A design hostel in a 19^th Century palace with it’s own private cinema room, rooftop terrace and bar? Welcome to U Hostels, Madrid.

Location

Located in a 19^th century palace right beside the Alonso Martinez Metro station and just a 15 minute walk to Puerta del Sol, U Hostels Madrid is a great base to explore Madrid.

Rooms and Bathrooms

Double Room. U Hostels.

In sync with the rest of the building, the white washed rooms have a clean minimalist design that is easy on the eye.

Dorms are air-conditioned and come with private lockers.

Bunk beds are custom made with comfortable mattresses.

Each bed come with a private reading light and power sockets for recharging your gadgets.

You have a choice of dorms with ensuite or shared facilities.

BudgetTraveller’s Tip: Choose the 6 bed dorm with no bathroom than a room for 4 with bathroom. Much more spacious plus you  have a private balcony looking onto the main street. There are tons of bathrooms and showers on each floor.

Linen is included in the price plus they have free luggage storage to store all your stuff .

Female dorm. U Hostels, Madrid

There is also a female only dorm.

Facilities

Cinema Room, U Hostels

U Hostels boasts it’s own private cinema room that guests can relax in and choose a movie from their extensive DVD collection or catch the latest football match. It’s so cosy that you can often find the odd guest dozing away during the day, sleeping off their nocturnal exertions.

Next to the cinema, the Hostel has a nice chillout zone for guests where they can read a book or plot their travels across Madrid on the huge magnetic wall map of the city.

If you’re looking for a quiet drink to relax after a day of seeing the sights , the hostel has an excellent onsite bar with  v.competitively priced drinks.

Erica and Pablo from the hostel run an excellent programme of daily activities to help guests plug into the DNA of the city- from excellent free walking tours to visits to Flamenco bars and pub crawls, something there for every type of traveller.

They have just opened a rooftop terrace which is perfect for enjoying Madrid sunsets and having a drink.

Free wifi is excellent, especially for this size of hostel and on each floor they have free computer terminals

Kitchen, U Hostels Madrid

They have a nice sized kitchen free for guests to use and fridge to store your food items.

The hostel offers a basic free breakfast but for an extra 1 euro you get a cup of Lavazza coffee or for 3 euros, a special breakfast which includes coffee, fruit and delicious Serrano ham: worth every penny.

Verdict

Many people would prefer to stay central but I quite liked the offbeat location of the hostel with the Metro station at the doorstep. The staff are friendly and helpful. The facilities here are fantastic and in terms of the décor, the hostel is one of the best design hostels I’ve come across in my travels. A very relaxing and beautiful hostel-for the moment, this is the place to stay if you visit Madrid.

How to get there

Best way from the Airport to reach U Hostel Madrid is via the metro –takes around 30 min & costs €4

To reach the hostel take the pink line (line 8) until the end at “Nuevos Ministerios” and change for the dark blue line (line 10) in direction “Puerta del Sur” and get off the metro after two stops at Alonso Martinez (the closest metro station to the Hostel).
From here you have to walk up Calle Sagasta you will find our hostel after 100 meters on your left side.

The metro runs daily from 6.00 a.m. until 1.30 a.m

Or if you arriving by train ( Atocha Train Station )  walk 250 meters to the Atocha Metro station and take Metro line 1 (turquoise line) in direction Pinar de Chamartin.

Get Off at Bilbao and walk down Calle Sagasta and you will find the hostel after 350 meters on your right hand side.

Factbox

Looking at prices for October 2013, cost of a single, ensuite room is €60 while a bed in a mixed, 4 bed dorm with private bathroom starts at just €23.50 a night,  while a bed in the 12 bed dorm is just €15 a night.

Address

Calle Sagasta 22

Madrid 28004

Spain

Grampa’s Hostel in Wroclaw, Poland is a very budget friendly, casual and stylish place, where strangers become friends. This family run business tries to balance a party atmosphere with quality facilities, great hospitality and comfortable beds.

By Nadine Pober , the nadwork.com

Location

Situated just a 15 minute walking distance from the biggest market square in Europe , the hostel is basically just a stone’s throw away from the heart of the city. If you walk to hostel, you will cross and pass by some beautiful bridges and realize why Wroclaw is also known as the ‘Venice of Poland’. The hostel is also very well connected via the city’s excellent tram and bus network.

Rooms and Bathrooms

Grampa’s Hostel offers 9 rooms in which they can accommodate up to 48 guests.

Facilities

On your arrival guests get an orientation of the hostel’s various facilities, a carrot key-chain and also receive a homemade cupcake.

The clean and generous kitchen is a nice meeting point. Whether you are treating yourself to a free black tea or coffee or if you are cooking your own meal: chances are very high that you will run into another guest and can have a pleasant conversation.

On Sunday evenings cooking events are held. The hostel staff will provide the ingredients. Together with volunteers, couchsurfers, expats, friends of the owners and fellow guests you will create different style meals every week. Your contribution towards the expenses are just 10PLN (ca. 2,5€).

The generous free breakfast sets you up nicely for the day. You can start your day with different choices of cereal, bread, cheese, ham, butter, miscellaneous marmalades, hazelnut cream, black tea, instant coffee and milk.

The colorful and comfy common room offers a variety of possibilities to enjoy yourself. You can either hang out on your own reading a book from the ‘take a book, leave a book’ shelf, watch a DVD on the 42-inch flat screen TV with your old friends, or make new friends with the PlayStation 3 or show off your guitar playing skills.

On Fridays and Saturdays (and Thursdays during high summer season) the common room is also the starting point for the free pub crawl. You will be taken to various fun places with no entrance fee, you only have to pay for your own drinks. A pub crawl is always a great excuse to get to know your fellow guests.

You need wifi? This place seriously had the best wifi I have ever had during my travels! Oh, and of course it is free!

