# Alsterrunde – Hamburg City Newsletter
> A local's take on Hamburg city life, from local politics to everyday moments, new discoveries, hidden gems, and the latest from the Franzbrötchen app.
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## Pages
- [Moin!](https://alsterrunde.com/about.md) - My name is Mert. I moved to Hamburg in 2018 and this city has had my heart ever since. There is always something new around the corner, a hidden spot, a local event, something worth sharing. Last year I built Franzbrötchen, a city super app for Hamburg, and the warm response made me want to do even…

## Posts
- [How good is Hamburg’s cycling infrastructure?](https://alsterrunde.com/how-good-is-hamburgs-cycling-infrastructure.md) - What is the Copenhagenize Index, and what does it show about where Hamburg’s cycling infrastructure is doing well and where it is falling behind?
- [Animals of Hamburg: Our Wild Neighbours](https://alsterrunde.com/animals-of-hamburg-our-wild-neighbours.md) - Discovering Hamburg’s wild neighbours inspired me to build Tiérdex and pay more attention to the animals around me.
- [Fifty Shades of Klinker: The Bricks That Shaped Hamburg](https://alsterrunde.com/fifty-shades-of-klinker-the-bricks-that-shaped-hamburg.md) - From historic warehouses to modern homes, Klinker has shaped Hamburg’s colors, character, and identity for generations.
- [Visiting Elbwald for the first and perhaps last time](https://alsterrunde.com/visiting-elbwald-for-the-first-and-perhaps-last-time.md) - A Sunday bike ride led me to Elbwald, where nearly 400 grown trees face removal to make way for the expansion of Hamburg’s port.
- [Greenest cities in Europe, and where Hamburg stands](https://alsterrunde.com/greenest-cities-in-europe-and-where-hamburg-stands.md) - Most “greenest cities” lists measure the wrong things, and I believe the 3-30-300 rule offers a better way to measure how green a city really is.
- [Why does Apple have an office in a small town close to Hamburg?](https://alsterrunde.com/why-does-apple-have-an-office-in-a-small-town-close-to-hamburg.md) - This was the question I had after reading a job ad on Apple's jobs page.
- [Wahlhamburger](https://alsterrunde.com/wahlhamburger.md) - It doesn't matter where you were born, it only matters where you feel at home.
- [Hamburg's Stadtpark: A Park Built to Be Used](https://alsterrunde.com/hamburgs-stadtpark-a-park-built-to-be-used.md) - In 1914 Hamburg built a park for people to use rather than admire, and more than a century later that is still what it is.
- [Shared mobility is great. The parking isn't.](https://alsterrunde.com/shared-mobility-is-great-the-parking-isnt.md) - Hamburg has great transport options, but shared micro mobility still has one problem the city hasn't solved.
- [When will Hamburg move away from Microsoft?](https://alsterrunde.com/when-will-hamburg-move-away-from-microsoft.md) - Hamburg is becoming more dependent on Microsoft while only beginning to explore open-source alternatives.
- [A love letter to my favourite Fahrradstraße in Hamburg](https://alsterrunde.com/a-love-letter-to-my-favourite-fahrradstrasse-in-hamburg.md) - I grew up watching cartoons on Fox Kids, like The Kids from Room 402, What’s with Andy?, and Life with Louie. One thing I often saw in these cartoons was children going to school by bike. Sadly, this was not common in Turkey, where I grew up, because the roads were not safe for cycling. I got my fi…
- [The Coffee Belt Runs Through Hamburg’s Roasters](https://alsterrunde.com/the-coffee-belt-runs-through-hamburgs-roasters.md) - Hamburg’s coffee history is still alive in its local roasters, where beans from 31 countries find their way into the city.
- [Why is direct democracy still signed on paper?](https://alsterrunde.com/why-is-direct-democracy-still-signed-on-paper.md) - Hamburg has a strong system for direct democracy, but popular initiatives and popular petitions still rely on paper signatures. Is it time to allow digital signing?
- [The New Bus Departure Displays Nobody Asked For](https://alsterrunde.com/the-new-bus-departure-displays-nobody-asked-for.md) - One of Hamburg's small everyday symbols is quietly disappearing, and the replacement is worse in almost every way.
- [Vierländer Platte: The Unexpected Hamburg Tomato](https://alsterrunde.com/vierlander-platte-the-unexpected-hamburg-tomato.md) - A tomato from Hamburg that unexpectedly tasted like the ones I grew up with, soft, juicy, and full of that simple, unmistakable tomato flavour I had been missing in Germany.
- [Hamburg said NO to the Olympics, and the map tells a story](https://alsterrunde.com/hamburg-said-no-to-the-olympics-and-the-map-tells-a-story.md) - Hamburg said NO to the Olympics, but a look at the map reveals a striking pattern: the richer the district, the more it voted YES.
- [Hamburg Spent 2.5 Million Euros to Convince You. Did It Work?](https://alsterrunde.com/hamburg-spent-2-5-million-euros-to-convince-you-did-it-work.md) - On May 31st, Hamburg votes on whether to host the Olympics. The YES side wants you to feel excited. The NO side wants you to think.

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