It was an early start to the day with a car trip to the Roland Center then a tram ride to Bremen Hauptbanhof before getting our train to Hamburg. Thankfully Ulla and Friedhelm had done all the homework before hand and had it perfectly worked out!
The train trip is only around 1.5 hours and quite pleasant. What makes it even more enjoyable is that all the connections throughout the whole day were on time and clean. Train travel can be incredibly enjoyable and I really do prefer to travel this way however it needs to be efficient and cost effective. In Germany it does appear to be.
We arrived into Hamburg and spent the rest of the day walking everywhere. This is the best way to see a place. First off it was to the Rathaus which is located in a very large square and is a very impressive building. On the way we stopped into a church on the way but I have forgotten the name of it. I do remember that it is on Bergstrasse (Mountain Street) named with tongue firmly in cheek. North Germany is incredibly flat however with a bit of looking Bergstrasse does has the slightest rise to it. See the germans do have a sense of humour :). Friedhelm spoke to one of the attendents inside and he was happy to provide us with a brief personal guide regarding the stained glass windows. There was also a tale to tell about one of the brass door knockers on the front church doors. It was the original one from the initial building of the church back in the 18th century and was in the image of a very menacing leopard. The other knocker was in the image of a lion and you could tell people preferred that one as you could see where people had been rubbing its nose.
The Rathaus was rather magnificient and has a lovely inner court garden with fountain. On a sunny day I could imagine that this would be a very popular place to eat during your lunch break.
From the Rathaus we went down to the water and walked around the little lake (Binnenalster) to sit down and had some lunch. Although it was a bit chilly the rain held off and it was a pleasant afternoon stop. Next we headed towards the Botanical Gardens called Planten un Blomen however we had to stop for an ice cream along the way. Yum!
The botanical gardens are well worth a visit for the hothouse which has a magnificent display of cacti and succulents. The park has some great water toys for the kids (small and large kids alike) and is towered over by a huge telecom mast that looks really quite majestic and arty in amongst the trees.
With such a big tower looming we headed towards this, however it is no longer open for viewing trips to the top. Oh well, we headed to St Michaels church instead. With a huge statue of Martin Luther outside and a very impressive tower this church just draws you to it. For a fee you can go up the tower (either by foot or lift). After seeing the 123 metre tower the lift was the best option. This church has had a hard life. In 1750 it was struck by lightning and a large portion of it burnt, 1906 a fire started it in during some construction on it and again was badly damaged during World War 2. What was left of the tower has been rebuilt to what we see today. After about a 10 minute wait we were on our way up. Even though it was overcast and rainy weather the views were great. Hamburg is the 4th largest port in Europe and is the gate to Germany. From the tower you can see the spectacular harbour, hundreds of cranes, the ports in action, the boats on the water and generally great views across the city. Well worth the ride up.
At one point on our walking tour around town Friedhelm brought our attention to a brass sign in the pavement. It was a simple brass sign with a name, date and small inscription. We began to notice them more often now since having been pointed out to us. They were memorial plaques for past Jewish residents. The plaque stated the persons name, date they were forceibly taken from their home and what later happened to them during the war. It was quite surreal to then look around the streets today and imagine it in a past time. Quite spooky.
It was now time to hit the water and take a boat ride down the harbour for dinner. We headed for Finkenwerder. We got off the boat here for a grand dinner of what Hamburg is well known for fish and of course a beer. I tried a local beer while Ulla and Friedhelm went for the local speciality which is called Alsterwasser. Back in NZ we call it a shandy (1/2 beer, 1/2 lemonade). I had sole as my choice of fish and the bratkatofflen (sauteed potatoes). It was delicious.
After the meal we had to catch the boat back into Hamburg in time to catch our train home to Bremen. Again all the connections were well timed and we made a sleepy journey back to Bremen with tired feet but heads full of all we had seen. I really enjoyed Hamburg. The architecture in areas was really exciting, the waterways buzzing with life and great company to share the day with.