And even if you don’t own a smartphone, tablet or pc that let’s you connect to the rest of the world, you can still always use the hostel’s common computer – again, free of charge.

Other great facilities, beside the 24 hour reception with friendly staff, are free hair dryers, adapter or an iron (just ask at the reception) and the laundry machine: which is also free for guests to use. You will just need your own washing powder. And if you, like I usually do, forget you paddle lock – they don’t force you to buy one: you just pay a 10PLN (ca. 2,5€) deposit.

Verdict

I stayed in a private room that has no ensuite bath, but the shared bathrooms were always free and perfectly clean so that wasn’t a big deal. (Currently if you book a private room, towels are not included – they are thinking about changing that. Also my room did not have a mirror – which I would expect if I don’t have an ensuite bathroom, but apparently that was only the case in my room) I very much enjoyed the homey common room that gave me a chance to meet some fellow travellers and revive my ‘Tekken’ (popular PlayStation fighting game from the 90′s) skills.

Grampa’s hostel offers you a lot for your money’s worth! Starting with free breakfast, free washing machine and no costs for other supplies mentioned above.

Before I arrived I wished the hostel was a bit closer to the main square (well, a 15 minute walk isn’t far, but you know…) but after I returned late from a day strolling around Wroclaw I feel in love with the location! Once you are on your way home and take a look behind you, you get a magnificent view over the lit up bridges and the skyline, you would never get if it wasn’t for that 15 minute walk.

Mostly I remember a friendly place, with a great sense of humor, that welcomed me like home and this feeling is gold while travelling.

How to get there          

From the train station: Take tram 8 (direction Zawalna). Ride 5 stops and get off at Pl. Bema. This will take you about 10 minutes. You will now be in a square called Plac Bema. Take Drobnera street and walk 250meters. Then take the next right on Probusa street. You can’t overlook the bright, green door!

From the airport: Take bus 406 to stop Renoma – this will take about 30 minutes. Then cross the street and take tram 7 (direction Mariono) and ride 7 stops until stop Paulinksa. (10 minutes). You will be at a big park. Turn right and the hostel will be less than 100 meters away.

By taxi: It takes about 25 minutes and costs 45-50PLN (ca. 11-13€).

Top tip

The hostel itself is part of a historic city house in an artsy area. If you grab yourself one of the free maps at the reception you will see that very close by are a couple of huge and impressive street art pieces.

Factbox

5 spacious rooms with bunk beds and lockers.

4 private rooms in an almost separate section of the hostel.

Single room prices vary from season to season between 75-85 PLN (ca.  18-21€).

A bed in a 12 bed dorm room costs 30PLN (ca. 7€).

Breakfast is always included and FREE!

Address

Grampas Hostel

Pl. Świętego Macieja 2/1c – 50-244

Wrocław Poland

I visited last week for 32 hours  the city of culture & innovation-Stuttgart as part of my German Wanderlust tour. Here is my account of my time in this beautiful city.

Day 1

12pm: Start the trip with a view of Stuttgart at the ‘Aussichtsplatform’

If you’re arriving at the Hauptbahnhof take the lift to the ‘Aussichtsplatform’ (Viewing Platform, € Free) on the 10^th floor from where you can get an excellent panoramic view of the city and the revolving Mercedes logo.

Tip: There is a hive of cheap budget suspects in the Station- Chinese fast food counters, bakeries, McDonalds and Starbucks so if you’re looking for a quick bite, this place is a good bet.

2pm Zip over to the hostel: Jugendherberge Stuttgart Neckerpark

Hop on the S1 ( Direction: Plochingen ) and get off after one stop at Bad Canstatt.

From there the hostel is 200 yards away , so a great location. There is a hive of decent fast food places to eat around the hostel plus also a Netto budget supermarket across the road if you’re looking for a quick picnic fix.

The hostel is modern, clean, comfortable and has lots of light. The beds come equipped with your own private reading light and power point. All the rooms have excellent ensuite showers and toilet facilities. Standard feature of all the Jugenherberge’s is the excellent breakfast. You have a good selection of cereals, fresh fruit , cold cuts of meats and cheese plus a nice choice of freshly baked bread.

Room prices start at 25.60 euros for a bed in their dorm rooms. Couples have to pay a 4 euro supplement per person. Wifi is additional- 3 euros per hour or 5 euros for 24 hours.

Me in front of the Mercedes 300 SL Coupe at the Mercedes Benz Museum

4:30 pm Perfect afternoon at Mercedes Benz Museum

A 20 minute walk or just another stop on the S1 is the superb museum of automotive giants : Mercedes Benz. Time your visit perfectly between 4:30 and 6pm to take advantage of the reduced price of €4.

Even if you are not an auto junkie, the Mercedes Museum is a fascinating drive through 125 years of automotive history intertwined with all the key historical events that have marked the evolution of the world’s great car.

A great feature of the place are the pictures of key events that have shaped the history of the world ( including a humbling apology and frank admission of the company’s significant involvement in supporting the Third Reich). Pictures include poignant memories like the time when people would have picnics by the autobahn in the 60’s or the empty autobahns of the winter of 1973 when due to oil shortages , a car free Sunday was imposed over 5 weeks.

Then there are the stars of the show to say hello to- from Gottlieb Daimler’s motorized carriage to the world’s first 4 wheeled auto mobile to the ‘Gullwing’. Then you can see the dream car of the 1950’s: the 300 SL Coupe to the machine that set the standard for racing cars: the Mercedes Benz W196 2.5 litre that then world champion, Juan Manuel Fangio powered to victory in the 1954 Formula One race in Reims.

Combined with the stunning architecture, the Mercedes Benz Museum is a great afternoon for people of all ages and definitely a must-see.

Opening hours: 9am till 6pm. Mondays closed Entrance price: €8, €4 reduced price from 4:30-6pm

The dominating feature of the Schlossplatz is the towering Konig Wilhelm Jubilee column with the surrounding fountains representing the 8 rivers of Baden Wuttenberg.

