Hamburg - anybody visited recently?

[Blacktouch]

I plan to go to Hamburg, Germany. No date as yet?

Apparently, there are two rent bars.

La Strado Bar and PickUp Bar. I will certainly give them both a try and report back.

Has anybody been to any of these bars before? Would be interested to hear.

[Blacktouch]

Just got back from Hamburg (Wednesday 9th to Thursday 10th January).

Nothing interesting to report back unfortunately. First I must say this was a midweek trip and therefore weekends may be better?

I left London Stansted Airport at 19:10 and got to Hamburg main train station at 23:00. The flight was one hour, 30 minutes. The train from Hamburg Airport to the main train station took 25 minutes. I went straight to Pick Up Bar, which was a five minute walk from the station.

La Strado Bar is no longer open unfortunately, and from the sound of things, was a good MB bar? The only MB bar still operating is Pick Up Bar, which is, if you've head the saying "couldn't swing a cat" in that bar. So small, it would be full with 10 people inside. Although near the toilets, is a half size double bed, where one can sit on and chat to someone.

Drink prices were reasonable, under €3 (Euros) for a small beer.

There were 5 MB's inside, who were not my type, and im sure many of you would not entertain? There were 4 customers inside too.

It closed at 1am, so after I went over the road to another gay bar, which is not rent, and MB's are not allowed inside. It was a pleasant bar, big in size and a friendly barman. It had just one customer who was playing dice games with the barman. I stayed there till it closed at 3am and went to another bar which is listed as having MB's in attendance. This was a 24 hour bar, hence the reason why I left it for the last, as its nearer to the station and before my train at 4am back to the airport.

This bar was called Bar Kunterbunt, and seem a lot more interesting and going on, but the same MB's who were at the Pick Up Bar were not allowed in. The barman just kept saying "out" pointing to the door as they popped their heads in to look. There were only 4 customers and one MB, who was looking at me and playing with his crotch. I politely said no thanks.

It came towards 3:50am and I left to get my train back to the airport, in readiness for my 06:35am flight.

The MB's all look liked foreign migrants, not sure which Country, as I didnt ask any of them, as they were not my type, and also looked a bit rough to my likings.

£10 flight (booked on 20th Nov with Ryanair sales).
£25 Train return to Stansted Airport.
€6.60 Train from Hamburg Airport to main station return.

No hotel required as was just there a few hours. Total time spent in the three bars was 5 hours.

Would I go again? No chance. The rent scene has finished in Hamburg. But as I said, this was a midweek trip and not a weekend, which could have more people in attendance? I doubt it though?

Overall a plasant trip, nice bar staff, but rent scene pretty dead.

[gerefan2]

Typical Europe nowadays....why does anyone bother?

[frequent]

When in Germany I spend my time with the home of mad kings - Bavaria - on which I've posted in the past https://sawatdeenetwork.com/v4/showthread.php?20335-A-funny-thing-happened-on-the-way-to-the-Oktoberfest

[Nirish guy]

..why........ bother?

Aside from the "europe" side of things the why bother part was more what I was thinking on reading Blacktouch's post as if I read it correctly he left the UK on Wednesday evening at 7.30pm to fly to Germany to spend just that night in a few bars and then leave those same bars again that morning and fly back home to the UK again at 6.30am or so !!! Short of just being bored sitting in the house with not else more exciting to do of an evening - WHY !?

That all seems to be a LOT of effort and hassle ( especially what with the stress going through airports now and having to almost fight your way on to Ryanair flights etc these days) and for what, a few hours in a dead bar or two some different - and without as much as an overnight stay to enable you to even enjoy a nice leisurely lunch in Germany or a hotel room somewhere to go back to if you DID happen find some nice guy to pass some time with?

Or am I just getting old and boring now and losing my jest for life where in the past I may well have done such things just for "the craic' whereas now I firmly just couldn't be arsed with all that unnecessary travel for little reward - or am I missing something somewhere in the story that makes all that effort worthwhile perhaps ?

[gerefan2]

Once upon a time I used to do the same as Blacktouch, except to Amsterdam.
I would fly out on a Saturday afternoon and in the evening go to the Whynot for a laugh and maybe a boy, followed later by the all night Thermos Night Sauna.
I would get the 9.30 flight home on the Sunday morning. All guaranteed good fun.
Alas all gone now.


