I have been to Hamburg today. That has been the first time since I returned to Germany from the Unites States three weeks ago.

It was a trip totally in my style. Less than two hours in the city, and the road took almost the same amount of time each way. About twenty minutes of that less-than-two-hours period were spent in a bookstore, looking at the shelves with English books.

Being in Hamburg tonight has left me feeling en-lighten-ed :) Ligther than I was before.

I was a bit afraid to come to the city… I had fallen in love with San Francisco during the US trip, and I was concerned whether I stopped feeling that special about Hamburg. But those worries faded away. I was on a bus home at 5 pm, and I got an idea to go to Hamburg. And I still could do it. I realized that I wanted it very much, and I wanted to do it today, because tomorrow I will head southwards to re-visit Köln (Cologne) this weekend.

When the train stopped at Hamburg-Harburg, ten minutes away from the central station, I already had a smile on my lips. And when the familiar bridges and buildings and the Elbe appeared afterwards, I was experiencing joy. Excitement. Lightness.

Hamburg is beautiful. The various styles of architecture so naturally coexist together, the combination does not look foreign at all. The city has the powerful energy of older times, and it has privileges of modern age technology. It is spacious. Hamburg breathes freedom. There are not enough words to fully describe what I appreciate about the city, and yet it is still possible to express my feelings with just a short phrase.

I simply love Hamburg.