5pm Schlossplatz

Hop back on the S1 (Direction: Herrenberg ) to Hauptbahnhof and then go for a walk through the city centre to catch some of the city’s key landmarks.

Walking out of the station, 500 yards north brings you to the regal, beautiful Schlossplatz where you can really feel the pulse of this city.

The dominating feature of the Schlossplatz is the towering Konig Wilhelm Jubilee column with the surrounding fountains representing the 8 rivers of Baden Wuttenberg.

On your immediate right is the impressive Corinthian columns of one of the city’s key shopping arcades- Konigsbau Passagen.

Also on the eastern corner in front of the stunning glass cube structure of the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart you’ll spot the weird geometric shape and primary colours of sculptor Alexander Calder’s ‘Mobile.’

7pm  Traditional Swabian dinner at the Weinhaus Setter

Afterwards definitely worth going for a ramble around Bohnenviertel – the city’s bohemian district that is packed with a ton of cool bars and traditional restaurants. You’ll discover places like Weinhaus Stetter where you can sample the best traditional Swabian cooking. I enjoyed some Linsen und Saiten ( lentils and sausage) with Spatzle- a traditional thick egg noodles that is typical of the region  With a glass of the local Durrenzimmerner ‘Trollinger mit Lemberger ‘ red wine, this has the makings of a great meal.

Matahari, Stuttgart

9pm Nightcap at Matahari

If you’re looking for nightcap or enjoy a few beers in a sociable but too frenetic atmosphere then you got to check out Matahari ,one of the coolest bars and nightlife hotspots in Stuttgart. It’s a kind of a meeting point in Stuttgart where friends meet for a few beers, catchup before hitting a club or rolling into one of the clutch of bars nearby in Hans-Im-Gluck.

Day 2

9:30am Visit Esslingen- a medieval city with a city

Next morning zip off early morning to the dreamy medieval city of Esslingen which is just 4 stops from Bad Canstatt on the S1 ( Direction lochingen )

Esslingen escaped the WWII bombing raids and as a result visitors can enjoy 1200 years of perfectly preserved medieval architecture.

It’s the perfect place to wonder aimlessly and get lost in it’s not too distant past.

Capucchino- Lavazza cafeteria, Esslingen

Sit at one of the cafes like the Lavazza cafeteria like I did ( Cappuchino €2.40) to enjoy the beautiful half timbered houses and observe the passage of the locals.

To get the perfect view of the medieval panorama it’s worth climbing the odd 370 steps to the ancient fort that dominates the skyline of the city.

Tip: After wondering the compact medieval core of the city, I recommend popping into Kessler for a glass of Sekt, the oldest producer of this fine tipple in Germany.

12pm Lunch at the Markthalle

Bocadillo at Markthalle, Stuttgarrt

Zipping back into Stuttgart, head towards the Aldstadt to the Markthalle ( S-Bahn: Rathaus ) This is the perfect place for a quick tasty bite on the go. Choose from a number of gourmet delicatessens where you everything from local Swabian homecooking to a range of international cuisine. I plumped for an excellent toasted Bocadillo ala ‘Alicante’ which was stuffed with a grilled aubergine, cheese and rucola salad. For €3.90 not a bad deal.

12:30pm Friday lunchtime concert at the Instrument museum

Lunchtime concert at the Instrument Museum

Markthalle is perfectly placed for the next little adventure-just around from the Markthalle is the local Instrument Museum. Every Friday lunchtime ( 1230pm on the day I visited) they run a half-hour lunchtime classical music concert.  On the day I visited they had a mezzo Soprano from St Petersburg and she sang a bunch of opera classics ranging from Verdi, Wagner to Puccini.  Opera and classical music may not be everyone’s cup of tea but for €3 fee (which also get you a ticket to the museum itself) it’s worth the experience.

1:30pm Afternoon of art at one of the greatest galleries of modern art

Staatsgallerie, Stuttgart

Germany is blessed with the best modern art galleries in the world and few are better than the Staatsgallerie. ( Wed, Friday, Sat + Sun: 10am till 6pm, Tuesday + Thursday: 10am till 8pm. Mondays closed. Entry cost: €7, Free on Wednesdays and Saturdays )

Monet: Sunlight Effect under the Poplars, Staatsgallerie, Stuttgart

You can find works by Monet, Rembrandt and Dali plus lovers of Pop Art will enjoy the works of Lichtenstein and Warhol.

Staatsgallerie

Urbanstr. 35

3:30pm  Perfect for people watching: Deli in Hans-Im-Gluck

If it’s a nice day I recommend winding your way back to Hans-Im-Gluck Platz. While you are there you will see a beautiful fountain with the caged character of Lucky Hans from the Grimm’s fairytale. There is a hive of excellent bars here. I grabbed a chair at Deli Café + Bar enjoying a bottle of the local Wulle Biere ( €2.80 ) Great place for people watching.

6pm Dinner at Todis, Stuttgart

Dinner at Todi’s Stuttgart

Bolzstraße 7

(Just off Theodor-Heuss-Straße)

Before leaving Stuttgart for Munich on the evening train, I want another fill of traditional Swabian cooking so after a bit of poking in an around the city I discover Todi’s -a local , home grown fast food chain that offers a nice mix of local and national cheap eats.

Order at the bar and within minutes the food is at your table.

From currywurst with three sauces to choose from, schnitzel and Maultaschen ( stuffed ravioli, delicious stuff) with potato salad (what I ordered) and regional Swabian spatzle with lentils –there’s good range of choice here.

Or if you’re in the mood for quick trash food, you can have some French fries with Kölsch beer.

