Business contacts
Mobile phone hire Contact CellularAbroad, email: info@cellularabroad.com.
Car hire Europcar car rentals, Tel: 378 6220, or visit: www.europcar.de; Avis car rentals, Tel: 1001, or visit: www.avis.de. Office rental Contact Regus, Tel: 0800 5222 5333, or Atis REAL Müller, Tel: 3484 8212.
Secretarial services English-language secretarial services are few and far between. However, all of the main business hotels offer such services.
Local press
Hamburg has little to offer in terms of English-language press, although large newsagents like Stilke Aktuell (branches around the city) sell international newspapers and magazines. Szene Hamburg is the most popular events magazine. Although it’s in German, the calendar of events is fairly easy to understand even if you don’t speak the language. The tourism office’s website (www. hamburg-tourism.de) features pretty well everything you could ever want to know about current events.
Weather and climate
Hamburg has a reputation for miserable, rainy weather all year round. Carrying an umbrella isn’t always much help because the rain comes with blustery westerly winds. Always carry a raincoat. From June to September temperatures can reach the late 20Cs, while from December to early March, temperatures can get as low as -4C.
Tourist traps
Although the Reeperbahn is Hamburg’s entertainment heart, its seedier side remains highly present. It can be a tourist trap for men. Keep your wits about you, and remember that nothing comes for free!
Tipping etiquette
It’s customary to round up bills in restaurants to the nearest euro or to leave about 5%. But give it to the waiter or waitress as you pay the bill because leaving it on the table is considered rude. Bartenders and servers also expect a 2%-5% tip. Hotel bellboys and porters should be tipped €1 per bag. In taxis, round up the fare to the nearest euro as a tip. Only give more if you have particularly cumbersome or heavy luggage.
Internet cafés
Because all public libraries offer internet access for €3 per hour, the sort of internet café chains that abound in other cities don’t exist in Hamburg. That said, Spiele Netzwerk has two decently sized internet cafés (Kleiner Schäferkamp 24, Eimsbüttel; and Hamburger Strasse 1, Barmbek). Match Games (Rothenbaumchaussee 61, Rotherbaum) is also a good choice.
Gifts to buy
Koppel 66 (Lange Reihe 75), a few minutes’ walk from the main train station, is home to artists and designers. Top quality gold and silversmiths, tailors, and furniture makers produce their wares on site, making Koppel 66 a great place to browse as well as to pick up a last-minute gift. For the person who has everything, a fountain pen designed by Stefan Fink might be the answer; prices start at €150.
Seifarth (Robert Koch Strasse 19, website: www.seifarth.de) is one of the best places to buy tea in Hamburg, and Hamburg is one of the best places to buy tea in Europe. Smoked salmon and caviar are terrific buys here as well. The best hampers in town are created at Kruizenga Spezialitäten in Winterhude—a luxury delicatessen that has been around since 1931 (Maria Louisen Strasse 11–13).