Questions about Hamburg - anyone know it?
Discussion
I'll be spending February next year in Hamburg (old bloke studying as part of mid-life crisis late gap year).
First question is about parking. I'll be driving there, but staying very centrally, with no car parking. So I plan to drive, unpack and then park the car for the month and cycle around everywhere on a day-to-day basis. But where to park long term? In the UK I use justpark.com but I can't find an equivalent in Germany. I could park at Hamburg airport (which seems a bit weird) and pay 110 euro or so, but that wouldn't allow me to use the car if I want to use it for a weekend excursion.
Second question: is there a version of the Hamburg Card that lasts longer than the 5 days? I'll be there the full 4 weeks. Maybe a travel pass without the extra discount benefits?
Third question: to immerse myself in the German language a bit, I'd like to do some extra-curricular stuff. Perhaps volunteering/etc. Any ideas. My German is super basic at the moment, so I might not be of much practical use!
Final question: suggestions for places to see/eat/etc. Excursions to take to nearby towns/parks/scenery. I'll be doing some street photography for fun in my free time.
First question is about parking. I'll be driving there, but staying very centrally, with no car parking. So I plan to drive, unpack and then park the car for the month and cycle around everywhere on a day-to-day basis. But where to park long term? In the UK I use justpark.com but I can't find an equivalent in Germany. I could park at Hamburg airport (which seems a bit weird) and pay 110 euro or so, but that wouldn't allow me to use the car if I want to use it for a weekend excursion.
Second question: is there a version of the Hamburg Card that lasts longer than the 5 days? I'll be there the full 4 weeks. Maybe a travel pass without the extra discount benefits?
Third question: to immerse myself in the German language a bit, I'd like to do some extra-curricular stuff. Perhaps volunteering/etc. Any ideas. My German is super basic at the moment, so I might not be of much practical use!
Final question: suggestions for places to see/eat/etc. Excursions to take to nearby towns/parks/scenery. I'll be doing some street photography for fun in my free time.
I lived there 15-20 years ago. It depends where you're staying - I lived on Grindellallee (look on a map - near Eppendorf) and parked my car up, rarely using it. The U Bahn and S Bahn systems are so good you don't need a car. I've not idea what parking is like now but you could find a spot away from the centre and leave it. Put a note in the screen with your number - the Hamburg Polizei will contact you if anything is amiss. In my experience they rather you moved your car as opposed to them moving it. They have/had an interesting way of lifting your car - they don't park it in a compound but move it to another part of the city. :-)
Are you renting a place or staying with friends?
Rent is pricey for nice places, cheap it is not.
Most Hamburgers speak good English. They love us, for some reason. Not many rough parts tbh although St. Pauli is lively.
They speak pretty regular German, using the greeting 'moin' during the day. Reply with 'Moin Moin'
It's my favourite German city. Munich is a bit conservative, Berlin is big and ugly.
Places to eat; everywhere. Lots of good restaurants but the ones I knew may have changed. Cheap Chinese places around St.Pauli, good coffee shops everywhere - My 'locals' were in Eppendorf. Lager shandy is called 'Alsterwasser' after the ASlster lake in the centre of HH (Hansa stadt Hamburg).
Places to see: St.Nicholai cathedral, badly damaged in WW2, twinned with Coventry cathedral.
Are you renting a place or staying with friends?
Rent is pricey for nice places, cheap it is not.
Most Hamburgers speak good English. They love us, for some reason. Not many rough parts tbh although St. Pauli is lively.
They speak pretty regular German, using the greeting 'moin' during the day. Reply with 'Moin Moin'
It's my favourite German city. Munich is a bit conservative, Berlin is big and ugly.
Places to eat; everywhere. Lots of good restaurants but the ones I knew may have changed. Cheap Chinese places around St.Pauli, good coffee shops everywhere - My 'locals' were in Eppendorf. Lager shandy is called 'Alsterwasser' after the ASlster lake in the centre of HH (Hansa stadt Hamburg).
Places to see: St.Nicholai cathedral, badly damaged in WW2, twinned with Coventry cathedral.
Edited by iSore on Saturday 22 December 17:32
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