Tip: Everyday between 17:00 – 19:00 they have a happy hour where you can enjoy Gaffel Kölsch for €1,00 and between 21:00 & 23:00 hours you can sip on Wulle Bier for 2,00€

Here’s the total cost of my 32 hours in Stuttgart

1 night stay at DJH Stuttgart Neckarpark:                        €25.60

2 day tickets on Stuttgart Public Transport network   €11.20

Staatgallerie:                                                                             €7

Mercedes Benz Museum                                                        €4

Lunchtime concert at Instrument Museum                      €3

Lunch at Markthalle                                                                 €3.90

Dinner at Weinhaus Setter with glass of red wine         €9.60

Dinner at Todi’s with Kolsch beer                                       €9.20

Beers (3) at Matahari & Deli                                                 €8.40

Total: €81.90

Big thanks to the German National Tourism Office , their partners for the ‘Youth Hotspots’ campaign – Jugendherberge : The German Youth Hostelling Association and Deutsche Bahn for sponsoring my ‘German Wanderlust’ tour.

I’m touring Germany as part of an effort to highlight and discover the country’s emerging ‘Youth Hotspots.’

Find out more about these hotspots at their website , feel free to add your own and also do download their free youth hotspots app that is now available on the Apple Store & Android Store .

Please note: While my trip has been sponsored, the views and thoughts represented in this article are my own.

Every year the University of Sheffield runs a charity hitchhike through the organisation ‘Bummit’, where 200 of its students hitchhike to Eastern Europe for charity. BudgetTraveller Intern and avid hitchhiker Amy took up the challenge of hitchhiking to Vilnius, Lithuania, in 9 days. (To donate to the awesome cause, please click here )

Here are her highlights of her hike from Sheffield to Cologne.

DAY 1: Sheffield-Calais

After recovering from the initial excitement of setting off, with 200 students grabbing their backpacks and running to be the first to get a lift out of Sheffield, we managed to make our way down the motorways from Sheffield to Dover in only a day. Say what you want about British motorists being a suspicious bunch, but we made it down south surprisingly fast, with people being more than happy to take us as far as they could, donating anything they could spare to our charities and generally just making hilarious conversation. Maybe it was because we were dressed up in ridiculous costumes, but noone refused us a lift on the grounds that we might be axe-murders!

If only it took us across the channel..

Picked up by the grandaddy of hitchhiking himself!

By 8pm on the first day, we’d got a ferry from Dover to Calais, and having pestered every driver on the ferry we turned our attention to freaking out about where we’d spend the night (our only option was sleeping on a motorway in Dunkirk, not very appealing when snow had been forecast). Thankfully, a trucker came to our rescue, and dropped us at a strategically placed service station in Calais, where we found our next lift and bed for the night.

Bed for the night. Keep on truckin’

A bit of a tight squeeze, but nothing warmer than a cosy lorry..

In hindsight, sleeping in a lorry with a man who a.) got us drunk on truck stop wine b.) told us repeatedly that he wanted us to ‘make beautiful luuurve’ in his truck (don’t worry, he assured us he wouldn’t disturb us, and would just be sleeping in his bunk below) and would c.) murder us (his exact words), was not the smartest idea.

Maybe  we did it because we had nowhere else to sleep and it was cold outside? Maybe it was because of all the wine? Maybe it was just so we could tell the story at the end of it?

For whatever reason we chose to sleep in his cab, against all odds it turned out to be the right decision, because in the morning we awoke unscathed, unmurdered and started truckin’ towards Ghent, Belgium. To any wannabe hitchers, I am in no way recommending that you shack up with pyschopaths, but in this instance, it worked out a treat!

Hell yeah he didn’t murder us!

Taking unnecessary risks 1 – 0 Being sensible

DAY 2: Calais-Brussels

Having got to Ghent by day 2, we decided to take it easy and go explore. One of the best thing about hitching is sightseeing, taking a good look around the places you end up and knowing you are doing so for FREE!

Bruges, Ghent and Brussels in one day, we took sightseeing to the extreme.

Enjoying the view in Bruges

Graffiti alleyway in Gent, Belgium

Kicking back at the end of the day by the canals in Gent

Ending up in Brussels in the evening we stayed with a coachsurfer who cooked us a 3 course meal and provided endless entertainment with his choice of house decorations…

There are no words.

Note to anyone who anyone who has not tried coach surfing: if you are at all homophobic, do not stay with a man who lists that he prefers to host gay coachsurfers, and lists ‘sleeping naked’ or ‘showering with other men’ as his hobbies. Although myself and my boyfriend didn’t mind staying with a man who doesn’t have a door to his shower room and had a computer screensaver of a naked coach surfing man, his other guests found this pretty offensive, and maybe should have screened their host more carefully…

DAY 3: Brussels-Cologne

Ain’t nothing fun about hitching in the snow. Having hitched to just outside Cologne, Germany with a woman and her baby in a smart car (who’d have thought?!) , we got stranded in blizzard conditions. Thankfully, we got picked up by no other than a woman who could have been my own mother’s doppelganger!

Since I started hitchhiking, I have had countless stories to tell about freaks, wierdos and generally deranged human beings who picked us up along the way. Imagine my surprise then, when I spent the next 4 hours eating cake and drinking coffee with two middle aged German women who just wanted a civilised catch-up.

Kidnapped by a German lady who wanted to feed us cake

So much cake..

One of the most surreal and civilised hitchhiking experiences of all time!

And we made it to Cologne before nightfall, just enough time do some sightseeing and kick back with a beer and a steak in a German beer hall!

Well deserved after a hard day of hitching

Partying hard with Germans

It’s a hard job, but someone’s gotta do it!

On my latest trip to Dublin I had the chance to check out Wynn’s Hotel , a historic hotel in the heart of Dublin.

Location

Location of Wynn’s is unbeatable and what makes this hotel stand out –right in the heart of Dublin off O’Connell Street you are within walking distance of all the key sights: Dublin Castle, Trinity College and the Temple Bar area.

