A Bite of Hamburg, A Taste of Paris

Rathaus, Hamburg (Personal Photo)

One activity I had been hankering to do while in Europe was to see an opera: I’ve been to a ballet, and as part of my coursework I’ve seen several plays, such as En Attendant Godot (Waiting for Godot). While in Berlin, I discovered that Carmen was playing... and I just had to see it, of course! The music was spectacular and I am sure you are all familiar with these two famous songs (Habanera and Votre Toast)... or if you’re not, you will be now! Unfortunately, the surtitles were in German, but the opera itself was sung in French, and between the bits I could catch, the acting and the synopsis I’d skimmed beforehand, I was fine.

The following day, I made a day trip to Hamburg—and no, I didn’t eat any hamburgers there. My friend Susan, who is from Hamburg, gave me some insight on what to see. I strolled through an underground tunnel beneath the river, sampled mulled wine with rum from a vendor, and visited the Alster, a man-made lake in the middle of the city.

When it was finally time to leave Berlin (and head to Paris), I stopped by Saarbrücken to meet a writing friend. En route, however, there was a stopover in Frankfurt, I grabbed McDonald's—the first time I've eaten it since coming to Europe. For 1.50 euros I got a small hot chocolate and a breakfast sandwich. The sandwich alone was 1.80 euros. Does it make sense? No. Did I enjoy the hot chocolate and the thirty cent-savings? Yes!

The Alster, Hamburg (Personal Photo)

Unfortunately, when I did reach Paris, I wasn’t able to stay for long. My exam schedule came out and I had an exam on the first possible day. which meant I had to return to Nice the following evening. My rest that night was less than pleasant; upon entering my hostel room, I discovered alcohol bottles were everywhere... and my (potentially intoxicated) roommates were rather rambunctious.

Before my train the next day, I visited the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, since it seemed rather out of the way and I wanted to make sure I hit it in case I didn’t get around to get when I really saw Paris. The view of Paris from the top of the hill was beautiful, although a guy approached me—doubtlessly pinning me for a tourist because of my backpack—and started tying this bracelet around my wrist, asking me whether I had a boyfriend! I told him I wasn’t interested (in French, and then in English when he didn’t understand me—his accent was perhaps Jamaican?) but he didn’t listen... and then he wanted money for the bracelet afterwards, claiming it to be for a donation to the church! So I replied, “I already said, ‘No Merci!’” and went on my merry way. If I’m going to donate, I’ll do it at the church itself, thank you very much.  

Sacre-Coeur Basilica, Paris (Personal Photo)