Hamburg

Hamburg, known to uninformed people as the home of the hamburger.

However to the informed person, Hamburg is Germany's second largest city. It's not much of a tourist city. I would say it ranks behind Munich and Berlin in terms of tourist attractiveness.
Then why would I visit? Turns out that the Swedes love education, not only is school free here, they take you on trips. Thus I went to Hamburg with my class for free.

We had the opportunity to visit the planning offices in Hamburg and to take a tour of Hafencity and Wilhelmsburg. Unfortunately none of this is good blogging material therefore I'll just leave pictures and yes I did have a Hamburger in Hamburg.
It is also important to note that Hamburg was quite affected by World War II, this is most visible when walking through suburban areas. Bunkers were on every couple of blocks, most of them turned into playground, but there was this massive bunker in an area that we visited. No one has been able to safely remove it for the last 60 years and currently hamburg plans to turn it into a platform for solar panels.

Barca, Barca, Baaaaarrrrrrrca!

So my first real trip out of Skander land was to Barcelona.

Pretty much one of the most architecturally diverse cities I have ever been in. The city is beautiful in way where tourists come and see the sights yet the people of Barcelona don't give it shit. In my short period there I sensed that the people of Barcelona know that they live in a vibrant city and that tourists will come no matter how shitty I treat these current tourists.
A second thing to note is that this city is the city of Gaudi. I know that I was guided around by Lonely Planet and tourist guides but everywhere you look you see the influence of Gaudi. New bank buildings with just a slight touch of Gaudi. I can understand why though, his works are quite amazing. To me he designs less to please the eye but to evoke some sort of emotion.

For all the Canadians reading this, Barcelonians don't start partying till 2am. To pre drink and to pre game is to start boozing at like 10 till 2ish.
I must mention that their beaches were very beautiful. Walking around that city was an absolute joy. If you ever go, train only when necessary.

I also had the privilege to watch a game at Camp Nou. Such a fun experience, if only people were that into hockey back at home.Next stop: Hamburg, then Amsterdam.

Now pictures!!