Hamburg (Long Weekend June 2-5) - DAY ONE - Surprise from Dad

DAY ONE - 2nd June 2006

Jess and I decided to take Friday off (well I didn't have to take anything off as my new job does not start until June 6th) to fly to Hamburg to see Mike. We figured he's been in Dublin twice now and it would e nice for us to visit him and add another city to our list of places we have been to.

Our flight was at 12pm so we had plenty of time to get up, pack and make our way to the airport. We left Dublin and it was plus 18. The weather here has been great the last week. As we landed in Hamburg it was warm but not 18 and it was cloudy, bummer. Oh well, we didn't come for the weather, right?

As we don't travel with suitcases, just carry-ons, we got off the plane and through the security pretty quickly. For those who have seen Jess' passport photo, you know it is not the best picture. The guy at the Hamburg security/customs actually started laughing. I thought it was funny too, Jess actually laughed as well.

We arrived in Hamburg a little late, about 15min or so (we got there at 3:30ish its a 2hr flight and a one hour time difference so we made it through customs and to the arrival gate pretty quickly). I came out 1st and noticed that Mike was not there. As I scanned the people standing there I saw... ("No f*&:en way" were my exact words)... Marilyn!. Seconds later Jess came around the corner and "MOM?!, What are you...?" and the balling began.

As they hugged and cried, I stood there for a minute or so, asking for anyone to hug me....haha. Hugs all around, what a surprise! Good one Mike!

We found out that Marilyn had gotten to Hamburg two days before and that it was all spur of the moment. Mike booked the tickets 18hrs before she had to get on the plane. Also what we found out later was that with the last minute flight and packing, Marilyn forgot to really pack and came dressed for the Canadian 32 degree weather. Some of the outfits over the weekend she had on were amusing. ;) (Mike's socks with flip-flops, for example).

The cab ride to the hotel where Mike has been staying for the last couple of weeks was only about 20min or so from the airport. It was located in Little Portugal, a very nice part of the city... and they had LOTS of custard tarts which I fell in love with in Portugal. Anyway... We were originally going to crash in Mike's hotel room on the couch or something like that, but Mom and Dad got us our own room for the three nights.

The hotel itself was very nice and the rooms were fantastic. Mike's room was a 2 storey apartment, with a door to a nice little yard. And we got a very nice room as well, on the 4th floor overlooking the yard. FANTASTIC place. Both rooms had kitchenettes so we had lots of room to keep the beer cold and store snacks.

After arriving at the hotel the 3 of us (Mike was still at work) sat outside and had some beers. After about 20min or so, I decided to make a beer run and go to the grocery store across the street. I figured I was in Germany and wanted to try as many beers as I could. (When we traveled last summer being on a budget we drank what was cheap, so now its a perfect time to indulge in the German beers).

Grocery store...me...beer aisle...stunned! 6 pack of beer 3.75€! In Dublin th same 6 pack is min 10.00€. I decided to not get a 6pack and get 6 different beers. 1/2 litre Frankenweizer (really good wheat beer) was .50cents and 330ml beers were .37cents I almost started laughing, I couldn't believe it! That is a 2.50-3.00€ difference from what we pay in Dublin. So 6 beers and a pack of 24 Marlboro later the cost was 10.34€ (smokes are about 3€ cheaper too) I was so excited I ran back to the hotel to tell Jess that I think there is something wrong with Dublin. Jess was stunned as well at the price difference. Later we found out that the min wages as also 2 times higher in Hamburg then they are in Dublin. So things cost less in Hamburg and you get paid more...what are we doing in Dublin??? We're not sure any more.

Once Mike arrived at about 530pm or so, not long after we got to the hotel, more hugs, more beers. We sat around and a little later were joined by Alex (Mike's work buddy who was in Dublin last weekend). Marilyn decided to make some munchies, Alex brought some caviar (which I tried for the 1st time, Jess refused...its ok I guess, nothing fancy). Right before closing Jess and I ran back to the store to pick up wine, more smokes etc. Jess was blown away by the price of wine, about 8.00€ per bottle cheaper than it is here in Dublin.

Eventually later that evening we went out for dinner to a nice and cozy Portuguese restaurant just down the street. The food was very good and plenty was served all for a good price. We had rabbit stew, salmon, I had shark and some appetizers, couple of beers and bottle of wine. For a great dinner, which booze for 5 people the price was far cheaper then what it would cost in Dublin.

After dinner it was about 10pm or so I'd say, if not later. Everyone headed back to the hotel and Jess and I decided to walk around a bit and see what we could find. We walked for a bit and eventually ended up on the same street we started from (main street where the hotel was). Tons of bars/restaurants.) So we ended up in a small Greek bar. Couple of beers, couple of shots with the barman and some local and we decided to call it a night.

Day 2, 3 and 4 to come...