The Sharlafied Love Train Diaries, Part 2
Four countries, 17 days, so many recollections… Here is my recap of my marathon trip throughout northern Europe on the journey I call the Sharlafied Love Train. Catch Part 1 if you missed it!
Hamburg
Hamburg.
March 19. My next stop is to the city of Hamburg, a place I have never visited before. My hotel was the uber cool Ruby, with a contemporary style in a chic part of town on a canal. This was a Saturday and I normally don’t like to visit bars on Saturdays, because they are so busy, but most bars in Hamburg were closed on Sundays, so I had to give it a go. My first stop was to take one of my two boomerangs and swag from Better Together to Le Lion, a popular bar created by Jörg Meyer of 25 Hours Boilerman bar fame. where I met bartenders Aljosha and Dennis. The Boilerman bar concept actually started in Hamburg. Le Lion is sleek and pared down, modern with a dark velvety mood. The back bar was gorgeous and Aljosha shakes like a master. Dennis was the bartender at the second bar upstairs, and this bar was popular with couples starting their Saturday night with class.
Le Lion.
Childhood Memories at the Bohemian.
My next stop was to a brand new bar called Liquid Garden. It was jam-packed with stylish 20-30 year-olds and it was too bad I couldn’t get a seat. But watch this space, it will be one of Hamburg’s hottest. They describe themselves like this: “an aromatic journey around the world. Our cocktail compositions, liquid ambassadors of the continents, await you. We've captured the spices of the world in cocktails to take your imagination off the beaten path”. That’s enough for me to want to come back.
My next stop was to The Bohemian, a deep bar with booths for seating and a gorgeous half moon back bar; the bar itself was an unusual square box that the bartender used to prepare cocktails as well as bar food. I had a bao bun that was to die for! The cocktail menu was super creative and hand drawn. The most unusual one was Childhood Memories, made with Beluga Transatlantic vodka, Kellogg’s cereal, honey and milk.
Next stop was the Reeperbahn, the grittier, edgier part of town, where I found the Chug Club. Here, the theme was Mexico and Latin America, and I needed to deliver the second boomerang from Simon of Mucho Amor. As brand ambassador of Altos Tequila, his tequila based drink would be greatly appreciated here. The place was slammed, but I was able to score a piece of shelf space near the bar, and Bibi happily took the boomerang and gave me one of their own, a Lupita Margarita that I could take to Copenhagen. I had a Tommy’s Margarita that was sooo good.
Chug Club.
My next stop was to Drip Bar, a homey place in a hidden corner of the Reeperbahn. I instantly vibed with this place and enjoyed my drink with the candied popcorn on offer as a nibble. The name comes from the way they make their cocktails: Werner came up with the idea—it’s all through a drip method, a process that takes hours to finish, drop by drop, a long process similar to how a Melitta coffee filter works, but results in some amazing drinks. They are all pre-batched and ready to serve.
Christian from the bar told me I should really visit the Vu speakeasy, so I hopped in a car and found the address. Thing is, there was no sign, and no door! I looked around, bewildered, until two people popped out from behind what looked like a wall. My door! I slipped in and sure enough, there was my bar with Ben ready to serve me. There were two other guests at the time, and at 1:30 am, I felt it might be about closing time. But no— this was a late, late night bar. After a chat with Ben and the other guests, a couple strolled in and sat down. The guy and I kept looking at each other, then it dawned on him… “Are you Sharla?” I know no one in Hamburg. Well, okay, one bartender who I worked with at the Nardini stand at BCB in Berlin about 4 years ago, but no one else. Well, it was him! I was as flabbergasted as he was, here in an unknown bar, in an unknown city (for me) at 2 am… there he was, Lee! (also a well known DJ).
With Lee Hobbs at Vu Speakeasy.
The museum exposition.
March 20. Today was a Sunday and I knew I wouldn’t have much chance to check out too many bars so I hit the city as a tourist, visiting the Speicherstadtmuseum where I saw the importance of Hamburg as a transit city. Being on the water, there was a constant flow of products coming in and going out. One of the most important was coffee, coming in on boats from North America in huge sacks, ready to ship throughout Europe. The warehouse area has been repurposed with pleasure boats and floating bistros, and the beautiful sunny day was perfect for a stroll.
Floating bistro in Hamburg.
My first stop of the evening was Saint Pablo, a bustling taco stand run by Casey, an American guy from Reno, Nevada. His tacos were the tastiest I’ve had for a long time! Next, I hit the Walrus bar, a sleek and cool cocktail bar in an area that didn't actually meet the brief: maybe for that reason, it was even more interesting. The clientele were from age 30 and up, and the music was cool soul—vinyls from the USA, and even a song from my hometown of Detroit. The drinks were well thought out and they even sold drinks to go… That gave me an idea: how about a takeaway drink as a boomerang to take to Copenhagen? Done! My bartender mixed up a drink on the spot called Call Me By Your Name and filled it in their signature flat bottles. They have a QR code printed on them that links to a song to match the drink.
