A Monday of Meat and Art (Hamburg style)
Today I had no school, because everyone in the Lower-Saxony region of Germany gets a 2 day vacation after they get their report cards on the last Friday of the month. Me, my friend from Mexico (her name is Maria Fer), and Maria Fer's host sister, took this break as a chance to explore the cool corners of Hamburg. And to do that, you gotta take the U-Bahn downtown:
Gängeviertel "Valentinskampf":
In the midst of your run of the mill office buildings and Starbucks, you will find a tunnel (literally, it's bright pink and strewn with decapitated mannequins) beckoning you further into a street-art, punk-art, anything-art Utopia, kept afloat by the passionate kooks of Hamburg. The houses in this area of Gangeviertel are from the early 19th century, and were supposed to be demolished by the city. Because of the unique structure of these buildings, people put up a fight. Thus, the buildings and the space between them are flourishing with artistic expression, as a way of protecting them from higher powers with bulldozers.
Mr.Kebab:
What better way to top off a nice walk through spray painted ruins than MEAT? Close to the Gagenviertel is a Turkish eatery called Mr.Kebab. Like its name, things here are straight forward. I ordered the classic Doner Teller, where I was given carved lamb, chilled dill yogurt sauce, jasmine rice, and a fresh side of cucumber salad. But the best part of the dish was the house made candied mango yogurt, which I would happily carry around in a flask and put on everything in my path.
After our meal, it was already getting sort of late, so we decided to just wander around and head in the direction of the main station. Along the way, we made pit-stops to warm our frozen fingers, often seeking solace in nauseatingly hipster tea-cup shops. Yet despite the abundance of beanies and ironic mustaches in this chunk of town, I'll still be coming back for more.
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| People on the bahn, keeping me occupied |
Gängeviertel "Valentinskampf":
In the midst of your run of the mill office buildings and Starbucks, you will find a tunnel (literally, it's bright pink and strewn with decapitated mannequins) beckoning you further into a street-art, punk-art, anything-art Utopia, kept afloat by the passionate kooks of Hamburg. The houses in this area of Gangeviertel are from the early 19th century, and were supposed to be demolished by the city. Because of the unique structure of these buildings, people put up a fight. Thus, the buildings and the space between them are flourishing with artistic expression, as a way of protecting them from higher powers with bulldozers.
Mr.Kebab:
What better way to top off a nice walk through spray painted ruins than MEAT? Close to the Gagenviertel is a Turkish eatery called Mr.Kebab. Like its name, things here are straight forward. I ordered the classic Doner Teller, where I was given carved lamb, chilled dill yogurt sauce, jasmine rice, and a fresh side of cucumber salad. But the best part of the dish was the house made candied mango yogurt, which I would happily carry around in a flask and put on everything in my path.
After our meal, it was already getting sort of late, so we decided to just wander around and head in the direction of the main station. Along the way, we made pit-stops to warm our frozen fingers, often seeking solace in nauseatingly hipster tea-cup shops. Yet despite the abundance of beanies and ironic mustaches in this chunk of town, I'll still be coming back for more.
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