Or am I just getting old and boring now and losing my jest for life where in the past I may well have done such things just for "the craic' whereas now I firmly just couldn't be arsed?

That’s the definition of being over 40.... Someone suggests something like that to an under 40 y/o and they say “yeah why not?!”
When it gets suggested to an over 40 y/o they invariably reply “Why bother”?

[aot871]

Once upon a time I used to do the same as Blacktouch, except to Amsterdam.
I would fly out on a Saturday afternoon and in the evening go to the Whynot for a laugh and maybe a boy, followed later by the all night Thermos Night Sauna.
I would get the 9.30 flight home on the Sunday morning. All guaranteed good fun.
Alas all gone now.



That’s the definition of being over 40.... Someone suggests something like that to an under 40 y/o and they say “yeah why not?!”
When it gets suggested to an over 40 y/o they invariably reply “Why bother”?

i agree gerefan2 ,,,, years ago when working within 1 hour of LHR and the days of £100 return to New York , a couple of friends and i used to go there on a friday night and then catch the overnight red eye back to london . A cheap hotel and in those days $2.4 to the £ .A good weekend was spent in the gay village

[Nirish guy]

I agree too and many a weekend was a "so where will we go THIS weekend" with jaunts to just about all the party towns in spain etc and then back to work for monday ( or more than usually NOT and a weak phoned in excuse to an ever easy going boss thank god who looking back I think actually loved the fact that we were young and doing it as he I now realise did in his own youth too.

However now it's more of a hassle than an enjoyment and as you get older and you HAVE seen and done it all ( or at least a lot of it) the novelty value soon wares off and now unless there's a bit of decent time involved there, plus preferrably with long access, a nice hotel with taxis to and from the airport and speedy boarding at the gate I can rarely be arsed. Saying that my friends would still say that I'm still rarely home for long before nipping off on some other adventure so I guess there must be some life left in me yet - mind you I'm 50 next week so I guess after that it's time to cut my wrists and resign myself to sitting in a pool of my own shit and piss for the next 30 years ! lol

[gerefan2]

- mind you I'm 50 next week so I guess after that it's time to cut my wrists and resign myself to sitting in a pool of my own shit and piss for the next 30 years ! lol

You’ve deteriorated early then...I guess it’s all that Guinness!

[Nirish guy]

You’ve deteriorated early then...I guess it’s all that Guinness!

Well, all depends what you mean as on one hand I'm still thankfully managing to just about hold it all together and still dont look too out of place on a night out......HOWEVER .......under the veneer or hair gel and botox ;) I really wish men were more honest and open with each other about ageing as I cant deny this last two or three years has been a seemingly constantly new rhyme of WTF when being honest with myself, between my hearing starting to go, by reading eyesight going to crap and reading glasses now being used WAY more that I ever thought I'd need. Through to new spurts of hair growing from places I never had hair before or simply creaking and having to bend over and stretch each morning and night just to get in and out of bed without wrecking my back ( any more than it already is).

No one tells you this shit about ageing and so you think that all of a sudden you must be coming down with a ton of serious medical issues that need urgent attention, until you DO confide in someone a bit older who THEN laughs and says "ohhhh YEAH dont worry that happens all of us, welcome to the club !" Fuck if only someone had warned me at least I might not have shit myself just so much thinking I was dying ! :) And dont even start me on hard ons not being the hard ons I USED to have, no one talks about THAT either it seems - well, again until after a few beers and THEN the truth comes out round the table ( if you're in genuine and true company that is) otherwise you just get the "ohhhhh I'm 70 and still fuck like a 20 year old and no viagra for me thanks" - yeah, RIGHT ! :)

Ha, reading the above you can sort of tell it's my 50th next week and I'm feeling ( dreading) it coming eh ! :-) Oh well, no doubt I'll wake up the day after and realise it's just another day and my body will keep decomposing at the same rate as before ( or faster perhaps .....omg, please dont tell me THAT too !! :)

* opps sorry Mods -I've just realised that we (I've) drifted so far off the topic with my above that I can hardly remember the topic anymore ! Do feel free to edit, move or delete the above to a new thread, perhaps entitled "I
So, is getting old(er) really shit then or what?" or some such thing if you wish :)

Discussion of this topic can be carried on in the Everything Else forum under the title, The joys of getting old(er) – discuss
https://sawatdeenetwork.com/v4/showthread.php?20594-The-joys-of-getting-old(er)-%E2%80%93-discuss

[frequent]

These days with Eurostar expanding Amsterdam isn't that far away, although it has to the most expensive place in Western Europe, Switzerland aside

[Blacktouch]

The idea to travel to Hamburg was just to check out those bars, and if they were worth a longer visit, I would have gone back for a longer time during a weekend.

