Hamburg

Hafen.  Alsterkaden.  Rathaus.

We jetted up to Hamburg this past weekend, Germany's liberal and forward-thinking port city.  Gotta love EasyJet!  It was snowing in Basel when we left and snowing in Hamburg when we arrived!  Ah well, we bundled up and the snow was pretty.  The city has amazing architecture, lots of cool canals (some frozen) and great shopping, we really enjoyed it.  Matt also found a great Vietnamese place where we had delicious Pho!  Yum, that's a food we hadn't had in ages.  I really loved that all the signs said "Hamburger" which I found funny -- it's the people, not the meat!

  

HafenCity was remarkable.  It's an ambitious city-planning/development project where a part of the old port and docks are being turned into offices, residential apartments, restaurants and office buildings.  One of the warehouses is currently being turned into the new Philharmonic Hall by prize-winning Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron.  The book said it was supposed to be done in 2012, but it's not yet completed.

 

 

 

The Renaissance-style arcaded shops and cafes alongside one of the many canals were really lovely.  And the Rathaus, which is huge, was unfortunately not open or giving tours when we visited (not sure why, there was just a sign that said "No Tours Today").  Bummer, it's supposed to be really opulent.  Instead, we went on a boat cruise on the Alster Lakes.  Hamburg is a wealthy city and the cruise was a real treat because we got to see some amazing, beautiful and pricey mansions!  Wow.  We didn't take any photos, so you'll just have to take our word for it!

 

On Sunday we woke up early to hit the famous Fish Market, which has been running sine 1703!  It was a bit drizzly, but still very crowded.  The Fischauktionshalle was the real gem, they have live bands, big brunch offerings and stalls selling beer (yes, lots of people were drinking them) - all starting at 7:30 a.m.

 

After that, we found the fifth Beatle (at Beatle Platz).

On on our way back to the city center we walked up through the Reeperbahn (St. Pauli), a really big red-light district.  It was Sunday morning and we stayed on the main street, which was just dirty and dreary.  We then found culture at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, the city's art museum housing old masters and showcasing contemporary German artists as well.

We ended with an early dinner at the Hofbrauhaus of all places (had to go with what was open and nearby!)  It felt just like Oktoberfest, only a lot less crowded!