a friend and i decided to have a little shopping outing in germany on wednesday - she brought along her son and i my daughter and my daughter's friend. our intention was to hit the outlet mall in neumunster and head on to hamburg for the more funky stuff (e.g. urban outfitters and american apparel). on a kind of high to be getting away, along the way, we discussed staying overnight and extending our stay by a day. we even talked of going on to berlin, but in the end, decided hamburg was enough. while eating dinner, we jumped on booking.com and booked some inexpensive accomodation that looked pretty cool in the pictures. i have only been in hamburg once before and it was work-related, so i didn't really know the place. so, when i booked, i only looked at how close the hotel was to the center and how it looked in the photos, i didn't really notice the address. which happened to be on the reeperbahn. the most infamous of hamburg streets. we were taking three impressionable teenagers to the heart of the red light district. and it gave me a serious case of the giggles. i called husband to tell him and i laughed hysterically.
the hotel was called pyjama park hotel & hostel. it looked funky and modern in the photos on booking.com and best of all, it had reasonably-priced rooms that could accomodate 5 people. what they didn't mention was that it was situated between a strip club and the erotic boutique bizarre. we pulled up out front and made the children wait in the locked car while we went in. we went up the stairs to find the night clerk behind the desk. he was a real character, dressed in a leather vest, with longish hair and a necklace with bone beads, the type of guy who looks like he's been around a bit and was perhaps slightly worse for the wear. but, he was super good natured and helpful and quickly had us laughing and feeling comfortable. the lobby had cool custom wallpaper and was inviting, so we decided to go for it, despite the neighborhood.
we were so glad we did! the room was spacious, freshly-painted, clean and, being on the top floor, was away from the noise of the street. breakfast the next morning was served in the cutest little breakfast room. there was cereal, boiled eggs, bread, a variety of cheeses, pate, juice and lattes, all served in the cozy breakfast room, where it was so nice, we could hardly drag ourselves away.
despite the location in the heart of hamburg's red light district, i'd go back to the pyjama hotel in a heartbeat. you never know what you might find, if you're open to looking for it.
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