Hamburg, Germany

We were greeted by our host at the train station, luckily we contacted him and told him about the change of plans, if not he will be waiting for us. He drove to the train station and was very nice. In a way, I think he was looking forward to see us and we too were looking forward to see him.
He drove us around Hamburg and showed us the habour, and brought us to the ‘famous’ red light district - Reeperbahn. There was this one street that only allows ONLY MEN to go in, and no women are allowed. It was really sleazy. I heard it is almost as famous as Amsterdam, but I have yet to visit that place, so I cannot comment. You do get occasion soliciting asking from 50euros (for a tits f***) and 200euros (for a ‘everything’). And mostly the whores are from Eastern Europe and Russia. Peter cooked a wonderful dinner of Frikadelle (dish from Hamburg) and Crème Catalan (dessert from Barcelona). He also invited his boyfriend - Wolfgang (sitting beside me) along for the Dinner. He cannot speak English, but he is a really nice who helps with the setting up for dinner. The next day, we took a walk in the city, and Hamburg was by far the nicest place in Germany that I have seen, but the only problem is that it is too cold. Even when the sun was shinning so strongly, I was in 2 layers of coat. *Shivers*
I met Thilo (whom I got to know on board the plane while returning from Vietnam to Singapore) for dinner. He is a media law graduate and waiting for his job, and has been traveling quite a lot. And come to think of it, is so amazing how we finally get to meet each other in Hamburg when the first and the last time we met were on board the plane. Then we also met up with Helle and she just finished her work. So we accompanied her for dinner. She is a graduate of social and cultural anthropology. She is working as a social worker, administrator for the TV station and as a tour guide. Before we parted, Peter gave us a each a souvenir- a personalized CD with our pictures and German songs and a coaster of Hamburg. He is so nice and sweet, and I really think it is almost impossible to get all this done in such a short period of time, but he did it rather well. I’m so going to miss him and he promised that he will come and decorate my house in Singapore (because the way he design his house is so beautiful). See you soon Peter.