Dining and breakfast room. Wynns Hotel, Dublin

Great hospitality

In existence since 1845, if you like hotels that are historic and full of character you will love Wynn’s- it’s a taste of traditional Irish hospitality.

Staff are attentive and extremely helpful.

The rooms

My double room on the 5^th floor was away from noise of trams below and towards the back–had a great nights sleep.

It was on the small side and very compact.

Useful amenties in the room included coffee making facilities in the room, a small flatscreen TV and free wifi which was decent throughout my stay,

Ensuite bathrooms are clean and toiletries are provided.

The shower was tiny and the water strength was poor. Hopefully this was a one-off and a temporary issue.

Top breakfast

One of the best features of the hotel is the free breakfast where you get a nice hot, cooked breakfast from the traditional Irish to Eggs Benedict: great way to start the day. Coffee was not the best but otherwise everything was ace.

The hotel has a nice onsite bar where guests can relax and have a pint of the black stuff.

Verdict

I like the location, old fashioned hospitality , free wifi, good breakfast and my room was clean and comfortable. Downside was that my room was quite compact ( they have larger sized rooms), shower poor which maybe a one-off but otherwise a good experience.

The price point? Booked via HRS UK the price of the hotel for two nights was 178 Euros or 89 per night which is definitely on the pricier side but nevertheless for the location you could argue, good value. Depends on what is important for you and also what you would classify as ‘budget’ in Dublin city centre.

Tip: Book a room towards the back of the hotel and on the top floor to have a good nights sleep.

Essentials

39 Abbey Street Lower, Dublin 1

Disclaimer

My stay was made possible through the kind support of HRS UK but the views are clearly my own and by no means biased by the sponsor. I value that readers come here for my honest opinions and they always come first when I write any review. If you have any feedback about my reviews, please share via the comments box below or contact me on europebudgetguide AT gmail.com 

Following the popularity of the last series of cheap eats guides, I am excited to be kicking off another series of guides starting with Bremen , a city I recently visited as part of my ongoing mission to discover the coolest emerging youth hotspots across Germany. Germany has some great cheap eats and I’ll be sharing more of my finds from the tour in the next few weeks on the blog. So stay tuned.

Here are my finds from my food spotting safari across Bremen-guten appetit and feel free to share you tips in the comments section below.

Bremer Knipp at the Schüttinger Gasthausbrauerei

1. Bremer Knipp at the Schüttinger Gasthausbrauerei

To have a very authentic experience of Bremer beer and cuisine avoid the touristy Ratskeller and visit Schüttinger Gasthausbrauerei

There you can sample their excellent beer and also the very unhealthy and very tasty Bremer Knipp.

Knipp is a local sausage made of unwanted bits of pork & oat groats plus seasoned with salt, pepper and all spice.  To top that off it’s served also with fried potatoes, bacon plus gherkins!

Talk about a heart attack on a plate! So tasty though…

Cost: With 0.2 l glass of beer came to 9 euros which is really affordable.

Tip: From 5 till 8pm they run a happy hour where you get small glasses ( 100 ml) of beer for 1 euro and the Maß (1l) for 5€ -Bargain!

Address

Hinter dem Schütting 12  28195 Bremen

Coffee Corner, Bremen

2. Coffee Corner, Ostertorsteinwag-Das Viertel.

For past 11 years, this has been the place for bagels and good coffee in Bremen.

Comfy sofas upstairs, downstairs grab a window side stool & get a birds eye view of the action in Das Viertel.

They do great soups, salads and awesome bagels.

I enjoyed the Chicken Curry bagel.

Cost: 2.80 euros.

Free wifi is excellent. Grab tram 2 or 3 from Aldstadt.

Address

Ostertorsteinweg 1, 28203 Bremen

Rollo- Kismet ‘New Generation’ , Bremen

3. Must local eat: The ‘Rollo’ @ Kismet “New Generation’

For lunch on my first day I was hovering around the Hauptbhanhof area checking out the hive of budget eateries in this place and eventually settled for the Kismet ‘New Generation’ Turkish restaurant. I wasn’t sure what to order and asked for a recommendation. They suggested I try the local Durum Doner- it’s called the ‘Rollo’ , like Durum. but with cheese!….

It tasted fantastic.

Cost:  Just 3 euros.

Address

Sogestrasse 72.

Marianne gib mir ein stuck Kuchen- ‘Marianne give me a piece of cake’

4. Marianne

Tucked away off the main drag of Das Viertel, Marianne’s is great place for kaffee und kuchen. Expect lots of hipster nerdy cultural types clamouring for the limited table space here.

They do awesome chocolate tart ( in picture ) here and New York Cheesecakes. The other great thing is that they have significant range of vegan, gluten-free and lactose-free cakes and pies.

Cost: Chocolate tart and capuchinno: €5

Address

Berliner Strasse 22, Bremen

Angolino, Bremen-great spot for lunch

5. Angolino

Das Viertel has a hive of great places to eat out and Angolino’s is a lovely cosy Italian trattoria that serves good Italian food at decent prices. I ate the excellent Spaghetti aglio olio e pepperoncino ( Spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and chilli flakes ) with a glass of refreshing San Pellengrino lemonade.

Cost: Spaghetti (€6.5 ),  Drink – €2

Address

Vor dem Steintor 11, 28203 Bremen

Big thanks to the German National Tourism Office , their partners for the ‘Youth Hotspots’ campaign – Jugendherberge : The German Youth Hostelling Association and Deutsche Bahn  ( Worth checking out their Facebook page  for special deals ) for sponsoring my ‘German Wanderlust’ tour.

Also a big thank you to the Bremen Tourism Board , local blogger Carolin Hinz ( who blogs at http://www.esel-unterwegs.de/ ) and local Birte Stadtlander for their awesome tips and support for my trip to Bremen.

