Standing near Alexanderplatz in Berlin, I hopped onto a MeinFernbus coach and we rolled forth to the autobahn, destination: Hamburg. My friend Robert was kind enough to message me and tell me that I had a place to stay if I came through Hamburg. I happily accepted his offer and was excited to see him and his fine city. Hamburg, a port, is built with flood prevention in mind and is anchored on the North Sea inlet of the River Elbe. This makes for beautifully, tall architecture and high walkways that connect buildings and streets alike.
Our first night we went out to the burger joint Jim Block, accomplishing my objective of having a hamburger in Hamburg. It lived up to the name and I obviously enjoyed it thoroughly. I admired the dark, sleek harbour's waters, which contorted the reflection of the city lights as we walked to the metro. The Rathaus (city hall) loomed over the open square as we walked alone, free to roam.
The next day we spent strolling down the riverside, checking out the sights on the water. From Hamburg's new opera house, with its fascinating curvature and bright reflective windows, to the marina with old refurbished ships and new muscle-engined race boats. A group of people released about 100 balloons, standing on the docks by an aesthetically pleasing parallelogram, glass building with stairs covering the one side to the top. After another breath-taking view from the top of the parallelogram building, the ferry taxi came by and we took a ride down the waterway.
On Sunday we went to Robert's church where a lot of international students attend (meaning English speaking!). Since it was my first time at their church I got a voucher for a free Ritter Sport after the service. Now that's a great way to keep your visitors close. I redeemed the chocolate bar during their community lunch after the service, and that's where I also met Robert's international student friends. We ate and then went to check out one of the biggest parks in Hamburg afterward. From there a handful of us went back to the water and made our way to its underground tunnel entrance; an old cylindrical stone structure. Opened to vehicles on the weekend, it's fairly narrow and cuts under the water to the southern side of the city. On the other side, we witnessed the picturesque shoreline in the dusk of our evening. A perfect ending to my weekend in Hamburg!
Here are some photos of my time there:
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| Robert was my personal photographer |
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| The loud muscle race boats |
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| The small marina |
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| Yay for flood prevention |
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| The parallelogram glass building |
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| From the stairs, slanted angle |
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| Stairs straight on! |
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| A look over the harbour |
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| Through the trees |
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| Balloons! |
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| Rise! |
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| See the balloons? |
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| Again, my personal photographer: Robert |
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| The underground, underwater tunnel |
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| The Opera House |
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| Rob and I |
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| A fancy ferry |
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| A #mannytravelpose in front of the Rathaus |
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| Photography fun! |
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| Double vision #mannytravelpose |
Next up: Handy Manny, the Swedish maintenance volunteer!
Ciao for now.
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