Longevity in Hamburg

When I lived in Europe I occasionally took short trips away from work. Always by train. It's a great way to get around and the scenery makes it all worthwhile.

My usual preparation for these trips was to search in my Spartacus International Gay Guide. I would select a city, then locate the best-sounding bars, then find a gay Bed & Breakfast or hotel within walking distance to those bars. It helped if there was a gay sauna nearby as well.

'92 / '93 edition

So I took a 3-day trip to Hamburg, Germany. I walked from the train station to the B&B and checked-in. Typically, these B&B's were small, maybe 5-10 rooms with 2 or 3 or 4 rooms on each floor. After getting settled for 4 minutes, I went downstairs and asked the proprietor to direct me to the nearest bar. He pointed to the left. Next door. What a coincidence.

In I walked and sat at the counter and ordered a local brew. It was about 4pm. I was the only guy there besides a small group of guys in a corner who seemed to be having a pretty good time. I talked to the bartender a few minutes; trying to pick his brain on the best places to hang out at night. He handed me a couple of gay mags to look over, complete with maps of the area.

Off I went on my daily search for the most fun I could find. Nothing exciting happened that night but I'm sure I had a good time. About 11pm, I made it back to my place but stopped in at the next door bar for a last drink. That group of guys was still there and they were pretty loud by this time, complete with their own CD player. Their group had grown to about 8 or 10 well-oiled Germans.

I woke up the next morning at my usual 6am. Gotta have coffee. The bar next door was also a coffee shop so I got dressed and went there. Again, I was the only customer -- except for the group in the corner. They were still there!!! These guys were so drunk I couldn't help but smile. Their number was down to 4 or 5 guys but the beer was still flowing. The music was still playing. They had been there continuously for at least 14 hours - and counting.

I drank my coffee and left.