Last week D and I went to Hamburg for a couple of days. It is the first time we have been away without Lucas and although we enjoyed ourselves, he will be accompanying us on all our travels from now on, we missed him and think he should be experiencing different places and cultures with us.
Neither of us had been to Hamburg before and although we have both visited Germany when we were younger on school trips, we couldn’t remember it properly so didn’t know what to expect. We went as part of the Come To Hamburg project and were given a complementary stay in the Ibis Styles Hamburg Alster City for us to explore the city. I am going to write separately about the trip in general and also about the chocolate museum we visited.
We arrived late on the Wednesday evening, landing in Hamburg approximately 10.15pm and although we had been told about the excellent transport links, I didn’t want to risk getting lost at that time so we got a taxi.
Once we checked into the hotel, we went up to our room and was greeted with 2 chocolate Father Christmas’ and a bottle of sparkling water. The room was bright and airy with a huge and very comfortable bed, a TV, en suite, some shelves and an open hanging area for clothes. There was also a charging dock in the wall by the TV which to be honest I can’t tell you all the features of it but it was a life saver for us as I could charge my iPhone without needing the plug (I forgot to pack a EU plug adapter!)
We decided to go and stretch our legs from the flight so went for a walk, up at the top of the street where the hotel is situated is a big shopping centre with a food court and cinema. Before getting to this, there is also a U-Bahn station for getting to other parts of the city and other shops along the road. The road is hectic, Germany is the first place either of us have seen people patiently wait for the lights to change before crossing the road and you can see why, it’s really busy and fast.
https://instagram.com/p/BcHKebEnmQJ/
The following morning we were abruptly awoken by the fire alarm going off at 7am, not overly early but not the best lie in when I have been up with Lucas for the past 2 years haha. Anyway, we went outside, me still in my pink pjs and waited. I’m not sure what it was but about 20 minutes later, 3 fire engines and 2 police cars we were allowed back in. There wasn’t an explanation given or any type of fire procedure like in the UK, people were going back into the building as we were leaving it and there were no staff telling visitors where to congregate.
Throughout the 3 nights, we both slept well, the rooms where a nice temperature and the hotel itself was quiet. It looked like the majority of guests were there on business so there wasn’t much coming and going through the night like you can get when people are on holiday and out in bars. There is a shop next to the hotel which opens at 7am and gets its deliveries at about 5am so depending on how light you sleep this may disturb you but I could sleep through that.
The breakfast is served in the breakfast room and is self service. It consisted of teas, coffee and juices for drinks. There was a really good variety of black and fruit teas. For the coffee you could have it from the machine or filter coffee.
The food included bread, rolls, croissants, boiled eggs, meats, cheese, olives, tomatoes and cucumber. There was also a fruit salad, 3 types of yoghurts and various cereals. We couldn’t fault the breakfast, it was absolutely delicious. There were staff clearing the tables and ensuring the breakfast bar was kept filled up.
There is free WiFi throughout the hotel and also a computer in the reception area. There is also complimentary tea, coffee and water in the reception area that can be taken into your room. That is available 7am – 10pm.
There is a small bar at the side of the reception that is open until 1am, the staff are the same as those on reception. All the staff were friendly and there was a Scottish man that works on the night shift that was particularly helpful, guiding us with which were the best stations to get off for each place.
The reception also had a little children’s corner with a children’s table and chair, some games and children’s laptops. Lucas would have loved being able to play on a laptop after a day of exploring and I think we will return here with him as it was a fab base for getting into Hamburg city centre.
