Black, Brown, Gray, and a Splash of Navy

I'll never forget the day my dad gave the go-ahead to my babysitter and I to redecorate my bedroom. I can still hear our shrieks of thanks. In order to even consider our request he had required a detailed plan and cost analysis. We were 8 and 14, but we did our best. Our grueling labor was well worth it as his "alright" meant I was on my way to a splatter-painted teal, magenta, and blue bedroom. The shrieks continued when he agreed to let us start a.s.a.p. First came the splatter-painted comforter we had eyed in the Penney's catalog. Then came the wallpaper steamer and buckets of sweat that inevitably go along with that nasty chore. Next, the painting of the white walls and then finally, FINALLY came the fun part: the splatter-painting. Just call me Laurcasso; the paintbrush fit perfectly into my hand and the wild flicking motion came naturally. Before we knew it the job was done--spectacular paint splatters covered the walls (and so much more). The finishing touches included my name painted in cursive teal across one wall, as large as could be. I soon became the envy of my friends because my name was on my wall--in cursive. I didn't care, I was just happy to finally have some color.

My childhood home was beautifully decorated with lots of color and I loved it. I have always felt that colors coincide with emotion, and unless you want people to interrogate you with, "Oh my gosh, are you okay?!" you should avoid an all-dark ensemble. Such is not the case in Hamburg. Though I may not appear to be an outsider while walking amidst a sea of hurried Hamburgers, my notions about clothing color set me far apart from my new neighbors. The Hamburg hues of choice are black, brown, and gray...with the occasional splash of navy. This is not just a fall thing either, I first noticed the dark and dreary ensembles back in June. Although at first I was deeply confused, I soon came to understand that these shades aren't worn to display a shady mood, these tints are just trendy.


Thanks to endless shopping opportunities, Hamburgers can deck out in dull with ease. Shopping in Hamburg can be compared to that in many big cities. There are malls: 

Mercado is located just outside of a large train station in the Altona area of Hamburg. If the mall scene isn't for you you can purchase goods from this outdoor market. Though boutiques and department stores are plentiful, outdoor market shopping continues to be a popular way to get your goods.



Europa Passage is the largest mall in Hamburg. It boasts five floors, multiple train-station entrances, an array of eating options, and a gorgeous view of the Alster.  



See? Massive.



Here is another entrance to Europa passage, a 10-minute walk from the other one. This one lies on Monckebergstrasse, the hot-spot for Hamburg shopping.

Also on Monckebergstrasse is Karstadt: the mother of all Hamburg department stores. Here you can purchase everything from napkin rings to olive oil to marzipan to leggings (and scarves, and boots, and chunky sweaters in black, brown, gray, and navy). Reggie and I have found ourselves at Karstadt many a time.



The amount of use leggings and tights get in Hamburg is immeasurable. In order to maintain this trend, Karstadt has the biggest hosiery department anyone has ever seen.




There are also the mid-level-chains that everyone finds themselves at:



H&M Germany is just as busy and wrinkly as H&M US. This location not convenient?! Don't stress--there are six more scattered around the city for you to choose from.



Though the enormous size of this train-station ad makes it scary, the color enticed me. Once inside H&M I quickly saw what I had expected:



I tried, but I couldn't find anything besides black, brown, gray, or navy inside H&M.

 

...on this side either.

Zara is huge in Hamburg. There are three big, always-busy locations. Zara is not popular yet in my home state but is quite well-known in New York. Let's see if we can find anything other than the four dreary dyes:



Nope. There are, of course, boots--the fav of Hamburg ladies. Pair those boots with leggings, a scarf, and a chunky sweater and you've got THE Hamburg go-to get-up.

 

Hold up. Do I see some beige hidden in here?



I haven't gotten into the shorts with leggings fad, but along with scarves it's almost as popular as bread and wurst.

Mango is a great mid-level chain that isn't afraid to give us a little color:

Only orange, I know. I have to at least give this spunky shop some credit for putting a few toes outside the box. Their stuff is unique, at times inspiring, and is a mix between Forever 21, Zara, and a great vintage shop.

Slow down. Even I am not ready for all this color.

Contrary to what you might think, Jack Wolfskin is NOT a man raised by wolves-turned millionaire. Nor is he a character from White Fang. He's just a guy who makes North Face-type gear that is adored by many, many Germans. He's a smart guy--we need something to protect us from all this rain.

Europe wouldn't be Europe without boutiques. There are many, many, many and I of course have my favs. Our part of Hamburg is scattered with boutiques: some fancy, some alternative, some edgy, some conservative--but all cute as can be.

Though it looks like the only color in this place is the metallic orange on the frau, this cute Milano train station shop carries colorful clothing--sometimes.

Then there is the issue of shoe shopping. I have had the "expensive shoes" conversation with many people since I've lived in Germany. While you can find clothes to fit any budget, the shoe prices are unbelievable--so unbelievable that when a friend returned to the US I asked her to bring me back a pair of flip-flops because I couldn't find a pair in Hamburg for under 20€ (roughly $28). Ouch.

