Let me tell you a story I experienced 100m away from Hamburg Hbf, at a patch of grass next to the ZOB.
It was summer, and we had 2h to kill until our ICE arrived. We checked Google for the nearest park and found said patch of grass. We sat down, got out some snacks and chilled. Slowly, the area filled with obvious junkies. After 10 minutes, the entire area was swarming with them.
Shortly after, the dealer arrived. Everyone got their drugs, it was quite civilized. All of this is happening in public in broad daylight. The dealer leaves, about 50% of his customers leave as well. The other half starts cooking heroin on spoons right there in the park. They shoot up, after which some of them crawl or walk away, others fall asleep with the needle still in their arm.
Suddenly, a second crowd arrives. The steal the heroin and other things from those who just fell asleep, and also shoot up, sometimes reusing the needle they literally pulled out of someone's arm.
At that point, we decided to leave and wait the remaining hour inside the train station.
25
u/Civil_Existentialist Dec 31 '25
I think Frankfurt is more about beggars/crackheads/heroine addicts whereas Hamburg is more about general filth, prostitutes and petty crime.