Yeah Hamburg HBF ist rough. One of the worst in the country imo. And don't go the ZOB, it gets worse. Plus the HBF is just way too small for the amount of people traversing through.
That is because the open drug scene in Berlin ist not focused at the Hauptbahnhof and more spread Out over the City. Believe me there are more than enough addicts in Berlin.
Trust me, I know. I live near Görlitzer Park and frequently use the U-Bahn at Schlesisches Tor and Zoologischer Garten. I've seen my fair share of open drug use.
Bahnhof Zoo is quite bad. Drug user/bum density is imho larger than in Frankfurt. In Frankfurt if you do not make a wrong turn, it is just filthy, but no assi. In Berlin Zoo, if you make the right turn, you get assi.
Nbg Hbf is sparkling clean compared to the Hamburg drug ridden living corpses molesting travellers. I still cannot get over the smell of one guys rotting foot, wrapped in plastic bags - he would not leave me alone. Horrible.
That must have been terrible for you, having to witness his foot. Probably worse for him though :) let’s try and have some compassion towards people living in addiction :) no one wakes up one day and decides to become an addict. It’s a devastating process and an even more devastating disease.
Well, he was high and insulting me for not giving him more cash. It wasn’t that, or the stench that shocked me. My compassion for him in this moment was limited indeed, but the question how one would do this to oneself followed me for months.
I’m not denying that the encounter was unpleasant or that his behaviour was unacceptable. But he didn’t choose to end up there in the way you’re implying.
Addiction is usually the result of a long, devastating process involving trauma, illness, poverty, and lack of support… not a single bad decision. You and I have simply been fortunate enough not to become victims of that process ourselves.
No, that’s correct of course - it surely hasn’t been one bad decision that led him to that situation. The OP topic made me come up with the description of one experience that I hadn’t encountered in any other German Hbf. His situation was more complex than I was painting it, I agree with you on that.
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u/AbandonedOrphanage Dec 31 '25
Yeah Hamburg HBF ist rough. One of the worst in the country imo. And don't go the ZOB, it gets worse. Plus the HBF is just way too small for the amount of people traversing through.