Touristically, Germany’s second city has always been overshadowed by Munich or the capital Berlin. Maybe promotion wasn’t really necessary for Europe’s third seaport. Many say it’s nicer and more interesting than its competitors due to the presence of water all over town: There are more bridges than in Amsterdam and two lakes right in the center.
Probably the town is best known for its amusement quarter St. Pauli … and four sons who weren’t born here: The Beatles. In August 1960 the unknown band from Liverpool arrived by ferry at the “Landungsbrücken” and two days later they started to play shows at a little club called “Indra”. Performances lasted up to 9 hours. They stayed for a few month, returned to Liverpool and came back the year after. The atmosphere in Hamburg appeared to be much more favorable for their carreer than back home in England.
A prophet is without honour in his own country …
In their second season the Beatles were contracted by the Star Club. The legendary Rock’n’Roll cave saw performers like Jimi Hendrix, James Brown or Jerry Lee Lewis. At 10.p.m. everyone under 18 was forced to leave before they show went on. But Hamburg’s red light district St. Pauli was a tough lesson for the young kids from overseas: violence, drugs and sex were nowhere as free as in Germany’s liberal north. Obviously they liked it, they stayed for years and returned as often as they could.
It was the local photographer Jürgen Vollmer who invented their image as the “mopheads”: “We saw a guy in Hamburg, whose hair we liked. We asked him to cut our hair like he did his”, explained Paul McCartney about the Beatles’ early days in Hamburg.
The “Indra” was shut down for disturbing the peace, the “Star Club” converted into a brothel and the Beatles changed to the “Kaiserkeller”, just next door. Here is where they met their drummer Ringo Starr. Fifty years later, the downstairs club still exists and is a favourite juke joint for locals and visitors.
Meanwhile Hamburg has rediscovered its musical history. A stone’s throw away, the city has named the “Beatles Square” in their honour and on the other side of St. Pauli’s main street “Reeperbahn” a 5-storey museum called “Beatlemania” explores and explains the love story of the four young brits and the wild port town. There you can verify that they even published a German version of “I wanna hold your hand”. You can join a three hour walking tour through the quarter and visit the places where music history got a new direction.
But apart from St. Pauli’s underground, Hamburg is a noble, green and clean city that offers a lot, especially finest accommodation. We recommend two hotels as your comfortable base camp to explore the hanseatic city:
Atlantic Kempinsky
The Atlantic is regarded one of the best hotels in the world and has been elected as Germany’s top hotel more than once. Just a year ago it celebrated it’s 100th anniversary. The list of famous guests is sheer endless and ranges from Charles de Gaulle and Henry Kissinger to Michael Jackson and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The white Palace at the lakefront has been portrayed in 1997’s James Bond movie “Tomorrow never dies”. It’s classic and noble atmosphere can’t be beaten.
NH Hamburg City
Located just in front of St. Pauli’s football stadium, home of the second division local heroes, you’re merely a few steps away from Hamburg’s liveliest part. The recently built four-star-hotel offers all desired commodity in a delightful modern atmosphere. Technical equipment leaves nothing to be desired and a beautiful garden terrace invites to rest for a while.
Source: http://blog.dluxehotels.com
Tags: Beatles, Germany, Hamburg, Luxury hotels
lmao cool story bro.