Ode to Hamburg

I have finally managed to tear myself from the place I am almost as attached to as home. Not that I really had a choice, my studies were over and the lease on my room expired today. I'm posting from the living of my in-laws in Belgium after an arduous train trip lasting 8 hours. Actually the trip wasn't that bad until I had to make the last change at Liege. I somehow got confused and the train station didn't have lifts or escalators going up to the platforms, so I had to schlepp my heavy luggage up stairs a piece at a time. Well, all's well that ends because I got here tired as hell (although I indulged in some cat naps on the train) and was served with cheese croquettes, one of my favourite Belgian delicacies (and here I'm using the word very liberally).

So, back to Hamburg. Tuesday I ventured out to do some last chores and to take in the city one last time. As I walked to the train station after having handed back my library books I started thinking (for the first time) what it is about Hamburg that has me so enthralled. I realised it's all the little things: it's the ease with which I was able to slip into my life in Hamburg. It is how relaxed the people are. It's the way my limits have been pushed over the last couple of months not only intellectually but also physically - who would've thought I could function so well on so little sleep? I love the fact that I could hide out and embark on a completely new life (however briefly). It's the great people I have met over the last couple of months. Hamburg was the site of all these wonderful experiences and as such it will always be very special to me. No other place (except home) has such sway over me. However, I'm realistic enough to know that this a completely unique experience that will never repeat itself and that the positive experience has a lot to do with how I view Hamburg. Despite this, I can safely see myself calling Hamburg home and living there - maybe indefinitely if the job is good enough.

I'd like to elaborate on the ease with which things happened for me in Hamburg. I couldn't help but draw parallels between my experiences in London and Hamburg. The thing that got me really down about London was how difficult it was to get things done: get a job, find accommodation even go grocery shopping. The time it took to get from one place to another because of the vast distance between places. Sure it might have had something to do with the fact that my mindset in London was a lot more negative (for whatever reasons) and I was just a lot more uptight. Maybe my experience in Hamburg was more positive because I just went there with a more positive mindset and I had learnt that I shouldn't get too worked up about things I have no control over. Maybe my experience in London laid the groundwork for my experience in Hamburg in that it was there that I learnt to bounce back from setbacks. Maybe I'm more at ease in a smaller city (Hamburg pop: 1.7 million) than a big city like London (pop: 7 million). Despite these possibilities, I would like to believe that the ease with which I went about my business in Hamburg had to do with something inherent to the city.

For example on Tuesday I had to go to different parts of the city to do different things. I had slept only three hours the night before and yet it wasn't a mission to do all I had to do in my allotted time. Of course some of it was pleasurable (shopping), but still it was just such a pleasure to be where I was and do what I was doing. Since the beginning of February (when it hit home that I was leaving Hamburg) I've experienced separation anxiety. I would sometimes walk instead of taking the bus just so could spend more time experiencing of the city. I had this urge to touch things...so I could hold onto it. This morning I had the same feeling as I was sitting in the train watching the familiar skyline becoming smaller and smaller. And that's why I think that my attachment to Hamburg is not solely a function of the intensely positive (and sometimes not so positive - but intense nevertheless) experiences I've had there.

And that's why I'm glad I had this blog. It's a record of what I've been up to (with reliable dates). It is THE ode to my experience over the last five months.

P.S. This is not the last post because coming week I'll be checking out Barcelona and I'm sure my experiences here in Belgium will also make for some interesting reading;-)