I’m touring Germany as part of an effort to highlight and discover the country’s emerging ‘Youth Hotspots.’

Find out more about these hotspots at their website , feel free to add your own and also do download their free youth hotspots app that is now available on the Apple Store & Android Store .

Please note: While my trip has been sponsored, the views and thoughts represented in this article are my own.

This is Part 2 of my iPhoneography essay about Hamburg that I visited as part of my current German Wanderlust tour.

Part 1, was last Monday and if you missed it, here is the link.

Welcome to Gangeviertel- a playground of amazing art that spans across a labyrinth of 12 houses and backyards dating from the Middle Ages.

Gangeviertel

It’s a studio and home to a creative mix of artists who saved the buildings from being torn down in 2009. Concerts, parties, poetry readings…it’s a unique space in Hamburg that stands out, even on a bitterly cold winters day.

Modern Life School, Hamburg

When visiting Gangeviertel, pop over to the Modern Life School, Hamburg just around the corner

On the International Day of Happiness ( 22nd March ), it was appropriate that I discovered a cafe+bookshop +temple of ideas & positive thinking like the Modern Life School.

Galileo’s quote: ‘We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves.’ sums up the philosophy of this place.

You can enjoy their ‘gastrosophy’ classes where you could be treated to a lecture in freedom from philosopher while enjoying a three course meal and wine.

Some classes are free- check Modernlifeschool.com ahead for their schedule. Cafe offers excellent coffee plus superb free-wifi.

‘Willkomm-Hoft’: the ‘welcome point’ at Schulauer Fahrhaus in Wedel is on the city outskirts where vessels destined for Hamburg are welcomed over loudspeakers with its national anthem.

Precise details of the cruise ships & containers are described by the ‘captains’ like Eckart Bolte (in picture ) as people chow down in the restaurant ( least expensive item is espresso- 2.6 euros)

Sit back, watch the vessels go by on the River Elbe.To check what you can see before you go, visit Hamburgcruisecenter.edu

Junge Backerei, Wedel

If you go to Willkomm Hoft visit Junge, die Backerei in Wedel. The bakeries in Germany are awesome & plentiful- cheap & great for snacking on the go.

Since 1897 Junge from Lubeck has been serving locals in Wedel. I’m enjoyed a roll with grilled chicken & sundried tomato pesto followed by a sugar glazed croissant – Franzbrotch that originates from Hamburg.

Total cost: 4.60 euros.

Ballinstadt, Hamburg

Hamburg was the ‘port of dreams’ & gateway to the New World with 5 million Europeans emigrating between 1850 & 1934 in search of a better life , a life free of poverty, disease & starvation that was a feature in many parts of Europe in that era.

Before departure they would be housed in the Ballinstadt: Emigration halls which was in the times described as the ‘world’s largest inn.’

The museum, a faithful recreation of the original settlement ( original was razed to the ground in the 1943 Allied RAF bombardment , 2500 tonnes of heavy explosives dropped in just 50 minutes- there is a photo exhibition here about this tragic event) is a moving & powerful tribute to the million of people who made that brave journey, often leaving their loved ones behind and spending often 3 times their salary to secure passage on the boats.

1 in every 5th citizen in the US has German ancestry – Miller, Steinway, Strauss, Heinz, Kellogg to name just a few. The museum houses also an impressive in-house research centre where you can access for free the Hamburg passenger lists – with over 600 million entries it is the world’s largest genealogical database.

Entry cost: 12 euros ( 10 for students ) is expensive but well worth the price.

Heinrich Hertz Turm

My last image of Hamburg I’ve chosen is that of the iconic Heinrich Hertz Turm ( TV Tower )

Standing in front of the 272.2 metre high ( highest building in Hamburg) Heinrich-Hertz Turm I felt I could have been transported me to another galaxy -does look some awesome intergalactic spaceship …..

Sadly, the TV Tower is no longer in operation which is a great shame. The views from there must be….

Big thanks to the German National Tourism Office , their partners for the ‘Youth Hotspots’ campaign – Jugendherberge : The German Youth Hostelling Association and Deutsche Bahn for sponsoring my ‘German Wanderlust’ tour.

I’m touring Germany as part of an effort to highlight and discover the country’s emerging ‘Youth Hotspots.’

Find out more about these hotspots at their website , feel free to add your own and also do download their free youth hotspots app that is now available on the Apple Store & Android Store .

Please note: While my trip has been sponsored, the views and thoughts represented in this article are my own.

Latest city to fall under the spotlight of my iPhone is Hamburg.

I was there 10 days ago as part of my German Wanderlust tour.

Thought be great to share some photographs with you from my visit there so I’ve divided this piece into 2 instalments for you. Part 2 comes to you on Wednesday. Enjoy!

Lots of little shops, designer boutiques & smoky cafes: this is my favorite street in Hamburg.Karoviertel’s alternative feel reminded me a lot of Shoreditch.

Marktstrasse, Karoviertel

Definitely check out Hanseplatte for all things from Hamburg, especially to browse the music of local artists

Hanseplatte

When in the neighbourhood pop into Yoko Mono.

Alsterwasser and cigarettes

As the snow fell outside , I was warm and comfortable in a smoke filled bar (yes, you can smoke! ), drinking a glass of the local Alsterwasser  (Cost 2.50 euros for 0.3l glass ) and listening to everything from Massive Attack to Faithless.

The local football club is St Pauli, born 1910.

Football is not just religion here, it means everything…

Landungsbrucken

This was my view of the March snow laden harbour area of Europe’s largest floating island-Landungsbrucken from the DJH Stintfang Hostel.

Built in 1839, this pier/platform was the departure point for many future Americans setting sail to the New World. Nowadays, the pier serves as a departure point for sightseeing tour boats across the harbour.The iconic 420 metre long clock tower besides functioning as a clock/bell tower also has a water level indicator.

