First hostel stay was a winner!

So . . . I have now stayed in a hostel for the first time ever.  Cross that off the bucket list . . .

It was the A&O Hamburg City, which is right in the middle of the downtown hustle and bustle.  A really good first experience!

Perks: Quiet roommates, yummy breakfast, big clean room with nice shower and comfy bed, pizza at the snack bar, AMAZING city views from 9th-floor rooftop deck.

Downsides: Not knowing whether the smell of B.O. in the room is yours or someone else's. 

Yeah, I'd definitely say that the many perks of my stay outweighed the been-traveling-too-long-in-dirty-clothes fragrance.


I ran into Candace, one of the other study abroad students from CSULB, in the lobby and we had pizza at the snack bar for dinner.  I also went up on the rooftop deck, which is on the 9th floor.  It was really chilly and damp, but beautiful.  Looking out across the city, I had that first sense of "Now I KNOW I'm in Europe . . ."

Here are some pics.  This hostel is BIG--it takes up half the block!

(View from front window looks over the I-Punkt skatepark.)