Today we had a long drive to Hamburg, so it was an early start and it was a much easier exit than Brussels.
Part of the drive was along a sea wall or basically a big dam or a dyke. It is 32 kms long and was constructed to protect the low lying areas of the Netherlands from flooding.
We finally arrived at Hamburg airport to drop off the car. It looks like we have been scammed though. We were sent through photos of very minor scratches on the car. It was a dodgy drop off for all rental cars not just for Avis. With research it appears that it’s quite common in Hamburg.
We caught a taxi to our hotel. The driver had ‘no internet’ so wanted cash. Scam? Who knows.
The room wasn’t ready and after a long drive and the car scam we needed a drink. I was becoming concerned about our walking tour the next day. It was a private tour so I had ideas running through my head that we were going to be kidnapped or robbed. So I started searching for a restaurant to have traditional German food for dinner.
The next day we met Gustavo for our Culinary Kickstart tour but it was very different to other food walking tours we have done. We didn’t visit different places to taste food, Gustavo presented us with our food before the tour started. They were 2 pastries, a pretzel and a franzbrotchen which is a traditional Hamburg cinnamon pastry and the drinks were 2 types of beer and a local kola called Fritz Kola.
Gustavo then walked us all over the city. (7kms!) We visited churches, buildings and monuments learning about Hamburgs history. Unfortunately it was raining most of the walk.
Hamburg has been an important trading center from as far back as the Middle Ages due to its location and its port.
In 1842 there was a great fire which destroyed most of the cities buildings. The city was rebuilt only to be destroyed again when it was heavily bombed in WW2.
We started at City Hall which is a very large and beautiful neo-Renaissance building inside and out. You can do a tour through the building’s 647 rooms but we just had a look around the foyer which was very impressive.
In the courtyard there is a fountain to commemorate the cholera epidemic in the 19th century.
Our next stop was St Jacobi church. It is a Lutheran church from the 14th century. It was also destroyed during the war and rebuilt. We weren’t able to go inside due to the service but quick glance through the windows and we could see the beautiful modern style of stained glass windows.
Hamburg, like many old cities have many old churches. We mentioned to our guide that we have seen a lot of churches and maybe didn’t need to see anymore. Our next stop was another church but it was worth the stop.
It was St Nicolai Church and like most buildings in Hamburg it was destroyed during the great fire and rebuilt and destroyed again during World War Two. The only parts remaining were the altar, the crypt, the steeple and the bells which were inside the steeple. Instead of rebuilding the church it was decided to make it into a memorial to the victims of war. It really is an amazing remnant of Hamburg.
In 2005 a viewing platform was added into the steeple and it is accessible by a glass lift. Apart from an amazing view of Hamburg there are photos taken from the steeple in 1943 of the bombed city.
We walked a little further to take a look at the Elbe Philharmonie concert hall. It resembles a hoisted sail, iceberg, waves or quartz crystal and is sitting on an old brick warehouse. It was very impressive from a distance but unfortunately we didn’t get to go inside.
We walked back towards where we started via the Binnenalster which is a water front area with restaurants and canal tours. It has a large fountain in the middle that can reach a height of 60 meters.
The final part of the walk was to Planten un Blomen Park in the centre of Hamburg. The park is very beautiful and has a botanical garden with a tropical house and the largest Japanese Garden in Europe. It is a huge green space which I imagine would be a perfect place to spend some time when it’s not raining. There was a Japanese Festival on so it was a bit crowded and difficult to get into see the Japanese Garden.
On the way there were more memorials to look at.
We were left by the tour guide in the park to find our own way back which is unusual because you usually do a loop back to where it started. With our trusty Google maps we found our way back and stopped at the first restaurant to dry out.
With the rain we decided to finish the day with food and wine.
And more food and wine at a traditional Hamburg restaurant- Gasthaus an Der Alter.
The restaurant had some interesting things throughout.
We didn’t have long in Hamburg but found it to be a lovely city. There was a lot more to see but the rain held us up and it was nice just to chill and enjoy the food and wine.