I'm back from a day trip to Hamburg and enjoyed it very much! Hamburg is a beautiful city and Germany's second largest with over 1.8 million residents. I was surprised how vibrant it was during a weekday in the dead of winter -- though we got lucky with blue skies and sunshine which took the chill off and made walking around a delight. My friend and I shopped mainly in two districts -- die Schanzenviertel and also in Eppendorf. When I've been to Hamburg in the past, I found myself downtown outside of the main station since Habitat is there, but yesterday my friend Tinna helped me to discover this whole new world of Hamburg shopping that I didn't know about before -- what fun to explore and a great way to gather inspiration in the dead of winter...

I can't believe how much Hamburg reminded me of Boston and Amsterdam combined though still feeling very northern German. I guess it makes sense because it's on the water, is a big seafood lovers city and has lots of brick buildings and old factories restored into fancy restaurants, shops, lofts and offices. There are many canals with over 2300 bridges (more than Amsterdam or Venice), is known as a port city, boasts both old and modern buildings, and most people speak English. It also feels very free and open-minded but in some ways very conservative and the people come across as very proud of their city and of being a resident of HH (Hamburg's official name is the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg or HH for short). I can't wait to return again! I also loved how many stores Tinna showed  me that had gorgeous clothes from Denmark and Sweden -- I walked into some shops and felt love at first sight. I can't wait to get to know Hamburg a little more this year because now I have so many reasons to go back and because it's so close by -- I can zip up there on the train in 90 minutes -- why not!?

While there, we spent time at Die Wohngeschwister so that is mainly what this post is about -- this interiors shop and cafe with nearly 6,500 square feet (600 meters) of retail space. Organized into various theme areas under one large roof in a former Steinway piano factory, you can find everything from ethnic to modern, Scandinavian country, books + stationery, ceramics + kitchen stuff, white + pure living, flea market-inspired finds and more. A college student can find affordable things here right alongside the lady who has money to burn -- they have such a huge variety at all price points. Their cafe was also lovely, with massive vintage paned factory windows and the food coming out of the kitchen looked delicious -- homemade soup with crusty bread, hearty sandwiches, and their coffee was divine. I'd return to this store just for a bowl of soup, though of course I'd have to have a walk around  because their selection changes often and lots of great lines can be found at Die Wohngeschwister. I spotted things from House Doctor, Rice, Cath Kidston, Atomic Soda, Nordal, HK Living (I purchased this light for my kitchen), Krima & Isa, PTMD (the best paint from the Netherlands in neutral colors with a matte chalky finish that I'm really into right now, I bought a can of Swish Gray to try at home), Madam Stolz and other European brands.

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In addition to Die Wohngeschwister, who has four stores in Hamburg now including their newest addition for kids -- Wohngeschwisterchen (which we also visited -- they have a huge selection including Ferm Living, TAJ Wood & Scherer and more) we visited Wunderhübsch (a gorgeous Danish clothing store that will launch online next week), Hummel (Danish store with great clothes for sports, yoga, etc.), Cucinaria (all things for the kitchen, and I do mean all!), TM Room 77 (an interiors shop with a sweet corner for the kids with things from Maileg), and a fantastic shop that I've been wanting to see since I moved to Germany called Lys Vintage. I met the owner and her new baby boy and had such a nice time browsing her well curated selection of finds from brands such as Normann Copenhagen, Tine K Home, Bleu Nature, Louis Poulsen, Ferm Living, House Doctor, Cole & Son, HAY, Meyer Lavigne, Areaware, Anna Carin Dahl, Susan Liebe, GamFratesi and Secto Design to list a few.

I also stopped by Bullerei, a new restaurant owned by chef and author Tim Mälzer who is known as the German Jamie Oliver. You can see lots of photos of it here -- it is a gorgeous space and I noticed plenty of Kusmi tea on the menu! I even saw Tim Mälzer himself. Yay for me!

So that sums up my trip to Hamburg. Next time I visit, I'll be sure to show you more great shops! I hope you enjoyed my travel notes!

(images: holly becker for decor8)