This place really makes you feel like home. The employees are friendly and helpful, and you can…read moretell that they're passionate about what they do. The look of the shop can come off as a bit chaotic, but I found it to be charming and authentic, and you get the feeling that it's always been and will always be that way. I went in to get a few keys made and also to find a screw that was missing from a coat rack kit. They made the keys and told me to come back if they weren't working correctly, but unfortunately didn't have the screw I was looking for. They told me a few other places I could go, but to my surprise, a carpenter next to me told me he could custom make one for me in his shop. They all worked together to find a good screw to work from, then he gave me his card and I went to his shop and he fixed it right up for me! In such a big city as Hamburg, it was nice to find a place with a "small town feel." One note I should make is that all of my interactions were in German.

From the owner: Technischer Großhandel, Arbeitssicherheit, Klebetechnik, Dichtungstechnik, Schlauch- und…read moreAntriebstechnik. Ladenverkauf. eProcurement, Systemlieferant, Fachberatung

This is definitely not your typical Home Depot or Lowe's. It's more in line with your inner city…read moreAce Hardware. Totally fine for a small project around the house but probably shouldn't be the star of your next kitchen renovation. Go to bigger hagebaumarkt or OBI locations outside the city for that. I haven't had to ask the staff for anything so far, so I can't speak to how helpful they are or aren't. Then again, my German proficiency level is nowhere near the DIY level yet. Cashiers and customer service reps have all been friendly, perhaps a little zombie-like at times. They've got a small parking lot out front if you need to haul away something big. There are a ton of signs around reminding you to get a parking ticket (free for the first 1.5 hours), but I was fine skipping that for a quick 20-minute trip.

Pretty solid hardware store. It's not quite OBI, but it's also in a much more convenient location…read moreif you're on the north or east sides of the Alster. Considering it is more centrally located, it makes sense that they didn't have quite the same selection of raw building materials, but for smaller (or even medium-sized) projects, this will definitely be the place that I hit.