Fischbrotchen

When at Landungsbrucken…try a classic Hamburg experience: Fischbrotchen!

A classic Hamburg experience for just 2 euros-watch the seagulls float above you, the sightseeing boats pass you by on the Elbe, the hearty bellow of the sightseeing tour operators drum up business , proceedings punctuated by the ring of the clock tower bell every half an hour ..

Elbe Tunnel

Also when at Landungsbrucken, walk the Elbe Tunnel.

Built in 1911, 426 metres long , 26 metres below sea level and just 6 metres in diameter, the Elbe Tunnel is 24 hour pedestrian tunnel that links the dockyards on the southside of the Elbe with central Hamburg.

Glazed with terracotta figures, the tunnel is a bit of an icon in modern cinema featuring in movies like ‘The Odessa File’ & also Wim Wenders ‘An American Friend.’

Entrance is free.

Part 2, comes up on Wednesday! Stay tuned….

Big thanks to the German National Tourism Office , their partners for the ‘Youth Hotspots’ campaign – Jugendherberge : The German Youth Hostelling Association and Deutsche Bahn for sponsoring my ‘German Wanderlust’ tour.

I’m touring Germany as part of an effort to highlight and discover the country’s emerging ‘Youth Hotspots.’

Find out more about these hotspots at their website , feel free to add your own and also do download their free youth hotspots app that is now available on the Apple Store & Android Store .

Please note: While my trip has been sponsored, the views and thoughts represented in this article are my own.

I am currently travelling across Germany for 50 days, blogging and using Social Media to share with my readers some of the coolest youth hotspots across the country.

Key part of my trip was gaining access to mobile internet so that I can share the trip real-time.

The internet roaming packages offered by UK networks are pretty poor at the moment and I’ve had my fair share of  huge bills in the past when using my phone abroad.

Plus trying to get my iPhone4s unlocked is pretty expensive and a bit of a logistical nightmare.

Either way, I think I’ve found a few good solutions for you.

I’ve given you the lowdown of mobile internet options I discovered in the course of my research which I hope will me of help to you when planning your trip to Germany in the future.

1. If your phone is unlocked- Buy a Prepaid sim card with flat internet data plans

To buy a simcard from a German mobile operator requires you to be a German citizen.

My tip: I would give the name of a “german friend” and their birth date plus address. Ask their permission.

Or give the address of your hostel and carry your passport with you-this worked for me at O2.

Options for prepaid sim cards with flat internet data plans

There are a ton of great value prepaid sim packages out there, even Aldi sell these simcards so feel free to shop around. Blau.de comes recommended from fellow travellers so I’ve outlined their packages below.

Blau.de offer the following flat internet data packages

• Internet-Flat 1GB   €9,90
• Internet-Flat 3GB   €14.90
• Internet-Flat 5GB   €19.80

Internet-Flat data packages lasts 30 days, UMTS/HSDPA will be used up to a specified data-limit, after reaching that limit you are downgraded to GPRS/EDGE

You can order your simcard in advance and get it sent to the place you are staying in Germany. Blau.de only deliver to German addresses

Micro-sims cost an extra 13 euros.

Starter packs containing a normal sized SIM card can be purchased from large high street retailers in Germany, e.g. the Kaufland super market chain or from Blau.de /E Plus stores.

Or…

If you want to order your simcard in advance and live in the UK you could try Ritesim.com

I used them when travelling to India ( which is a nightmare for buying a simcard ) and they were fantastic. Ordered online and within 48 hours, the simcard was delivered and I was ready to plug into my old warhorse-the iPhone 3g

Ritesim can offer an O2 simcard with unlimited data ( 1GB at 3G speeds, afterwards switches to 2G , 30 days only) for £32 so if you have little time and a short trip, this might be a better solution.

Huawai Mobile Internet ‘Mifi’ device

If your phone is locked- Buy a mobile internet ‘mifi’ device

If like me, your phone is locked, the other solution you have is to buy a mobile internet ‘mifi’ device.

These devices last for 4 hours and can connect upto 5 internet devices at speeds of upto 7.2 Mbps

You can buy them on Ebay for very little but I would suggest going for a decent quality option.

It’s an initial steep investment but pays off on subsequent trips abroad when you can just plug in a local internet data sim and off you go…..

I bought a Huawei Mobile Wifi device from Cyberport and recommend them. They have stores in major cities across Germany. My Huawei Mifi device costed 71 euros.

Once you’ve got the internet device, all you have to do is find a prepaid simcard with a flat internet data plan, and pop into the device as show in the picture above.

You can choose Blau.de or go for O2 like I did which till date has been pretty reliable.

They offered choice of three packages to me

• Internet –Flat 1 GB:    €15
• Internet-Flat 5 GB:     €25
• Internet-Flat 7.5 GB:  €35

There is a ton of O2 shops across Germany where you can purchase your prepaid internet sim.

Activation takes between 5 minutes to an hour maximum so it’s great.

As with Blau.de , this data package lasts 30 days after which you can go into any O2 store and top-up again.

Or… finding free wifi hotpsots using the Youth Hotspots app

Another option is obviously to switch your phone to ‘Flight Mode’ and access the internet at Free Wifi hotspots.

This is easier now thanks to the new Youth Hotspots app that the German National Tourism Office have developed

Download the app (  Apple Store & Android Store  ) and you can discover 1300 free Wi-Fi networks all over Germany

Hope you found my advice useful.

Please share it with your friends on Facebook and also leave your feedback, useful tips in the comments section below. Danke schon!

Big thanks to the German National Tourism Office , their partners for the ‘Youth Hotspots’ campaign – Jugendherberge : The German Youth Hostelling Associationand Deutsche Bahn for sponsoring my ‘German Wanderlust’ tour.

I’m touring Germany as part of an effort to highlight and discover the country’s emerging ‘Youth Hotspots.’

