Luckydog Adventures: Germany

(June 24)

I wasn’t particularly interested in visiting Germany. I’ve got nothing against it; I’m just not drawn there. But the path of our travels through Scandinavia to Amsterdam led right through Hamburg, Germany. Plus, as we were planning all this months ago we heard Hamburg was a happening place. So, we allocated a couple of days. Besides, lodging is not expensive there…

We were blown away by Hamburg! It’s an amazing city. Even though we arrived in a drizzle and never saw the sun for three days, we found it engaging, and interesting in surprising ways.

The city has a long history. The official name – The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg – clues us that it was part of the Hanseatic League (we ran into them in Bergen), signs of which are still all over the city. The Romans were here (of course!), but the first real building was erected by Charlemagne, in 808. The city was sacked by Vikings (what self-respecting European city wasn’t?!), then by the Poles, then by the Black Death. But it’s location on a river, the Elbe, with access to the Baltic meant it was destined to be a trading center.

Hamburg City Hall, or Rathaus

And trade, in the late 1100s, meant the Hanseatic League. The League was created to protect and enhance economic and diplomatic interests, and eventually controlled trade all over Northern and Eastern Europe. It made the traders – and the city of Hamburg – very rich. Hamburg today is still rich. There are fine, beautiful houses and public buildings from centuries ago; thought-provoking ruins (World War II was not kind to German cities); canals lined with merchant homes and storehouses from the Middle Ages; huge brick warehouses; a fabulous Opera House (why does every city build a fancy opera house?); a major shipping port. And, there were the Beatles.

Buildings lining one of the many canals in Hamburg

Hamburg's opera house; performance halls are set on large springs. The windows open to luxury apartments, offices, and a hotel.

Classy rest room sign in the opera house

We arrived in Hamburg on a wet Saturday afternoon. This was the first real rain since we’d arrived in Europe. It was just drizzling, really, and not cold, but not encouraging, either! Off the train and over to the city bus stop (Paula is really good at city navigation), then dig out some money for the ticket. Norway, and Scandinavia in general, is transitioning to a cash-less economy, so we hadn’t used coins and bills for weeks. Now we had to find our Euros! A bit short on coins, Paula offered a 50-Euro note. The driver refused the bill, saying it was too old or something* (he enlisted the language skills of another passenger who spoke some English). We felt like real duffuses, standing there all wet with our suitcase and backpacks and laptops slung around us, just off the boat, as it were. Eventually the driver – bless his heart – accepted our few coins, about half a Euro short of the required fare, and we rode to our Airbnb accommodations. (Seriously, thank you Mr. Driver for your generosity to clueless strangers!)

* After some cogitation Paula remembered the bill was our deposit return from our place in Alicante, the same bill Paula had given the manager some months ago, one that we’d gotten on our last trip in 2016. Perhaps the EU had updated the currency? In any event, the next morning a coffee shop accepted the bill without question. Sorted! (As they say in England…)

I really liked this Airbnb. The hosts were most thoughtful; and our room was set up to meet the needs of travelers such as us. In a modern apartment building overlooking a green space, we had a distant view of the Heinrich Hertz Tower, an ugly concrete communications tower that’s become a modern landmark. Despite the lack of esthetics, I like that it recognizes a pioneering physicist (and Son of Hamburg), for whom the unit of electrical frequency -- the Hertz -- is named (and what higher accolade could you get then having an electrical unit named after you?).

View of the Heinrich Hertz Tower out our window

Actually, what made this modern tower noteworthy was the view from the other side of the apartment: the bell tower of St. Michael’s Church, an earlier Hamburg landmark, the first sign of the city seen by approaching ships. Of course, that was the view from our host’s bedroom, not ours, but I thought it was a nice balance: the new out one window, the old out the other.

