A walk through the Schanzenviertel in Hamburg or Schanze

Before we were at the Hamburger Dom last Saturday, we walked through Schanze or the Schanzenviertel in Hamburg. This "viertel", or neighborhood, is one of the alternative areas of Hamburg. Just as Mitte in Berlin and the eastern neighborhoods.

You may like it or you may not like it. Depends on what you are looking for. If you are more for the normal shops (The Zaras and the Nikes), this is not for you. On the other hand, if you love to explore new and independent brands, try new food, relax and have a good coffee and walk through independent art galleries and street art, Schanze or the Schanzenviertel is for you.

Is not even spring, and people start to sit outside and relax, as you can see in the first photo. It was cold, perhaps 8 or 9 degrees, but it was not raining. The coffee shops and restaurants, took out some tables and chairs and everybody took the opportunity to relax outside. I should not forget to mention the new law that forbids to smoke in all the restaurants in Germany, and the only place where they can smoke is, well, outside the restaurant.

In this area, there is a famous (or infamous) building called "The Rote Flora". I will refer to it in a future post. But I can mention is an squatted former theatre, with some controversy surrounding it. Is the second photo above.

In the third photo, you can see how Grafters and street artists love Schanze or Shanzenviertel. Even in the trucks they do their art. I have seen this in Barcelona as well. The highlight of the photo is a stencil. A kind of street art that is becoming more popular in the world. You can read more about it at: http://www.worldofstencils.blogspot.com/.

I am sure you have heard of the Montblanc pens, or jewellery just recently. Well, it seems that the Montblanc company started its business in this area. I believe that the building with the name Montblanc, might as well be the place where everything began.

At the end of the walk, the best thing to do is to have a "Galao" or milchkaffe, in one of the several Portuguese coffee shops in Hamburg. Even with a typical Portuguese bolo de arroz.