of them searching for flags - but without any results.
I then got back on the S1, this time in the opposite direction, heading toward the airport, and got off on the next stop in Jungfernstieg. Jungfernstieg is also an extremely beautiful place to visit - it is right on the River Alster, the river that goes through the centre of Hamburg, and is perfect on a sunny day. There are plenty of really nice shops on one side of the road and the river glinting on the other side. When it gets warmer, I can see myself going there more often, maybe purchasing an ice cream or something of the sorts, and just hanging out by the water for the day. Anyways, I was intending to continue looking for the flags, but I realized that I had no clue where I should go. So I decided to just ditch that idea and go to Europa Passage (which is also right there by Jungfernstieg), a three (or maybe four?) story mall, and wander through, looking first in a craft store (also with no luck). The craft store is in the underground level of Europa Passage, and so I was heading towards the escalator so that I could head up a few floors to the bookstore (how could I be near a bookstore and not go in?). And as I set foot on the escalator, someone else set foot on the same step at the same time. I looked over, and the person looked at me as well - and we immediately recognized each other! It was my friend Y, from my German learning class, who I mentioned in my post from yesterday! We couldn't talk for long because he was there with his cousins and I did not want to hold them up, but we talked for a good two minutes, and it was really cool! Imagine - bumping into two people I know in such a big city as Hamburg!
After that, I quickly went through the bookstore (and by quickly, I mean I think I only spent about an hour or so there) and then caught a train back to the Hauptbahnhof, from where I could catch another train to head home. As I was on the first train, I was just standing there, hoping that a seat would eventually open up for me. And then I felt a tapping on my shoulder - and I turned, to see yet another person I know from the other German learning class at my school! He is very new to learning German, and to be honest it didn't even cross my mind to try and speak English, so once again we couldn't talk too much, but it was really nice to see him. He is a really nice guy!
When I got to the Central Station, we parted ways, and after a bit of wandering through the train station, I headed home.
Not much more to say about today, really, but I wanted to share that with you guys! I can't help but wonder what the odds are, of meeting three people you know in one day in a city the size of Hamburg?
I hope you guys are all having a great day, and I will hopefully talk to you soon!
-Jason