Hamburg

I am dog tired tonight, so this blog post is going to be less than creative, I’m sure.

I didn’t know alot about Hamburg a few months ago, but two of my friends recently discovered love interests in the city, and both raved about it. I was curious.

Sadly, my schedule didn’t leave me much time to look around. The British Columbian trade commissioner in Hamburg picked me up about 15 minutes after I got into my hotel room and drove me around some of the more beautiful parts of the city. There are two inner-city lakes and lovely wide and green parks. Mostly I noticed the houses near the river. Huge mansions a few hundred years old line the streets and are just stunning. Obviously, the city isn’t hurting for money.

I was then whisked off to the Business Club Hamburg, where we spent quite a while getting set up. I don’t mind public speaking as a concept, but I do get very nervous a few minutes before my talk these days. Maybe I’m just out of practice. I spoke for about 20 minutes and then had varying success answering some tough questions from the audience.

After the presentation I did end up having several people come up to me to learn more, so that was positive. I stayed until midnight chatting with some interesting people I met.

The next morning after a couple of hours of reading in bed (lovely!) I was pinged to go for a coffee meeting. I rushed to get ready and check-out and then headed back downtown. Luckily the subway system in Hamburg is clear and relatively easy. (Certainly compared to London, which I find very tricky.) We talked shop for about an hour and then I went straight to the airport.

A whirlwind 36 hours, but worth it. I look forward to going back to the city when I have more time.