Gortz is currently celebrating their 135th year of ridiculous prices. My jaw dropped when I focused in on the pair of tan boots in the bottom left corner. Ready for it?

279€ = approximately $385
Whaaat?! No. Haven't they been worn? In mud or rain or something?

Luckily a friend let me in on the Gortz outlet secret. This great place really came in handy when I finally walked myself right through the sole of my favorite pair of boots. There I found a couple more pairs to add to my collection:

You really can't blame me for wanting to blend in. It only seems natural to add to the black, brown, gray, and navy sections of my wardrobe, too.

O'Kelley and O'Dean on Emerald Isle

Christ Church Cathedral

As luck would have it Reggie was asked to attend a conference in Dublin. So, as soon as I could get myself and all my green gear onto a plane and over to the old Emerald Isle for a weekend getaway with 1 million Irish I did. Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day, but I can proudly say that to my paternal great grandparents Ireland was the Motherland. Although I know little more than that being in the place that my relatives came from felt good, and with thanks to Sir Arthur Guinness and Tripadvisor restaurant reviews, it tasted darn good, too.  

Dublin lies right at the mouth of The River Liffey. This means a number of darling bridges which makes for a plethora of photo opps.

This uber mod bridge was designed and built in Holland and then transported to Guiness-ville.

If I could fit the majority of Dublin homes and their cuteness into a pic, this would be it. Adorable, right?



Here lies St. Patrick's Cathedral. This beauty lies smack in the heart of Old Dublin and dates from 1191. Whoa, I know.



The Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript created by Celtic monks ca 800 that contains the four Gospels of The New Testament, is housed in Dublin's Trinity College.

Sure, there's a lot to see in Dublin. The churches are magnificent, the food yum-o, and though we didn't make time for it, the shopping was more than tempting. But there's more to traveling than meandering around from site to site. Soaking up culture is the other half of what makes seeing new places such a joy. Fair warning to potential visitors of Leprechaun land: if you're going to soak up the culture in Dublin, you may find yourself intoxicated.

Enter: Guinness. This black coffee-aroma brew has done a LOT for Irish nightlife...and far beyond this green isle. Sir Arthur Guinness is Dublin's Superman. Because of him Dubliners can gleefully drink the 1 million pints of this prized dry stout daily (yes, daily) that they do. Also because of Sir Arthur Reggie and I enjoyed a super neat few hours in the fabulously modern Disneyland for beer-lovers, more commonly known as The Guinness Storehouse.

Guinness has been brewed since 1759. Needless to say, the bottles have changed a bit over the years. I'm glad they did because they make for a stellar showpiece.

The Irish would argue that passion is what transformed the first barrel of Guinness into the empire it is now. Sir Arthur Guinness' passion for his brew is documented here in the 9,000 year lease he signed in 1759 for his brewery at St. James' Gate. This lease should be in Webster's next to 'confidence.'

Like every other tourist inside this awesome spot, we left with a bag filled with Guinness goodies.

Along with simply looking really cool, The Storehouse teaches folks about what makes Guinness Guinness. This includes explaning in detail the use of the four ingredients: water, barley, hops, and brewer's yeast.

The top-secret yeast recipe, along with emergency strands, is locked in a director's safe like this one.

The fifth ingredient is the man of the hour: Sir Arthur Guinness. He looks a bit conservative. Who knew?

TVs inside this larger than life barrell show Guinness advertisements past and present.

Here we have the first-ever Guinness ad. Leave it to beer masterminds to attempt to convince potential drinkers that Guinness has countless health benefits.

All that learning was great but a break was long overdue. Lucky for us, The Storehouse was prepared for folks like us. The Guinness Gravity Bar on the seventh floor of the building offers 360-degree views, elbow-room only, and will gladly exchange your admission ticket stub for a pint of their black brew.

 

Just look at our luck. The first rainbow I've seen in Europe!

The Guinness Storehouse had offered us a taste of culture (wink, wink) but we were ready for more. Exactly as I had predicted, we found Dublin to be a city with an endless supply of pubs to choose from, all looking precisely as I had expected: dark, woody, and sticky.

Here she is: the mother of Irish pubs. Temple Bar, a pub located within the popular nightlife quarter with the same name, is world famous and bursting at the seams with Irish beer, Irish people, and American music. Reg and I visited this lucky place two out of our two nights in Dublin. On both nights the pub was as charming as it was packed.

We saw MANY of these. I stopped counting at a bajillion.

Exactly as I predicted: low, red tin ceilings hanging above wall-to-wall booze and wall-to-wall boozers.

 

And as if that wasn't enough culture-sampling:

Although enticing, this site never made it onto our must-see list.

If you're looking for a cobble-stoned city chock-full of pubs chock-full of happy, singing, drinking Irish folks, Dublin is the spot for you. The fact that the entire city speaks and is written in English as opposed to German made us feel extra lucky.