First Day in Hamburg: No Beatles, Great Food

 
First order of business was the Reeperbahn, the place where the Beatles grew into their funny hair having, music making selves in post-war, crime ridden, 1960's Hamburg. And so I arrived, with a heart full of Beatle's enthusiasm,ready to throw all my money at the first tour guide I spotted. Alas, there was no tour-guide, or really other human, to be seen that day on the Reeperbahn. My camera reacted to this news of no Beatles tour by malfunctioning, and extending it's lens in a paralyzed position of devastation. I left the scene with only my phone-camera, and the urge to eat some soul-mending food. Sad Clara.

My buddies, Maria (from Portugal) and Pedro (from Brazil)! And oh look, no tour guides...or people...or hope.

Food that is so good it makes you forget about John Lennon was easily found in the Little Portugal of Hamburg, near the harbor. Maria, a native of Portugal, suggested I have the Pasteis de bacalhau, which consists of codfish, egg, potatoes, and parsley, all whipped together into a pillow of creamy,deep-fried therapy. To fully ensure that I recovered from my previous No-Beatles-Tour trauma, I also helped myself to another typical dish of Portugal, Pastel de nata. Like all good things, it is simple: egg yolks and sugar, baked until slightly curdled, for a concerning yet addicting texture. These sweet, legendary life-improvers were created in 18th century Portugal, when convents and monasteries used tons of eggs whites to clean their clothes, and were like "let's turn these leftover yolks into delicious stuff." But after the Liberal Revolution of 1820, monasteries were forced to close down, and to earn a little bit more cash, the monks sold their egg yolk magic to local bakeries. This started the never ending, perfect wave of Pastel de nata. Happy Clara.

 Oh, and we also visited the Rathaus of Hamburg, which was big and had a pretty fountain, and all of these things combined put a smile on my face. Don't worry though, my determination for a full on Beatles tour is still aflame, and that blog post will come later, in all of its glory.


Yes, I tried to make up for the terrible picture quality by making it black and white. The sassy Rathaus was also like "no, you can't have all of me in your picture, sorry."

Fountain. Fun.

The Metro. Also a good thing.

Way back home, passing Hamburg harbor.


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