Find out more about these hotspots at their website , feel free to add your own and also do download their free youth hotspots app that is now available on the Apple Store & Android Store .

Please note: While my trip has been sponsored, the views and thoughts represented in this article are my own.

Spring is yet to arrive in Germany and indeed for the most of northern Europe.

It’s been bitterly cold.

I’ve been walking around in mostly sub-zero temperratures for most of the day.

In this kind of weather, my wanderlust has been more restricted to discovering more of the indoor sights and delights of Hamburg.

My search for Hamburg’s youth hotspots has taken me through a few museums, the odd bit of window shopping, few bars and checking out some of the city’s inexpensive fast food joints.

Cruising on Alster Lake, long walks in some of the city’s 1400 parks and gardens of Hamburg will have to wait till my next visit to the city when it’s a little bit warmer.

I have visited Hamburg a few times before and on those trips done some of the more touristy stuff like go on a cruise around the harbour, the obligatory hop on and hop off bus tours plus I loved the now sadly closed Beatlemania museum.

This time, I’ve tried to go more local and also dig into the musical and maritime history.

Hamburg is one of Germany’s leading musical cities: it’s where the Beatles started their long winding road to fame and discovered their sound, it is home to musicals like Lion King, Dirty Dancing and Mamma Mia plus you can enjoy world class classical concerts at the Laeiszhalle-Musikhalle and soon visitors will be able to enjoy the highly anticipated opening of the Elbe Elbphilharmonie.

My musical pilgrimage of Hamburg started at the cool district of Karoviertel ( Nearest U-Bahn stop: Feldstrasse )

Alt, quirky, laidback and grungy Karoviertel

While the Schanze is more hip and where the creative, cool types go ( Hence, the prices of everything are a little higher) neighbouring Karoviertel has that more rugged, alt-rough at the edges feel. In many ways it reminded me a lot of Shoreditch.

Mono. Karoviertel

There’s a ton of great shops to discover here-from second hand stores to designer boutiques to lots of smoke filled bars like Mono.

Yup, you can still smoke inside bars and restaurants in Hamburg. In a separate room, according to the law….

Mono has a very laidback feel with chatty barstaff and played a great selection of tunes everything from Massive Attack to Faithless. In the spirit of trying all things local I ordered a glass of the local Alsterwasser- ‘water of the Alster.’ ( Cost: 2.50 euros for a half-pint ) Basically it is the local version of a shandy but  ordering a ‘Alsterwasser’ sounds much cooler + masculine.

I am going to try that the next time I’m in the UK

Hanseplatte

For casual window browsing and as a refuge from the cold I visited Hanseplatte (Neuer Camp, 32) , unwittingly discovering a store which is a bit of everything that is local and unique to Hamburg.

Besides stocking music of local Hamburg musicians you can find a whole bunch of stuff from local artists –from art prints , designer tees to even locally made chocolate.

The music scene is quite eclectic in Hamburg and caters to people of all tastes: next store I popped into in Karoviertel was the Groove City Record Store,  which sells mainly vinyl records of funk, soul, hip-hop, jazz, Latin, Afro and electro.

I had fun hanging out in this place. Has real character and great music.

Groove City Records, Hamburg- Tone of groove and character

It’s a shame to see record shops die out in the UK and everywhere else but I am happy to report to you that in Hamburg the spirit of music that the Beatles discovered is still well and truly alive.

This is more than evident on my unexpected last-minute invitation to the Adam & Binki gig at Mojo Club- one of Hamburg’s hottest nightlife hotspots that in the 90’s was the hotspot for dancefloor Jazz in Germany hosting a bunch of great music artists like Gilles Peterson, Massive Attack, Moloko, the Propellerheads, Pizzicato Five, Roni Size, Goldie, the E-Z Rollers as well as Kruder & Dorfmeister.

It was a great gig and had I good company in the shape of local bloggeratti : Kathryn Wittich and David Phillipe. Even though I hadn’t heard of Adam Green and Binki Shapiro before, I loved their honest, bittersweet songs of heartbreak and well crafted, chilled out melodies.

The locals love, appreciate good music and the loud hollering, whistles that followed at the end of the show, show that they clearly loved their personalities too.

Adam Green with his good natured banter and ridiculous dance moves clearly warmed the hearts & voices of the crowd.

Beatles Platz. I am a John or Paul here…hmmmm

The last stop of my Hamburg musical pilgrimage fittingly ends with a silly picture of me at the Beatles Platz ( Is that Paul or John, John was lefthanded right? ) a vinyl record shaped memorial at the crossroads of Reeperbahn and Grose Freiheit, dedicated to the memory of the Fabulous 5′s ( Stuart Sutcliffe, who left the band after Hamburg) time in the city from 1960-1962.

So….Brahms, Beatles or Binki ? Whatever music turns you on…do make a date with music on your next visit to Hamburg.

Next instalment : I’ll be digging into the maritime history of the city. Catch you soon.

If you’re coming to Hamburg definitely I would check out some of the city’s cool live music scene and also check out concerts. Here are some links to some local concert venues to have a look at

http://www.fkpscorpio.com/en/ , http://kj.de/.

I’ve been a guest of the cool Hamburg Jugendherberge Stintfang hostel which I’ve found a cool base for exploring the city and highly recommend.

Big thanks to Catharina, Martina and everyone at the German National Tourism Office , their partners for the ‘Youth Hotspots’ campaign – Jugendherberge : The German Youth Hostelling Association and Deutsche Bahn for sponsoring my ‘German Wanderlust’ tour.

I’m touring Germany as part of an effort to highlight and discover the country’s emerging ‘Youth Hotspots.’

Find out more about these hotspots at their website , feel free to add your own and also do download their free youth hotspots app that is now available on the Apple Store & Android Store .

Please note: While my trip has been sponsored, the views and thoughts represented in this article are my own.