Day 03: Hamburg

Date	04 Dec 2025
Today's Distance:
Total Jutlandica:
Total Germany 2025
Total Spain 2025	245 miles.
Total All Caminos:	2353 miles
Lodging:	Jugendherberge Hamburg auf dem Stintfang @ € 100 @ 2 nights
Total Lodging:	$ 117
Airplane(s):
Total Airplane(s) / Insurance:	$ 1020 / $ 132
Buses / Trains / Taxis & Rides:	€ 8 HHV all day ticket
Total Transportation:	$ 30
Food:	€ 20 DOM 1/2 meter Bratwurst, almonds, crepe and Glühwein; Beer at hostel € 9 Soup
Total Food:	$ 77

AI asst'd

St. Pauli is one of Hamburg’s most vibrant districts, known for its creative energy, multicultural character, and legendary nightlife. Centered around the Reeperbahn, it blends music venues, theaters, clubs, and quirky shops with a strong sense of community.

Hamburg’s Reeperbahn is the heart of St. Pauli’s nightlife, famous for its neon glow, music clubs, theaters, and lively bars. Once known mainly as a red-light district, it has evolved into a cultural hotspot attracting locals, tourists, and artists. Iconic venues like the Große Freiheit theaters and historic music clubs highlight its creative pulse.

End AI asst'd

St Pauli Strand (Beach)

It's not really a beach. It's more like a boardwalk but it's really long and there are lots and lots of fish markets and fishing related businesses along it. Also lots of tour boats for the river cruise. 

I found it a nice morning's walk under the gray skies.

Russian U-Boat 434 tour

I saw there was a U-Boat tour near the hostel so I thought why not. 

Just stepping into the insides of that submarine made me claustrophobic again. Of course I exaggerate. 

As I was walking around the insides of the submarine, I realized how my body could no longer do such tight twists and turns. 

When you look at the picture of one of the hatches, I simply could not bend low enough and stretch my legs wide enough and feel supported enough to easily and freely get through the hatches, of which there were five as I recall. 

Because of all my temporary duty assignments on submarines in the Navy, I could not afford to pass up this opportunity. And what a coincidence. 

All my trips were on US Navy submarines as a Russian linguist, looking for Russian submarines. I finally found one. LOL

The Beatles

Visited the club where the Beatles first played at the beginning of their careers in Hamburg. It was closed, as I was there during the day. 

And frankly, I have little interest and experiencing the Reeperbahn nightlife.

The Indra Club where the Beatles performed in Hamburg

A fair percentage of the businesses here were about sex

 

Beatles Plaza

Beatles Plaza, as you can see is some metallic sculptures and that's about it.

HVV Ferry Ride

Did not take any pictures as as we had the typical Hamburg December weather here today. It was a light sprinkle and definitely 100% gray overcast. So the pictures would not have been of that interesting. 

The ferry ride itself was quite enjoyable. Despite the wind and the chill, I rode up top outside and just enjoyed the ride as we continued down river past the skyscrapers, and past the Port of Hamburg which is huge, quite huge. 

I honestly felt that there were more ship docking cranes than there were skyscrapers. And the cranes would qualify as skyscrapers in themselves.

Mental health issues

I was surprised to see two separate instances of mental health issues on the rapid transit system. 

In one case, a man in the car was just constantly yelling to nobody about something. It wasn't a political theater or some kind of improvisational routine, the man was simply, to put it politely, off his meds. 

In another instance, in the rapid transit station, a man is just laying down right on the platform. Kind of moving a little bit. Just to be clear, he was on the platform, not on the tracks. 

But in both instances, the reaction of the general population was to ignore the situation. In the first, there might have been the possibility of violence were somebody to intervene. In the second, I assume nobody really knew what to do.

Hamburg DOM Part II

I knew I would be back to take in this city fair again. Yesterday I was tired, too tired to want to eat. Tonight I went back with an appetite. LOL 

I eat half of a half meter Thuringer bratwurst, which is about 9 in of the entire sandwich. The remaining 9 in is going back with me to the hostel for a snack tomorrow. Sitting at the outdoor stand, just people watching, as I take my time with my bratwurst.

I followed that up later with white chocolate covered raspberries. 

And followed that with sugar coated almonds.

While ordering my hot white Glühwein, I had the chance to make a joke in German with the server. 

For example, last night at one of the stand-up bars, the boss lady explained to me about the deposit system on the glasses, which is you pay a 2 euro deposit which you get back when you return the glass to them. So tonight when I ordered my Glühwein, and the attendant told me about the deposit, I was able to joke with her boss standing next to her, by referring to her boss as my teacher who taught me last night about the deposit system. We all had a good laugh. In German lol

Ended the night with a hot crepe with Nutella.

The white chocolate covered raspberries are finished. 1/4 meter Bratwurst and 50 g of almonds are my lunch tomorrow.