Doing the tourist thing

Monday morning started with getting right to work at school with Tobias and Sam.  We created a list of questions that we’ll be asking people in Bremen to get a feel for the town and how people feel about the GAK (our client).  When class started, we were greeted with a new teacher named Ralph Poser, who is the Chief Strategic Officer for Ogilvy and Mather in Frankfurt.  In other words, he is a BFD in the world of German advertising.  I was really excited to learn from him.  He’s done some very impressive work and seemed to really know his stuff.  Monday’s class was all about learning various brand models used in the industry.  A brand model is basically an exercise to find the core or essence of a brand.  According to Ralph, there are 66 models in use in advertising but we would only be learning 5.  Class went well and we developed brand models for various global brands and then I went to dinner in the Schanze with Jon, Tobias, and Johan.  Johan is from Sweden and is a really cool (and very intelligent) guy.  We got some Thai food from a little whole in the wall but it was quite tasty.

On Tuesday morning we had class with Ralph again and we delved deeper into brand models.  He gave me some good criticism that I am too rational with my approaches and I need to be more emotional.  I’m definitely open to criticism from a guy with his credentials and that’s what I’m here for.  Class got out at noon and I decided to take my camera down to the Altstadt area which is the very historical, touristy area of Hamburg.  Joe and Jon decided to come along and so did Lourenco (another really cool guy) who is from Brazil.

As soon as you step off the train you are greeted with the massive Rathaus, which is where both city and state governments convene.  It was built between 1886 and 1897 and somehow wasn’t destroyed in either world war.  We joked it must have been British forces that came to Hamburg because Americans are more accurate than that (maybe we shouldn’t joke about such things).

The Rathaus from right off the train

Backside of the Rathaus

From the Rathaus, I finally saw the Alster!  The Alster is the massive lake that makes up the central point for the whole city of Hamburg.  Evidently you see it everywhere you go, but I haven’t been so lucky.

Part of the Alster Lake

After checking out the Alster, we walked down Monckebergstrasse which is Hamburg’s fanciest shopping zone lined with dozens of designer stores.  Two massive churches make up the end points for the street.  These aren’t your ordinary churches…these churches are massive and you can see them from many parts of Hamburg.  The first we went to was St. Petrikirche, which is the oldest church in Hamburg that dates back to the year 1195.

Inside the Church (and Joe's head)

After St. Petri, we walked to St. Jakobikiriche, which is apparently known for 17^th-century organ with over 1,000 pipes.  Unfortunately, no one was playing it when we went but it was still really cool to see.

Right outside...the tower is massive

The day went on and I got dinner with Johan and Teo (she is from Romania) at this pretty trendy Italian restaurant in the Schanze.  It was just alright, could have gotten more for our money somewhere else…but you live and learn.  Now, I’ve just returned from a little walk in Winterhude (neighborhood I live in) and it was quite beautiful and peaceful.  But now I got to get some sleep for my trip to Bremen tomorrow!  I think I’m the only one excited because we’ve heard it’s kind of a boring town but I’m just looking forward to seeing my 2^nd European city!