by Adele R
Originally published in Currents October/November 2004

Ahhh it is about to be November – dark, ugly, wet and cold. How can a hedonist keep depression at bay and be able to get through life at this time of year in Hamburg? You won’t find me sweating away my blues at the gym beyond the absolute minimum necessary for my health. What I do, evenings and weekends, is hole up in my warm, cozy apartment and go to the movies by way of videos and DVDs, or read from my changing stock of affordable books. So where do I get “my stuff”?

Let’s talk about First first. First, as you know from the ads which owner Michael Ripke runs in Currents every issue, is a video store specializing in English language videos and DVDs. Of course, today one thinks, any DVD has an English channel, so why go to First when there is a German Videothek right on the corner? Well, to begin with, it is the only place I know with 160 children’s videos (and DVDs) in English. Then, aside from movies of every category – except porno, which Michael refuses to stock – there are the American and British TV shows, in English, of course, and often before the shows appear (dubbed) on German TV. Did you get hooked on 24 or Six Feet Under in the States or even here on German TV? Michael has the latest available installments. Of course The Sopranos and Sex and the City are everywhere; but, again, at the Videothek, the shows are dubbed, not the latest installments, and only the DVDs have English as a choice. And what about great TV shows which never make it to German TV? West Wing for instance, or Dead Like Me (one of Michael’s favorites), Oz – a very realistic series about prison life (not for me), or maybe Firefly by Joss Whedon, who did Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

As Michael obtains his DVDs via England, he often has the new movies before they even run in Hamburg theaters. Of course, between the videos and DVDs, he has a lot of the old films you may have missed if you have been in Hamburg a long time or tied to the house with young children. There are 5,200 titles to choose from, including 2,000 DVDs.

Michael also obtains his DVDs from the United States and Canada. There is a small catch, of course: DVDs from these countries do not play on DVD players purchased here in Europe unless the players are “code free”. The stores, like Saturn and Media Markt, which have the least expensive players, will tell you which are. If the player you choose is not “code free” you can ask your salesperson to check on the internet (www.dvdpalace.de) to see if that particular brand can be programmed to play American DVDs. If you have already purchased a DVD player here, go on the website and follow instructions for programming it yourself. Or if you are a technophobe like me, take your player to Michael, and he will do it for you. If you are buying your first DVD player, you might want to buy it directly from First as I did – already programmed to play both European and American films – for EUR 80. (Hedonists avoid work of any description whenever possible.)

Beim Schlump 13 (Bus 5 to “Bezirk Eimsbüttel” or U3 to Schlump). Open M-Th from 12:00-22:00, Fr & Sa 12:00-24:00 and So 13:00-18:00. Five euros for the newest films and TV installments per day, four euros for the next level. The oldest films and series are three euros for two days. Saturday rentals are due back on Monday for the same one-day price.

As for books, which I consume at a fearsome rate, why not buy them second-hand at English Books; and, by the way, plan to spend some time while you are there. Owner Robert Berridge expanded his domain a couple of years ago, and now, in addition to two stores dedicated to books, a third store next door which sells British foods (frozen pies, crisps, marmalades, sausages, ginger wine, candies, etc.). And in the fourth store area, Susanne Klostermann holds court over an array of British cosmetic and health articles (vitamins!) as well as offering manicures (without false nails), and medical foot care from EUR 15 to 18. The books, which include foreign authors published in the English language, are divided among the two stores in every category you can imagine. This includes not only novels and non-fiction, but science, poetry and religious books as well. What is undoubtedly the largest collection of children’s books in the English language in Hamburg (if not Germany) can be found in the second store. As Robert obtains his books from England and book fairs, as well as buying up books from anyone who offers them, he also stocks a great many British books which have never been published in America.

Stresemannstr. 169 (take the S21 or S31 or Buses 115, 113, 183 or 111 to the Holstenstr. S-Bahn station). Tel 851 44 78. The bookstore is open M-F, 13:00-19:00, Sa 10:00-15:00.

Finally, I often stop in at Medium Buchmarkt. The books here are brand new, but discounted, making them suitable to give as gifts, but not as expensive as in German bookstores, or even on Amazon. Recently, the latest John Grisham hard cover, King of Torts, was EUR 9.95 instead of EUR 24.80 at German bookstores. Some of the newest paperbacks, Brick Lane, for instance, which was nominated for the Booker Prize in Britain and only published in paperback, are not discounted. It was EUR 8.95, but as you know, paperbacks can cost up to EUR 12 or more at airports and train stations. And at Medium Buchmarkt you can find such treasures as the Oxford Anthology of English Literature, Volumes I and II, for EUR 29.80 instead of a whopping EUR 128 elsewhere.

Grindelallee 40, Bus 4 or 5, tel 448 06 11, open M-F 10:00-19:00, Sa 11:00-15:00.