Why Hamburg?

Hamburg is an amazing city that is home to Germany's biggest seaport.  Port of Hamburg and the Reeperbahn are on the top of the list of must sees when visiting.  But there is so much more to this seaport city and because I don't want to miss a thing, I was lucky enough to have my very own private tour guide, Jutta Huelsmann.  Jutta is amazing and even picked me up at the airport and took me to my hotel!!

Meet my tour guide, Jutta Huelsmann.

Now because there is so much to see, I plan on staying 4 full days!!  My hotel of choice, Baseler Hof Hotel located at Esplande 11 is situated in the ideal location to see the sights of Hamburg!

Baseler Hof

Baseler Hof Hotel has 173 rooms available with several options to choose from.  Options range from a Economy Single Room to a suite with living and sleeping areas!

They have a casual little Bistro & Wine Store

KLEINHUIS' BISTRO & WINE STORE

As well as an elegant dining area

KLEINHUIS´ RESTAURANT

Time to see the sights!

Jutta came to my hotel and whisked me away for the day and took me to the must see sights.

This is St. Michaelis Church.

Between 1943-1945, St. Michaelis (St. Michael's) was heavily damaged by the bombing strikes on Hamburg.

In line with the old tradition, the St. Michael’s tower warden plays a chorale with his trumpet in each cardinal direction every morning and every evening.

This custom was introduced in Hamburg during the Reformation and has been going on at St. Michael’s for more than 300 years. When the trumpets sound look above.  You will see the tower warden blowing a trumpet.  I found the melody to be quite charming. 

This wall represents more than 800 years of history.



 Having some fun in the rain with my blue umbrella. You can't see above the photo very well, but the chimneys are all twisted. Super cool looking!





It was interesting to learn that there is a Portugese District in Hamburg.

Just behind the harbour however lies a charming small neighbourhood that is typical of Hamburg, yet completely unique at the same time. The centre of Hamburg's sizeable Portuguese and southern European community since the 1960s, the Portugiesenviertel  consists of just a handful of streets around the Ditmar-Koel-Straße in the Neustadt district that are home to over a dozen Portuguese restaurants, bars and pastelarias. It's the best place in Hamburg – some say in Northern Europe – to sample authentic tapas, delicious fresh seafood dishes and tasty Portuguese wines.

Landungsbruecken, (Landing Bridges) Is the biggest harbor station in the world.

I found this to be pretty funny. In the middle of the picture you will see a fish sandwich. Some visitors come to Hamburg and love these fish sandwiches so much that they put them in their suitcase to take on the airplane with them.  Imagine how that smell will linger for hours on the plane. May not be the best choice, but if you want a fish sandwich that bad then its worth the risk.

This huge roll-on/roll-off ship was passing by as I enjoyed my fish sandwich.

Just getting a closer glance of the ship, looks like fun I wanna get on



The Old Elbe Tunnel was the first river tunnel on the continent - and became a necessity since the growth of the Port of Hamburg.



The Old Elbe Tunnel

These special elevators were built for horse coaches back in the early 20th century.

About 13,000 ships from all over the world call at Europe's second largest port. From the cruise ship terminal to the historic 'Speicherstadt' warehouse district.

The Museums Port. This is where the old ships go that no longer are in use.



Cranes used to unload ships



If the Titanic had this icebreaker ship it would have survived.



One of Hamburgs oldest ship restaurant 

After leaving the Port I see this!

I love Fritz Cola so I obviously had to snag a picture of this bus. On the side of it you can see an advertisement for this local soda brand. Once you have it, you may never want to drink regular coke again.



Jutta was wonderful, and I loved her laid back style in showing me the highlights of Hamburg.
The next day I'm on my own.  Well sort of.  I decided I would do a Hop on Hop Off 90 min tour on a Red Double decker bus.

The famous concert hall called the Philharmonic in the white building in the background.

The Warehouse District was inaugurated in 1888. It is made up of a steel skeleton frame and overlaid with bricks. Inside these buildings are the "Miniatur Wunderland" and the Hamburg dungeon.

 

Here is the Marco Polo tower. Exclusively for rich people with amazing views of the port.

The building with the windmills on top is "Greenpeace Germany."
The windmills are producing their own energy.

The "Maritime Museum" has more than 3,000 years of Maritime history.  This is the oldest remaining warehouse of the city. The most important planning project in Europe is a project called, "HafenCity."

During my last night in Hamburg I did the tour of Reeberbahn in St. Pauli.  It's famous for being Hamburg's Red Light District with many strip clubs and brothels.

With so many things to see and do, I don't believe one can ask, "Why Hamburg"!