HAMBURG, GERMANY

This was the start of our two week Christmas/new year/birthday trip! Traveling north during the winter was great, but very very cold. I think spring would be a great time to go back, as the outdoor activities will have begun in most areas which would have been nice to see. 

When I think back to our time in Hamburg, which was only 4 days, it feels like we actually saw multiple cities in one. There are so many unique experiences that one can have all within a single city, and it is fantastic! Throughout the years, Hamburg has been able to maintain its historical attributes while still continuing to build, renovate and restore. There are many museums, concerts, restaurants, bars and shops throughout the city and so there is no reason to be board.

The official name of Hamburg is 'The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg' and it is located on the Elbe River. It is Germany's second largest city and is home to Germany's largest port. The history of Hamburg is quite interesting and I would recommend taking a free tour with Sandeman to learn all about it. With moments such as the Great Fire of 1842 and the air raids of 1943, the history is quite interesting. 

Our tour!

The central area is Altstadt [Old Town]. It is where the former medieval settlement was located and some roads still follow the line of the old fortification lines. Altstadt is home to the five main churches, none of which are completely original. Due to the fire of 1842 and the air raids during the war, many of the older residences and warehouses have been destroyed while many of the rest have been renovated or rebuilt for more present day functions. 

Some of the only intact traditional Hamburg architecture is on Deichstrasse which is along the Nikolai canal. The houses are tall and narrow, almost similar to the look of Amsterdam, and were built between the 17th and 19th century. The fire of 1842 actually started from one of these buildings [I believe a restaurant]. The surrounding houses were then rebuilt similar to the originals. An interesting fact is that from the dock along the canal one can see where the fire started and which way it went due to the wind that day. Some of the buildings were spared from the fire simply because of the wind direction. There are also a few delicious, traditional restaurants on that street [we ate at Zum Brandanfang and liked it].

We enjoyed our time walking around the Old Town and the surrounding areas. We also found some great restaurants. If you ever find yourself walking along Mönckebergstraße, I would recommend eating at Tschebull [food photo below].

Hamburg Central Station. It has the largest
cantilever roof of any railway stations in Germany

St. Jacobi. Mainly built in the 14th C
but was almost completely destroyed
in the bombings. The church is also
known for its Schnitger Organ, on which
 Johann Sebastian Bach once played. 

Arrows for religious pilgrimage behind
St. Jacobi Church

sprinkenhof - office building started
in 1927

Chilehaus - office building by Fritz Hoger.
Built from 1922-24. An example of
1920's brick expressionism

St. Nikolai - The original church was 
destroyed in the air raids of 1943

Facade in DeichstraBe - Merchant houses
typical of 17th to 19th C Hamburg.
Survived the great fire of 1842 and
the air raids

Landungsbrucken

The Bismarck Memorial

St. Michael's Church

Hanseatisches Oberlandesgericht

Laeiszhalle

bleichenfleet

bleichenfleet

PoststraBe

WWI memorial

Alsterfontäne

WWI memorial

Town Hall [Rathaus] - built from 1886-97. It has approx 
647 rooms and stands on over 4000 oak piles

Elbtunnel

On Steinwerder

U-434 museum [Russian sub]

How did they do this?!

U-434 museum [Russian sub]

Heinrich-Hertz-Turm [north of old city]

Speicherstadt is the world's largest contiguous warehouse complex. It is located in the Freihafen [ free-port] between Deichtorhallen and Baumwall and was built between 1883 and 1927. The warehouses are built on oak piles and the canals are flooded depending on the tides and which boats need to travel through them. The area is filled with red brick and steel as well as beautiful bridges to cross the canals. Hafencity is also worth a walk through. It is 'Europe's biggest inner-city development project' and has quite a few interesting modern buildings. [fact - Hamburg has more bridges than Amsterdam, Venice, and London combined [approximately 2500].

Zollkanal

kehrwiederfleet

HafenCity

Elbphilharmonie

HafenCity

HafenCity

Elbphilharmonie

St. Pauli is known for its famous red light district that runs along the Reeperbahn. Our timing was a little off, as we went there at Christmas time and most people were not out on Christmas Eve, but it was still an interesting place to wander.

The 'Dancing Towers' built in 2012

PJ Bar!!

East

East

East

Christmas lunch!
PJ planned our Christmas lunch and I would say he did a great job. We went to hofbräuhaus where we ate lots of German food and listened to some German music! It was perfect for a Christmas in Germany!