The Life and Travels of Mrs Suvi

I cannot say that I’m an expert on Hamburg since I’ve only been there once and even then just for a few days for a weekend getaway. What I do have are friends who live in the city and are in a great position to give advice and travel tips. In addition to being happy to spend time with them, I was also truly grateful for their guidance which was good as gold!

On this trip, there was no need to research which area would be the best to stay in as it was very obvious – near our friends’ apartment in Uhlenhorst of course! This turned out to be a beautiful and upscale residential area, which is actually very good for visitors too because of the excellent neighbourhood restaurants and easy access to the city centre.

I suggest you purchase the Hamburg card from the airport for the number of days you will be staying before venturing off to your hotel. Do notice that the Hamburg card for groups is cheaper for two persons than two separate cards. It is also valid for five individuals of any age travelling together.

Uhlenhorst is easily accessible from the airport by the metro rail network (and taxi naturally!) – you simply take the green line to Barmbek station where you proceed to transfer to the yellow line going into the direction of Berliner Tor. The station nearest to our hotel was Mundsburg from where it was around a 10 minute walk.

To easily get to the city centre and back from this area, it’s a good idea to use the M6 bus. Once you are in the centre, you can simply get off at the Mönckebergstrasse shopping street and start your exploring from there. The bus takes around 15 minutes.

If you are an avid walker, it won’t be a problem to take a walk to the city centre by the charming Aussen-Alster lake but this will take around 40 minutes depending on your pace. Whilst walking you will see people running, walking and biking around the lake – looks like Hamburg residents are very keen on staying in shape whatever the weather.

My hotel recommendation for Uhlenhorst is the Spa and Wellness hotel Aspria Hamburg Uhlenhorst . It’s a stylish hotel with modern rooms, a well equipped gym, outside tennis courts, outdoor and indoor swimming pools, a separate unisex spa area and even fitness classes. The hotel is actually a club as well, so you will see Uhlenhorst’s housewives coming for their workout during the day!

Aspria’s breakfast is plentiful but if your room rate does not include this, it’s a hefty 17 euros for one. You might opt to have your coffee at the cafe across the road or make a reservation at Literaturhauscafe which I will tell you about in a separate post. The location of the hotel is great as you can catch the M6 bus from just cross the road. It’s also just a block or two to the running/walking track around the Aussen-Alster lake, which totals to 7,5 kilometres.

Where do you like to stay in Hamburg?