we flew into hamburg late last night ex gatwick
bypassed public transport options and took a late model merc
the driver efficiently getting us to the mercure hamburg stadium
welcomed by a quite jovial german chap on late night reception duties
tells us we have been upgraded so happy to settle into our large room
this morning we are up and at it and determined to cram as much as we can
there's a compulsory afternoon appointment with a large boat in another town
a few questions and we are informed a train trip into town and back is possible
so a 10 minute walk to the metro through presumably a typical hamburg suburb
onto the suburban train and 20 minutes later we are at central station
grab a map and fire up the smartphone gps and get our bearings
we decide to vaguely follow a recommended walking trail
i recall the sad history of hamburg and ww2 bombings
advising there may not be much architecture on view
wrong - the town hall is huge, ornate and impressive
we agree it looks like something transplanted from middle paris
in we go - home to a cinema and an annual film festival
so one of us caught up looking at posters from past events
the other one in our party happy to inspect/photograph architecture
not too much idle time so our trail leads us off to the nicholas 1 church
this one very much a victim of the bombing - only the tower remains
it was the tallest structure in europe when built centuries ago
below is a museum dedicated to the horror of world war 2
tempting but ultimately depressing i suspect so pass
instead we take the 75m lift to the top of the tower
currently surrounded by scaffolding in repair mode
but at the top still snatches of views over the city
some large black and white photos of the sad event 70 years prior
impressively a translated write-up more or less of self-admonishment
the brits bombing of this city a reasonable response to nazi aggression
all too sad whatever the reason - sobering stuff as we move on
the walking trail heading off to the warehouse quarter
huge multi-level buildings converted for modern use
presumably apartments, offices, shops, restaurants
large canals as channels between the rows of buildings
we take a local lunch of sausage, frittes and beer
check our timing and agree we need to head back
we bypass the town hall and a walk along the waterfront
another beautiful day, people wandering, a huge fountain
all very easy on the eye and we agree to like this place
picking up the pace and back to the station to return to the hotel
possibly a mistake made there in leaving bags there but too late
by the time we get back panic is breathing down our necks
taxi called urgently and the driver co-operates
whisks us in the merc to central with 20 minutes spare
onto our pre-booked train north to the port town of kiel
park our baggage, collapse into seats and set off
enjoy the bypassing north german countryside
all very clean and sparsely populated
anticipation of the cruise building
hamburg - done - we shall return