St. Michael's Church tower, a long-time Hamburg landmark

These two towers symbolize for me the layers of history, of ongoing change, that Hamburg carries. The Hanseatic League gave way to individual merchants building large homes and storehouses on canals to deliver the goods. Improved transport technologies (steamships) expanded the shipping industry. Trading corporations formed and build more large impressive buildings, in a different style. Huge warehouses were needed to facilitate increased trade. Then the shipping container was invented, and huge facilities were built across the river to accommodate this new technology. Older builders were torn down, or repurposed. It’s the story of every old city, but somehow these layers seem more accessible in Hamburg.

We did get a good chance to examine that bell tower, however. The World’s Cup was on, semi-final match between Sweden and Germany. Now, we’re not given to sports; not soccer, not American football, not baseball. But the World Cup is a Big Deal in Europe. Plus, the Germans were playing! Our hosts were off to watch it at a friend’s house, and offered us their bedroom. Lounging on the broad bed and watching the wide-screen TV! Our loyalties were a bit divided, having just been in Sweden, but we were glad Germany won. (They clearly had better control of the ball throughout the game, but the Swedish spectators were having a lot more fun.)

This was taken only hours before (the Germans won) the game

As always in a new city we took the “free” walking tour (guides collect tips at the end). As always, it was fantastic. There is much to see in Hamburg (all those layers), and our guide brought them out well. In addition to he usual up-town public buildings, our guide took us on a brief ferry ride, saving some walking, to a more modern and less reputable part of Hamburg, known for its sex shops, night clubs, Red Light District, and Beatles history.

Beatles-Platz, monument to the "Fab Four" -- Pete Best stands apart (he stayed in Hamburg)

Fifty years ago the Beatles played in Hamburg for a year or so. They are still remembered: there is a sort of shrine to them on the Beatles-Platz. There’s still night clubs there with loose (and often lewd) acts, some with plaques commemorating past artists (like the Beatles!). Our tour guide, keen on Beatles lore, filled us in on the antics of Lennon and company in their year in the area. He also cautioned us to be careful, as it is (still) renowned as a place to get really ripped off. He pointed out a price list, for example, posted in public in conformance to local law. Can you imagine paying that much for a drink! Everyone looked, and shook their heads at the outrage. (Until Paula commented, “Hey, this is cheaper than in Oslo!”)

Our tour guide shows us the street where the Beatles played, still home to clubs and bars today

Where the Beatles got their funky haircuts

There are endless interesting vistas in Hamburg, thanks to the canals and the layering of old and new. A church bombed in World War II, now a peace shrine; tidal canals that fill and empty twice a day, many lined with expensive apartments and interesting cafes; monuments, statues, and public art both old and new. Crowded ferries offering low-cost river rides; extensive ship facilities right across the river from expensive offices and residences.

St. Nikolai Memorial: a church bombed in WWII, now a peace monument.

Angel on Earth by Edith Breckwoldt, part of the peace monument; plaques read, in multiple languages: "Take my hand and let me lead you / back to yourself"

Tide's out! The level of the canals fluctuates widely due to tidal action

Bridge spans a canal

Massive warehouses from the 19th Century, now housing offices, studios, and the Miniatur Wunderland

Buildings in the lower right housed a major magazine publisher; with the decline in publishing, they are now "repurposed" (to gov't offices); that's the opera house in the upper left

Oh, yes, and then there’s Miniatur Wunderland, what must be the world’s largest and most detailed model train layout. It’s an absolutely jaw-dropping installation of miniature models of… well, much of the world, done both accurately and with subtle and extensive humor. Hamburg itself is presented in miniature, including the airport with planes, about a foot long, landing and taking off. We see Las Vegas; the red rocks of Southern Utah; idyllic European pastoral scenes; a lagoon in Venice that drains and refills as a building collapses; snow-covered Alpine passes. It goes on and on through multiple rooms and various floors of an old warehouse. Oh, and five or six times an hour night falls, everything gets dark, lights come on in the miniature cities; then, the sun rises and things brighten as the city lights are extinguished. Just like real life!

I’d better stop now. I could go on for pages, though! There's a brief video of what we saw below.