On August 7th, we flew from Amsterdam to Hamburg. We were reminded about the Hanseatic League (13th to 17th century trade association) as it was referenced throughout the city. It really helped to travel with a history teacher too. 👩🏫
We stayed near the towering St Michael's (St Michelis) church. 🔔
We had delicious German fare at Oma's in the Krameramtsstuben:
In the middle of a beautiful, historic alley with Hamburg courtyard buildings (typical of the 17th century) ... a piece of true Hanseatic tradition. Here you will find the "Krameramtsstuben", originally intended as apartments for merchants' widows.
We walked down to the harbor, the largest in Germany and 3rd largest in Europe. 🚢
We took a harbor cruise on a beautiful day. 📸
We heard about Deichstrasse (dike street) while on the harbor cruise. It was one of the oldest in the city so we walked over to check it out. 👀
The Church of St. Nicholas is a Gothic Revival cathedral ... The original chapel, a wooden building, was completed in 1195. It was replaced by a brick church in the 14th century, which was eventually destroyed by fire in 1842. The church was completely rebuilt by 1874, and was the tallest building in the world from 1874 to 1876. The bombing of Hamburg in World War II destroyed the bulk of the church.
The Hamburg City Hall (rathaus) was a spectacular building (more like a small city). We could have stayed for days and not seen all of it. 😳
We also toured the warehouse district (the Speicherstadt) by boat and on foot. This was a free trade zone at one point and was about 1.5km long. It was awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2015. 🏅
Speaking of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, there is another in Hamburg called the Chile House (Chilehaus).
The Chilehaus building was designed by the architect Fritz Höger and built between 1922 and 1924. It was commissioned by the shipping magnate Henry B. Sloman, who made his fortune trading saltpeter from Chile, hence the name.
Henry wanted a building which looked like a ship - I think he got it! 🛳️
We had seen the Elbe Philharmonic Hall from various angles around Hamburg but finally got to see it up close and from the observation deck. Gorgeous concert hall built atop one of the old brick warehouses.
We have enjoyed these chairs at every Motel One (okay, maybe it was just me). 💙
Patty booked us a table at the Skyline Bar for some terrific views of the harbor ... especially the sunset. 🌅
We took the train down to Ohlsdorf (and Fuhlsbuttel) for a Greeter Tour (thanks to Patty for finding it). We had a great time with Jan, our greeter. I didn't know about this organization until this tour but certainly will look for others as we travel. 🗺️
Jan mentioned the historic Ohlsdorf cemetery during our tour so we went to take a quick look before taking the train back to downtown Hamburg. Oh my - focus post coming soon. 🔎
We enjoyed the Skyline Bar so much that we went back our last night in Hamburg. 🇩🇪
The Fish Market (Fischmarkt)ran from 5-9:30am on Sundayso we walked down from the hotel. Patty and Davoud had been before and they assured it was a sight to see - they were not wrong. So much more than fish. 🐟
The sellers had routine of giving out plastic bags to those in the first row and then dropping in items as they loudly hawked their wares. Since it was in German, we had to rely on Patty and Davoud's translation but they were very amused. Lots of candy was sold at this stall. 🍫
I found a new purse at the market and Patty liked it so much that she got one too. 👯
Patty and Davoud took the train back to Wiesbaden so Steve and I had one more night in Hamburg. What did we do? We got HAMBURGERS of course! 🍔
We left Hamburg, flew to London, and then flew to the Isle of Man. 🛩️
