Meet Nemo, Buzz Lightyear and Sulley..

... and all of your other favourite animated Pixar characters! 
Open your eyes, fans of computer animated movies! Get out your planners and mobile phones and mark a date: January 27th. This is the day where the exhibition "Pixar. 25 Years of Animation" is opened at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe near Hamburg Central Station. The exhibition documents the whole process of the making of a movie, from the first sketch to the finished, animated film. The visitor is supposed to get an insight in the work the developers put into an animated production, from the first idea of a character, rough sketches and drawings, and sculptures of the figures. All these steps are necessary before the final animation is produced. Then, music, visual effects and much more are added, until the movie is ready for the cinemas. The exhibition includes sketches, sculptures and art designs, combined with innovative ways of discovering information, like touchscreens, monitors or projections. So even if you normally are not a fan of exhibitions, I think you will agree that this one sounds quite promising! I hope this article will draw your attention to this awesome possibility, if you visit it let me know and tell me your opinions!

PIXAR- 25 years of animation
(© Musem für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg)

Philocaphé

A good place to hang out, get inspired or to debate over a good cup of coffee is most certainly the Philocaphé on the 10th floor of the university's Philturm. The prices are more than reasonable, because it's non-profit and run by students. The range of beverages goes from applejuice and tea to beer and coffee. Furthermore, they sell snacks (mostly chocolate) and sometimes small buns as well.
What's so great about it is that everyone is welcome and will be integrated into ongoing discussions or any other type of conversation quite naturally. Also, if you're up for a game of chess, poker or werewolf you might want to check out the Philocaphé as there is always something going on, especially on Thursdays where an ever changing special event is held.
If you are more of a party type you might also want to give one of the many partys in the Philcaphé a try, for they are always full of fun people, alcohol and good music.

Lee

U3

© by -Ole- fotocommunity.com

A good thing to do if you're new to Hamburg is take the U3 which has the most impressive view of all the subway railways in Hamburg. It will take you to the town hall and from there along the Hafencity and the harbor, which awaits you with many things to see: The Elbphilharmonie (which will probably never be finished at this rate), the big musical theater 'Lion King' with another one that is being built next to it, the Landungsbrücken where you can get on boat trips or have a closer look at the huge cruise ships like Queen Mary, and last but not least the harbor itself with its huge cranes and containerstorages, especially during night time when everything is neatly lit up and gloomy streets make their way between the buildings. In addition to that, there is once a year a huge festival with live music and a lots of other attractions, which is called 'Hafengeburtstag'. 

© metrobits.org

© panoramio.com

Well, back to more interesting stops on the U3's route, for example 'Reeperbahn' (Hamburg's world famous red light district), 'Feldstraße' (a few nice cafés there and 'Heiligengeistfeld' where they have usually big events like the 'Hamburger Dom', which is North-Germany's biggest funfair, or public viewing during FIFA World cup, and sometimes even musicals like 'Cats') and yet another well-known stop is 'Sternschanze' (a variety of small label clothing shops, cozy cafés and restaurants, as well as clubs which add to the vast nightlife there). 

All in all there is a lot to see on the U3 and it features a lot of my favorate places to hang out in Hamburg.

Lee



A call to visiting cinemas!

In times of internet piracy and expensive cinema tickets "watching a movie" most often refers to streaming a movie illegaly or maybe borrowing a DVD in a video rental store, in case the movie you want to watch is available on DVD already. Going to the cinema has become an expensive luxury for most of the students.
But if you think about it, watching movies at the cinema is so much more fun when you can sit down in one of the snugly seats, the quality of the movie is the best you can get, the sound is perfect and on top of all this, you don't have to be worried about being caught and fined for illegal movie streaming!

Abaton ( © J.Zimmermann )

Studio Kino in Altona ( © Lars Brücher)

Still, I wouldn't necessarily recommend you to go to the well known cinemas like "UCI" or "Cinemaxx". What a lot of people in Hamburg forget, is that there quite a few smaller and private "Lichtspielhäuser" you can visit! If you want to enjoy a movie in a relaxed and more personal atmosphere, in a cinema that looks more like a big and cozy living room than a huge hall designed for as many people as possible to fit in, I would recommend you to visit for example the "Abaton", right next to the university campus, the "Holi", also not very far from university, or maybe the "Studio-Kino", which was completely renovated lately! There are lots of choices, you can find a list of all the cinemas in Hamburg here. So please, if you decide to go to the cinema, choose one of the smaller and maybe less known cinemas. They offer a special atmosphere, and not only mainstream Hollywood movies. If you are interested in smaller productions, you will also find an interesting choice of local or upcoming directors who make their first steps to success! These cinemas also deserve to have the possibility to add to Hamburg's culture, because in my eyes they offer even more than the big cinemas.

So prevent these important movie theaters from having to close down, and simultaneously enjoy a wide range of movies in an exclusive surrounding!

A slippery joy

Comfortable seats!!

