Fabiana Gutierrez
September 29, 2023
The first two weeks in Hamburg have been absolutely unbelievable and I am so honored to be part of this experience. My father met me in Hamburg and we experienced the first weekend together. First of all, every door in the inner city is absolutely covered in graffiti so we were a little nervous at first but I am in love with my apartment. It is covered in plants and art painted by the owner and I immediately felt at home. I’ll add a few photos below.
Furthermore, the first weekend was spent exploring the city central including the Reeperbahn (red light district) which coincidentally is a two minute walk from my house. We toured on the ferry and I learned the route from my house to the school I would be working at. It’s a beautiful 30 minute ferry ride and I get to see the sunset every morning.
My second weekend I spent visiting Berlin. My sisters best friend lives in Berlin so we toured around Berlin and did 25,000 steps in one day. We visited the Berlin Tor, museum island, the TV tower, the Berlin Wall, Humboldt University, and spent our 30 degree Sunday at a pool bar meeting new people. Berlins environment is completely different to what I had experienced in Hamburg. The people are way more diverse, I heard English, Spanish, and German being spoken evenly throughout the city. It honestly gave me so much more appreciation for Hamburg and its nature.
The following weekend I spent visiting some family friends from Calgary who had flown to Poland (crazy, I know). They were there to watch their son in a soccer game so I went to a professional Polish game which was incredible. We had perogies, spent time together, and explored the small city of Szczecin on the Polish/German border. If you ever have the time to visit Poland, I would highly recommend. The food is fantastic and extremely cheap. Next time I am traveling, I will definitely spend more time exploring Poland and what it has to offer. One of my favourite countries I have traveled to so far (and I’ve been to 20 of them).
However, a highlight so far has definitely been the people I have met and the students I have been teaching at the school. The stereotype about Germans being cold has deemed to be true, nevertheless, they are extremely warm and welcoming and have made this experience significantly enjoyable. I can see myself moving here and working in Hamburg as a teacher. The way of life is so different to Calgary and makes me wonder what the future has in store for me. I am very excited to continue my adventures, continue traveling, and bring back new stories and memories.
See you in the next blog <3
#TAB2023
Fabi