Hamburg Day 2 - Hangover and carnival time!
Up early for our free eat all you can breakfast buffet at A&O. Then jumped into a cab to take us to our first port of call – the Akzent Classichotel Glinde. A little further out of town than we were expecting, this hotel is around 15 minutes in a cab in a small town called Glinde. The effort was more than worth it as we were met by the impeccably dressed and hospitable Gerhard (complete with 3 piece suit). While Lorenzo chatted away in German I enjoyed tea on their sun terrace, working the tan 
It’s a large country hotel with huge grounds, focused very much on sports and activities – football, tennis, bowling, swimming all in the grounds or very near by. Great place to relax for a while, or to enjoy Hamburg without the big city stress.
Back to Central Hamburg
Another cab ride back to central Hamburg and we were in St Pauli. The guy behind the desk at Hotel Lafayette seemed rather bemused to see us, as we weren’t expected at all. We had a quick chat and look around none-the-less…this old school hotel is in a great location for the nightlife of the Reeperbahn, and the basic rooms are more than made up for by the indoor pool open to guests.
Around the corner, and moving into quite a cool, bohemian area was the Hotel Figaro – a cheap and cheerful place 10 minutes walk from the nearest UBahn. Brightly painted in red and yellow with a lively bar downstairs, this basic hotel had basins in each room with a shower and toilet on each floor. On the plus side this place did have the largest TVs we saw in Hamburg!
Last stop of the day was Budapester Hof. Owned by a young couple, undergoing extensive refurbishment, this was possibly the nicest place we saw in our stay in Hamburg. Very light with an art deco feel, the ensuite rooms were all modern and spacious with wooden floors, minibars, TVs and wireless internet. We had a chat over a beer at the local café (Lorenzo working his German once again!), then had a tour. There a re big plans afoot, so if you go there in 6 months or so you’ll find a roof terrace and backpacker hostel facilities in the basement. Definitley comes highly recommended.
After our much needed siesta we headed off to the Hamburg annual Kulture Feistival to dance along with the parade. The Bolivians definitely stole the show, with the loudest sound system and craziest outfits!! All in all Hamburg was quite a gem of a journey – some great nightlife, good, cheap restaurants and a friendly bunch of people all round.