According to my friends, one thing you apparently have to do in winter time is to go ice skating. To be honest I have never been somebody who enjoyed this so much. Until this year! Again, one of my friends persuaded me to try my best on the ice... And I have to admit that it was truly fun! We went to the Eisbahn Wallanlagen, which is located in the park Planten un Blomen, not very far from the U3 station St. Pauli. After a five minute walk you can already see the lights of Europe's biggest open air ice rink. To make it even more attractive, they decided to renovate the whole recreation area around the ice. Now you can find stylish white wooden benches with snuggy blankets, a bar where you can get hot and cold drinks and also a little snack to restore your energy after showing your talent on the ice. There is also an area that provides benches in a heated room, so you can warm yourself up again, in case you had a unpleasan encounter with the ice or just want to sit and chat for a while because the staff is renewing the surface of the ice.

Colorful lights accompany you in the ice

As a hint I am telling you that the best time to go there is probably from Monday until Friday during the day, until Friday evening. Then, the place becomes crowded with a huge number of visitors, especially a lot of children. Also, during the weekend it is more crowded, of course, but I figured I'd try and go there on a Friday evening. Although  we really had to watch out for the children, because most of them interpret ice skating as playing human dominos, which includes not only them but everybody passing by, who is not capable of dodging them, after 8 pm the place got less crowded, there where also fewer children and we could still enjoy ice skating until 10 pm! This is also a big advantage of the ice rink Wallanlagen, it closes really late. What is also worth mentioning is the "Ice Disco" on friday evenings. There is a DJ playing all the recent hits, but also the songs you ask him to put on, and the ice surface is illuminated by a colorful lightshow.
Another tip why you should go between Monday and Friday is the discount for students, which only applies on these days. On the one hand the discount is only €1, but when you start liking it, like I did, you will be able to borrow your skates "for free", because this costs exactly €5. So you see, you really do not need to worry about anything, just go there and they will provide you with everything, starting with the skates, a locker, food, drinks and a warm room to relax in between your rounds on the ice.

And before I end this article and you run off to the Wallanlagen, let me give you one last suggestion: Take a pair of gloves with you, your hands will be thankful in case you trip (which of course I am sure you won't...)!!

Your second living room

Most comfortable seats in Hamburg!

"Home sweet home" is a commonly known phrase, almost everbody would relate to. But sometimes you might want to get out, sometimes you need a change of scenery and then you need a place apart from home, where you can settle back and linger in a relaxing atmosphere. This is exactly what "Zoe II" and "Zoe III"  are for. You will find these two bars in the Sternschanze, located at Alter Pferdemarkt 17 and 19. These two bars technically belong togther, as you can tell by the name. Nevertheless, Zoe II already opens at 2 p.m., while Zoe III doesn't open until 8 p.m. I paid my last visit to Zoe III with a friend a week ago, on a Friday night. Although we arrived only 5 minutes past 8,  a lot of the seats were already taken, but you will almost always find a cozy spot for you to sit. While some of the guests spend the whole evening here, a lot of people only stay for a drink and then leave, so you can be sure that even if you cannot find a sofa at first, you will not have to wait for a long time! Talking about the sofas, this is what makes these two bars so wonderful. The whole place is stuffed with old, but beautiful baroque style sofas that truly make you melt into them the moment you sit down. You won't want to stand up and order a drink at the bar, you  won't even want to get up ever again. Trust me, those sofas are amazing. Of course, the rest of the interior fits perfectly. Big lamps in the middle of the room lite it dimly and there are also baroque style mirrors on the walls. All in all the atmosphere is very appealing. Also the prices are absolutely acceptable and the service is very pleasant. In case you cannot do it without smoking, there is a special room for smokers in the cellar, so you do not need to freeze out there in the cold evenings!

So many free spots! Go get them!

To sum it up: Go there! Plan a visit! Do not miss this awesome bar! It is really worth it and if you want, it is perfect to hit the clubs afterwards, as the "Schanze" is not very far from all the clubs in Hamburg!

Black gold in Hamburg



This is a Civet Cat! © Rbalmonia



Are you a coffee lover? If the the answer is yes, you should definitely give "Die Rösterei" a chance to please your discerning palate! Located in the Levantehaus near the Hauptbahnhof you might want to relax there after shopping sprees or just taste incredibly good coffee. What makes "Die Rösterei" so special is that they serve you coffee from all around the world, which they freshly grind and brew for each cup. The range goes from a simple American coffee to exotic coffee's like Kopi Luwak from the Philippines. Kopi Luwak used to be the most expensive coffee in the world around one month ago and what made it that expensive is that the coffeebeans are extracted from feces once they have been eaten and excreted by the Asian Palm Civet. As this is a very elaborate process of manufacture and the civets only eat the coffee berries during one specific season only, it becomes quite clear why this coffee is something special and deserves a higher price.

A relaxing atmosphere sets the mood for good coffee!

These high-class coffees should be enjoyed in an appropriate setting and mood, which is set by "Die Rösterei"'s unwinding, old-fashioned interior and by the friendly and caring waitresses and waiters. Equally pleasing are their Italian-German dishes that go quite well with the coffee.

I honestly recommend this excellent café and I am convinced that if you really cherish an extraordinary cup of coffee you will become a regular there just like me.

Lee