Nordic by Nature

Hi, my city is Hamburg ❤️⚓️ My neighbourhood is Bergedorf 🌳🌳🌳 – only real with three oak trees. I’m Nordic by nature & a Deichkind by heart. I love Hamburg for its diversity, for the people with big Hanseatic hearts – the faces of my city. Whether Pauli or Alsterperle, Blankenese or Mümmeltown – I feel at home everywhere here. My father came to Hamburg from Indonesia as a young man. He financed his engineering studies with day jobs in the harbour. He gave up when confronted with beef carcasses from South America. He’s shorter than me & I’m only 1.67 metres tall! He later worked for Airbus.

My grandma came from Pomerania. My grandad from Schleswig. They found each other in Schleswig and got married in Hamburg. She was the poor refugee child, he was a teacher’s kid, one of eight. Poor, but happy! Married for 70 years, the one true love ❤️ They sailed together on the Alster, travelled the world. My grandad, Jochen Nissen, was head of the gardening department in Bergedorf, landscaped the B5, designed sports fields, green spaces and the hiking trail in the Boberg dunes. I got my love for Planten un Blomen from him. My grandma Lolo walked from Berlin to Schleswig as a child. She gained a foothold in Hamburg as a nanny and later as a nursery schoolteacher at the Elbkinder.

After my A-levels, I would have laughed if you had told me that I would one day follow in her footsteps. I worked in the Kiez and in Süderstraße – I learned the “Hamburg model” at Deutsche Shell AG, studied Austronesian Studies at the University of Hamburg and then ended up at Enterprise Rent-A-Car due to the financial crisis. There is always work in Hamburg. I’ve even stood behind the counter at McDonald’s and served latte macchiatos in a café. Through my children, I got into the field of education. I was asked at the EKiZ whether I could imagine working in refugee aid. Yes, of course!

What an enriching experience to be able to work with children and their families from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and various other countries! I completed a third part-time training to become a state-recognised educator. It was important to me that my children were born in Hamburg. My girls were born in the same hospital as me, Bethesda Bergedorf. Their father is from Poland and they speak both languages fluently. Multilingualism is “normal” in Hamburg.

We live diversity. We are a Free Hanseatic City! We love who we want 💖 Hamburg is colourful and I am proud of my city – with so much love, life and laughter. The people make this city so endearing. The many faces. Their stories. We are Hamburch ❤️⚓️

 

Notes from the MeinHamburg editorial team:

There are some words and terms in the text that not everyone may be familiar with. That’s why we’ve explained them here.

Deichkind – the term refers to a person who grew up near a dyke. It is also the name of a Hamburg hip-hop and electropunk band.

Mümmeltown – refers to Mümmelmannsberg, a large housing estate in Hamburg-Billstedt.

Kiez – usually refers to St. Pauli, Hamburg’s entertainment and red-light district.