Hamburg

I spent the week-end in Hamburg. First, It’s not very far from Berlin, only 3 hours by bus and you have 12 connections per day. Second, I have a good friend there and It’s been a while since I saw him and his lovely family. Third, because of my new home, I need to buy furniture and in order to confirm my taste, I need to see, touch, smell the materials, the design, the fabrics. My choice at the time, after months of research goes to Bolia. There is a shop in Hamburg, so all those reasons made me plan this week-end. It's not my first time in this city and everytime it reveals new sites for me. After a wonderful dinner at my friend's home (we had fish, It's so rare to get fresh fish in Berlin that It was a pleasure) we went to drink a few cocktails and wander a bit in the city. Hamburg is one of the richest in Europe. Because It's the second biggest harbour in Europe after Rotterdam, There is a mix of rich traders, tourists and next door's people. We started with a touristic place, for the view. The 20up Lounge Bar is one of the most stylish in Hamburg. Housed within the Empire Riverside Hotel, it is perched on the top floor (no prizes for guessing which storey) of this gleaming glass tower. Floor to ceiling windows provide superb views of the city and it’s an ideal place to perch – on one of the slender, elegant barstools – with a cocktail in the early evening, as the streets light up below you. There's a long bar with most tables set up to take advantage of this view. There's also separate sofa area if you feel like cozying up to someone. Though it has that familiar hotel bar vibe, the drinks are excellent and it’s a great place to hit if you’re new to the city or want to mark an occasion. But the view was covered by the fog since it snowed the entire day and after a first drink, we moved, walking to another bar. As a good entertainer, my friend brought me to a tour in the center and as a good tourist, I was OK to walk in Reeperbahn, the most crowdy street of the city, the night's highlight and well known red quartier and the Herbertstrasse (only for men), so called short cut of my friend to reach the bier bar where football players of the local team come to meet their supporters. It's a street where, like in Amsterdam, young ladies with a lot of advantages given by nature or by plastic surgery, want to help you having a good time and take your money for it. But it was not the purpose of the evening and we headed to East, which is also a hotel, member of the Design hotels group. Housed in a former iron foundry, in close proximity to the world-renowned Reeperbahn, the East aims to introduce the perfect match between gastronomy, hospitality and nightlife, all organized in a donut-like plan around a three storey high restaurant with 28-foot tall doors opening onto a courtyard. According to the architect, the design was inspired by the old foundry and the forms of the cast iron objects produced there, by the alloy of contemporary Eastern and Western cultures, by the memory fragments of surreal first-trips to Asia and by a deep appreciation for the Eastern recognition of a spiritual essence in nature. Four gigantic pillars tower from the ground to the top floor of the former factory hall, while parts of the original foundation in exposed brick have been dramatically lit, serving as unusual divisions in the restaurant area. We chose the Smirnoff lounge, first because there was space for two and second because I could smoke. Hamburg has non-smoking policy except if space allows it. Saturday, A. came to join in Hmaburg because he had some furniture shopping to do too at Habitat and we like to shop together, bringing to each other ideas and point of view. When we meet in a city we don't live in, we like to try nice deisgn hotels. In Hamburg, our choice went to the Side, also a member of Design hotels. Hamburg's most fashionable hotel may be tucked away down an unprepossessing side street in the city centre, but once you find it there's no mistaking you have arrived somewhere significant. An eight-storey, glass-fronted atrium designed by architect Jan Stoermer floods the minimalist reception area with natural light. Designer Matteo Thun continues the theme in the restrained bedrooms with dark-wood floors and crisp white linen sheets and fittings. Bathrooms are stocked with covetable REN products. The 'wellness' area (comprising a swimming pool, sauna, aromatherapy steam room, gym, solarium and massage/treatment room) is much more colourful. Side's Fusion bar has established itself as one of Hamburg's coolest hangouts and is usually packed at weekends. Models and media types are very much in evidence but, refreshingly, it's also popular with ordinary mortals. The adjoining Fusion restaurant serves sushi and is an excellent spot to watch hip Hamburgers at play. We unfortunatly didn't have the time to try everything (outside the room, of course, and the bar later at night for martini cocktails and negronis) because we went for dinner at DOC. It was suggested by my friend and reserved by the hotel. It's walking distance from it so It was perfect for us and though It's an italian, I knew I could have fish again. It's a cube on the bank and because the restaurant is on the first floor, you can enjoy the view on the lake if the correct table is booked (lucky us). The food was not the biggest culinary experience of my life but nevertheless tasty and fresh, together with the Toscane wine and good service. After a digestive walk in evening breeze, joining the bar at the hotel drinking cocktails with the cosmopolitan crowd of the place, we had this morning a gargantuan breakfast before traveling back to our home. Shame this time I couldn't have my walk on the frozen lake but I have to come back to visit this "being built" area which looks very interesting. A multi faces city.