Tacos at Saint Pablo.
Saint Pablo.
With Alina at Ruby.
The night ended at my hotel Ruby. At my hotel bar, I found myself next to Alina, a stunning young woman who turned out to be from Ukraine. This hotel was helping displaced persons from the war find their way. She was on the way to stay with a relative in Holland and we shared a few words. I was touched by her story and I gave her a bottle of wine from Rothenburg that Simon had given to me. Knowing Simon and how he hikes to help refugees, I just felt the urge to pass on the wine on his behalf. He was pleased I did. So this bottle passed from Rothenburg to Hamburg and on to Holland where some Ukrainian refugees will toast to a new life.
Hotel Ruby.
Copenhagen
The Arne Jacobsen room at Alexandra.
March 21. The Love Train’s next stop was Copenhagen and I checked in at my fave hotel, Alexandra. Based on Danish furniture design, every room is a tribute to a designer or an era. I scored the Arne Jacobsen designer room, best in the house, with a bay window overlooking the city. I only have this evening and tomorrow here, so I really need to get moving. It’s a Monday so not too many bars are open, but I walked to Lidkoeb, a super hygge place with lots of wood where Sam prepared a Danish Mary, a bloody Mary twist, using Aquavit instead of vodka and long pepper. I gave him the boomerang from The Walrus and he mixed a drink for me to take to Stockholm, wherever I choose. They also had some bar snacks with the most fantastic cheese! Pasxos from Greece was also super friendly.
The lobby at Hotel Alexandra.
My next bar was Bar Brønnum where I met Enrica, a friendly Italian (is there any other kind?) who was fresh from a stint in Ibiza, and Hass from Estonia. Then Julian, the manager, rolled in, a cool guy from France—Hey Julian, let’s stay in touch, huh?
March 22. After a lovely chat with Jeppe Mühlhausen, the owner of Hotel Alexandra, and learning of his exciting new plans in Copenhagen, I was off to lunch with an old friend from the biz, Jacob Arnes. He took me to the stylish restaurant Tårnet at the top of Christiansborg Palace, the parliament building. Amazing views and smørrebrød sandwiches.
After lunch, it was time for a quick stroll and the start of my bar crawl (or rather dash, as there are so many bars here).
A piece by Antonio Riello at K bar.
Ruby is an old favorite, set up as a townhouse with many rooms. Bartender Edoardo from Rome had a chat with me; I just had a look here because I had so many bars to hit tonight. Great drinks list as always. Next I popped into K bar which was technically closed, but I did have a word with Kirsten Holm, and a look around her very stylish and art-forward bar. Everyone tells me she is an icon on the Copenhagen bar scene. This piece of art is by my friend Antonio Riello from my town.
Bar Deco was next and I had a perfectly prepared cocktail here. Tata at Sanders hotel was very old school and I had a drink called Old Habits, similar to a Boulevardier or Old Pal. Yum! Henry and Roy were my bartenders, and it turns out that Henry (who is from Milano) and I had met at the Athens bar show.
My cocktail at Tata.
I was told Barking Dog was a must visit and since the theme was Mexican, it was the perfect place to leave the boomerang I got from the Chug Club. I gave it to Elettra, another Italian (what is happening??). After a little chat, I found out she was from Venice and that I actually know her, as I gave her a Nardini grappa tour when she was with the crew at Hard Rock Café in Venice!
Pulp is a lovely cozy bar that had a private event going on, but the wonderful Jonas Spagner let me nose around for a minute and even said I could stay for a drink (but my self-control kicked in and I said no). I definitely need to come back and stay awhile. Jonas is so sweet!
The sister bar to Barking Dog is Paloma, and the manager Karl Wrangel was there. This bar feels like a neighborhood corner bar and Mexican beats filled the air. The star of the show here is vermouth. I had a nice highball with Drapo vermouth and soda. I will remember this combo for my low abv drinking. See you at the Rome Bar show, Karl!
Curfew is a speakeasy where you ring a bell on the street, then pass through a “bookcase” to a very large bar inside. The bartenders are decked out in the obligatory gear, including sleeve garters and suspenders, and Diogo mixes a mean drink.
The entrance to Curfew.
Probably one of my fave places, at least as decorations are concerned, is Duck and Cover. I can’t speak for the drinks because Bonnie, the bartender, served me a nice glass of water while I listened to a couple of guys at the bar talking sh*t. One guy, it turns out, was talking about a little town in Northern Italy, and unbelievably, it was Bassano del Grappa, my adopted hometown. He is a paragliding fanatic and comes to a village nearby every Easter to fly. The guy was saying that he sometimes flies for hours on end and Bonnie asked him how he went to the bathroom. Let’s just say there are a lot of creative ways to “release liquids” while flying.
Well, that’s a wrap, Copenhagen, I have an early train to Stockholm tomorrow.
Stay tuned for part three!