Hamburg 2018

Marianne has a bucket list of places she would like to visit and this year we are going to tick off two of the items. The first is the Hurtigruten boat ride down the fjord coast of Norway and also Poland where her ancestors on her father's side came from.

This trip took a bit of research and there are several ways of doing it. It was considerably cheaper to do the Norway cruise at the start of the trip rather than at the end, so we arranged to fly to Oslo via Hamburg. 

Three and a half years ago we leased a Mini Countryman and the lease ended at the end of the month. Our dealer was in New Jersey and our flight left from EWR in Newark NJ. We decided to drop off the car at the dealer on the way up and a friend who lives in the area kindly volunteered to take us on to the airport.

We were rolling along quite happily along the freeway when there was a loud pop and it was obvious that there was a tire problem. There was no drama and I pulled over to the side of the road and you can see the problem at the bottom of the tire. The inner part was possibly ok but I was not going to attempt to drive on it, particularly as we were approaching a busy junction.

Mini provides a rescue service and a tow truck turned up about 30 minutes later and took us to the dealer. Fortunately when we bought the car, the dealer offered an insurance package that covered wear and tear on the tires and car body. We had bought the package so there was no charge for the incident. Obviously our Mini was annoyed that we were going to hand it back.

As you can see, it was a good place for the tire to misbehave. Straight, wide and with a sign just ahead to describe where we were.

We are still undecided about what to replace the Mini with. We both loved our Mini but the prices have risen substantially in the past three years. We might get another or possibly a Honda Fit which is about the same size but much less expensive. On our return we will make our decision, rent a car at EWR and drive to the dealer who gets our business. In the past we have bought our cars and driven them for years and years. Now that I am 70 I have decided to change that strategy and get a new car ever few years. I only have a few cars left in me.

Our tow truck driver knew the way to the dealer and he remarked that he would go there about twice a week. The dealers he goes to the most are the Kia dealers, often several times a day, so that is one way of measuring quality. 

Our plane trip to Hamburg on United was really good. The food was tasty, the flight was smooth and there were lots of empty seats. We each got three seats to lie down on and I managed to get a couple of hours sleep.

Our original schedule had us landing at Hamburg and after a couple of hours taking another flight to Oslo. That flight was rescheduled to leave much earlier so we were moved to a flight quite late in the day.  It became an opportunity to visit Hamburg for a few hours. I had passed through there on the train years ago but had never got out of the train station.

We bought an all day pass for their train / bus network and headed in.

The Rathaus or Town Hall. Hamburg was a major bombing target in WWII and much of the city was destroyed. By some miracle, the Rathaus escaped major damage.

Interesting tree. We noticed that most trees were just getting buds and leaves were appearing.

Apparently this building was badly damaged in WWII and the exterior was restored. Now they are restoring the interior.  If you don't know too much about the bombing of Hamburg, take the time to read this link.

Hamburg is a city of canals so we headed off to wander around a look at some of them.

One of the old church steeples that managed to survive the war. There is another with a similar shape close by.

All very elegant but the cold wind off the nearby lake did not make us want to linger.

Let me just say that you need to have plenty of money to shop in this area. Apparently Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany after Berlin but it has the most millionaires.

Much nicer view of the Rathaus across the canal.

This canal goes from lakes formed from the Alster River to the nearby Elbe River. There is a difference in water levels and a lock system allows boats to pass up and down.

Lots of construction.

Since so much of Hamburg was destroyed in the war most of the buildings are new. However the canals survived.

This part of Hamburg caters to the wealthy. We were intrigued by this window display.

And the shoes.

There was even a Faber-Castell shop where you could buy a box of colored pencils for 350 euros.

It was just before 9 am and shops were starting to open and people were walking to work.

Architects must love going to Hamburg. There are so many interesting buildings.

It's not too difficult to get pretty decent photos here. Just take a snap, crop a little and adjust the exposure. It's also fascinating to stroll along just taking it all in.

This building looks old but the actual building behind the facade is modern. The facade is quite something.

We eventually arrived at the Elbe River. Hamburg is one of the great ports of Europe. 

Wherever you look there is something interesting to look at.

An old lighthouse ship.

This is a passage for cars to drive down to a wharf where they can drive onto a ferry.

Look at the tall building at the right.

Blurry, but gives a better idea of the shape.

We were getting tired and cold so we took the U-bahn back to the main train station.

This rather busy and confused photo is of the Hauptbanhof or main train station. Back in 1974 I would pass though here on my way north to Scandinavia.

We had an early lunch and headed back to the Rathaus to take a free walking tour.

The tour was due to start at 11 am and a crowd gradually appeared. The guide took about 30 minutes to talk about the Rathaus and the history of Hamburg before setting off for the walk. However we both felt really tired and had become stiff and cold listening to the talk so we decided to drop out of the tour and return to the airport.

Before leaving, we did go inside the Rathaus for a few minutes.

 

There is a lot more to see in the building but we knew we were not up to it. After returning to the airport, we went to our gate, sat down and I nodded off a number of times. Apparently screaming babies did not disturb my slumber.

Hamburg is worth further investigation, particularly when it is not cold and windy.