StrandPauli

The boardwalk takes you through a rusted iron gate, past a standing row-boat bench and over-sized wooden sofas and right up to a thatch-roofed bar.You are somewhere in the Americas on the Pacific, where orange lanterns swing and hop softly in the trees and you are free to take off your shoes and dig your toes into sand. Tango music nurtures a vague sense of urgency and mystery as couples move like puppets to its rhythmic heart-like beats. You order a Caipirinha and sit in a basket chair hanging from the thatch-roofed bar, letting your legs dangle. As the sky darkens and the wind grows stronger, feistier, you find a seat by one of the bonfires and let the smokey aromas seep into your hair and clothes.

You have found Strandpauli, a charming beach bar on the Elbe, on a Tango Tuesday night. There is no entrance fee even though restaurants on the Elbe are typically pretty pricey. You can get a beer here for as little as 2.50 Euros. If you are hungry, they also offer snacks and typical bar food like pizza and burgers. You order at the bar and then make your way over to the 'Burger' sign, which looks oddly like the Burger King sign stripped of its King, to pick up your eats.

Strandpauli is a great little escape from the city, stirring memories of the tropics and mixing them with a view of freighters and Hamburg's shipping docks. The live music schedule is posted on the website. Make plans to go soon because Strandpauli closes for the winter!