By going for such a short trip was to do with two things, first being the Ryanair flight times outbound was in the evening, and the return leg was early morning the next day. These so call flight times suited me fine, without haven't the need to book a hotel room?

Second reason was if the bars where waste of time, which they were, then I didn't waste that much money. Plus the flight was very cheap at £10.

Oh, and by me checking out these bars, this helps others on this forum to know, not to waste their time visiting.

I will be checking out some other bars in due course.

After all, the flight was only one hour and 30 minutes and cheap. Train from my house to Stansted Airport was only 50 mintues. The train time from Hamburg airport to central station was only 25 minutes. So timings were not that bad. One thing for sure, I would not of done this if the journey times would have been much longer? I did my research.

[Nirish guy]

Fair enough BT, and don't think I was criticising or questioning your reasoning, more just adding that I personally would find it too much. But as you say as the airport was fairly local to you and it was cheap AND also great that you were able to produce a trip report for the rest of us then I'm certainly glad you bothered and I look forward to reading your next report - whilst I sit here on my fat ass being lazy leaving you to do all the hard graft thats required for such trips :)

[arsenal]

frequent wrote.
"These days with Eurostar expanding Amsterdam isn't that far away, although it has to the most expensive place in Western Europe, Switzerland aside"

If one is going to set oneself up as the grammar, spelling and syntax Nazi then one really should learn to use 'be' when required.

Back to my SGT hiatus.
TTFN.

[gerefan2]

These days with Eurostar expanding Amsterdam isn't that far away,

But why would any gays want to go there any more...?

[frequent]

frequent wrote.
"These days with Eurostar expanding Amsterdam isn't that far away, although it has to the most expensive place in Western Europe, Switzerland aside"

If one is going to set oneself up as the grammar, spelling and syntax Nazi then one really should learn to use 'be' when required.I leave that for you. After all, I’ve never claimed to speak perfect English, now have I

[frequent]

The Captain and Tenille, both in the same thread

[Nirish guy]

Back to my SGT hiatus.

We can only hope......

[gerefan2]

The Captain and Tenille, both in the same thread

Yep, but I repeat what is the relevance of the speed of the journey to Amsterdam when there is nothing there for gays to go for?

[Blacktouch]

Fair enough BT, and don't think I was criticising or questioning your reasoning, more just adding that I personally would find it too much. But as you say as the airport was fairly local to you and it was cheap AND also great that you were able to produce a trip report for the rest of us then I'm certainly glad you bothered and I look forward to reading your next report - whilst I sit here on my fat ass being lazy leaving you to do all the hard graft thats required for such trips :)

Hi Nirish guy, I know you were not criticising the trip, and I fully understand your point. Trust me I won't be doing that with all the other trips I hope to make. This actual trip was short, so I too the opportunity to have a look.

I aim to try other bars and report back.

My next trip/holiday is to Bali in three weeks time. This trip will not be short, as its a actual holiday and as you can see, its too far. Lol

Full report when I get back.

[Blacktouch]

Yep, but I repeat what is the relevance of the speed of the journey to Amsterdam when there is nothing there for gays to go for?

Amsterdam has become like Prague, finished as a rent scene. Still got a few gay bars, but nothing to jump up and down about.

It all depends what one is looking for?

[Nirish guy]

My next trip/holiday is to Bali in three weeks time. This trip will not be short, as its a actual holiday and as you can see, its too far......Full report when I get back.

Now THAT"S more like it..... :) My mate is just back last week after 3 weeks there and had a ball, several balls actually ! I'm sure you will too.

[Blacktouch]

Now THAT"S more like it..... :) My mate is just back last week after 3 weeks there and had a ball, several balls actually ! I'm sure you will too.

I can't wait