Germany's Gate to the World

 

The day after we had returned from Antwerpen we took the train to Hamburg. In Germany you can buy something called "Deutschlandticket" (Germany ticket) which costs €49 for a month (in November of last year) and allows you to ride any local or regional train for free in that month as well as public transportation in many German cities. You cannot ride the high speed ICE train (nothing to do with Immigration and Customs Enforcement) or any long-distance trains. It's only allowed on regional trains, but that can get you through the entire country if you don't mind changing trains in between (and sometimes missing a train because of delays or even cancellations). The ICE from Münster to Hamburg (about 250 km) takes less than three hours; taking the regional train takes much longer. There is also a DB (Deutsche Bahn; German Rail) app that is really helpful in planning your route as well as informing you whether your train will be late, if there is a change in platform etc.

We had time and didn't mind the longer journey. We had to change trains twice - in Osnabrück and in Bremen. Our train was delayed, so we didn't make our connection in Osnabrück and had to wait an hour for the next one (thankfully on this busy route the trains run fairly often). There was a nice café in the station where we sat, ate some pastry and had a good cup of coffee. I enjoyed the train ride a lot - I was knitting, looking out the window, reading, chatting with my family. Many of the regional trains are double deck and we loved sitting on the upper deck. We had no problem getting our connection in Bremen and arrived in Hamburg sometime in the afternoon where we then took the subway - for free, since Hamburg is one of the cities where you can use public transportation with the Deutschlandticket.

My mother-in-law met us at the subway station and we first went to her place - she lives in a tiny appartment - and later took a stroll down to the Elbe (the river that runs through Hamburg). As you can see, despite being a big city - the second-largest city in Germany after Berlin - it has a lot of parks and many tree-lined streets. Often there are playgrounds in these parks, and the "kids" in my family couldn't just pass by.

Down at the river we found a nice restaurant where we had an early dinner and also tasted a flight of eggnog (called Eierlikör in German).

For Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday

We eventually said our goodbyes and we took the subway to our accomodation for the following two nights. The next morning we went to a nearby bakery that also served breakfast - we had coffee and freshly baked rolls with boiled egg, Mett (yes, that is raw ground meat) and Fleischsalat (salad with strips of bologna-style sausage, gherkins and mayonnaise dressing) - pure heaven!

Also for T Tuesday

Then to the subway and a ride to Baumwall station.

What are they photographing?

This funny shaped glass building.

The Elbphilharmonie, one of the coolest concert halls on the planet.

Elphi, as it is nicknamed, was built on top of an old brick warehouse near the historical Speicherstadt (warehouse district) in the Hafencity quarter of Hamburg. Depending on who you ask, the modern construction resembles a hoisted sail, a water wave, an iceberg or a quartz crystal - take your pick. I like the description of hoisted sail best since Elphi is located in the harbor of Hamburg - this port is the reason why Hamburg is also called Germany's gate to the world. The Elbphilharmonie was officially opened on January 11, 2017, almost ten years after construction had begun.

It is a truly amazing building. Here you can see a bit more of its unique architecture.

However, this was not the "real" reason why we went to Hamburg, even though the Elbphilharmonie has been on my list of "must see". Our destination was located within these buildings, the historical Speicherstadt. Those of you who are more familiar with Hamburg might already know where we were going, otherwise you have to wait for the next post. It's worth it, I promise.

The Speicherstadt has gone through quite some very careful redevelopment and has become a very interesting quarter. I had to laugh about the sayings on the trash bins.

Left: Do you have a bag of shit? - Right: Your trash has potential with me

After we had spent almost eight hours at our destination in the Speicherstadt, we returned to Elbphilharmonie. We got tickets for the very special escalator to the upper floors (the escalator is free, but you do need a ticket). Why is this escalator (called "Rolltreppe" in German, rolling stair) special? Well, it is the longest curved escalator in Europe. It is 82 meters long (about 270 ft) and takes you up to the Plaza on a unique, slightly curved path. The escalator is also called the "Tube".

And here we are, riding the "gewölbte Rolltreppe".

Going up to the foyer of the concert hall and the Plaza.

The Plaza is the viewing platform that offers panoramic views of Hamburg, the port and the Elbe River. If you're on the platform, you're actually on top of the warehouse brick building I mentioned above and at the base of the "hoisted sail".

The view of the port

and some part of the Speicherstadt

As you can see that the weather was rather poor - quite typical for Hamburg which is a bit like Seattle; it rains a lot. We were lucky that it was only grey, but didn't rain.

It was getting dark quickly.

Of course there is a shop on this level and of course we had to go in there. I couldn't resist buying the following item - Nivea is made by Beiersdorf and the headquarter of Beiersdorf is in Hamburg. Of course I had to buy this! (three "of course" in one short paragraph!)

A last view at Elbphilharmonie at dark. If you are interested in (classical) music and acoustics, this video about Elbphilharmonie is very interesting.

Another view along Kehrwiederfleet to the Speicherstadt - so pretty at night!

Then we crossed Zollkanal via this pedestrian bridge to Deichstraße ("dike street").

Deichstraße is the oldest remaining street in the old center of Hamburg, dating back to the 14th century - it was first mentioned in 1304. Deichstraße contains some of the oldest buildings in the city. You can find many bars, pubs and restaurants here. We went to Fisch & Co., a small place where each of us got a Fischbrötchen (roll with baked fish) to go - ah, such good memories of my childhood! I have always loved Fischbrötchen which you could buy only at the farmers market where I grew up.

And here I end this post with a joyous Moin Moin! (an all-day greeting in Northern Germany)