Highlights of Hamburg

Hey everyone!

I hope you're doing all well and you're enjoying Christmas time :)
Today's post is probably most interesting for my non-German readers, and especially for those of you who are keen on going to Hamburg!! :)

Friends of mine live not far away from the port city and I was very thankful they could show me around and be my "guides" because it was my first time visiting. As I only spent three days in Hamburg, unfortunately I won't be able to give you a full insight into all of the city's sights, must-do things a.s.o. I'll try my best though and introduce you to the nicest spots we've seen! :)


To start up, follow me to the "Alster".
You'll get some good first impressions of Hamburg from there.

The Alster is actually a river running through Hamburg. What you can see here is a lake which is part of the river. Two parts compose this lake - the "Außenalster" and the "Binnenalster".

Even though the weather was quite cold the view on the lake and the buildings surrounding it was gorgeous!

The little fir tree you can see in the middle of the Alster is the so called "Alstertanne".
Every year this 20-25m high tree is set up on a platform on the lake. The project is mainly financed by donation and the play of lights at night is very popular by all tourists and locals. :)

Hamburg's "Hafencity"

So-called "Hafencity" or "HafenCity" is a quarter in Hamburg. It is situated approximately between the city centre, the Elbe (the river running through Hamburg, the Alster is part of it) and the "Oberhafen" (harbor). As you will notice, HafenCity is surrounded by a lot of water - rivers and canals.

my lovely guides, Lucy and Clemens

"Speicherstadt"

Hamburg's Speicherstadt is part of HafenCity. You'll find many interesting museums there!

A museum for everybody!

Here you can visit Hamburg Dungeon, "Dialog im Dunkeln" (dialog in the dark - in this museum you are led through completely dark rooms by blind people, you're able to feel the way they do, and you can try different meals in the dark too), "Miniatur Wunderland" (miniature wonderland - the biggest model railroad layout in the world) , and many more museums!

On our way back to Clemens' house...

Boat trip across the Elbe

One morning, Clemens took me on a boat trip on the Elbe. 

That's where we started:

On our way to the boat we walked across a bridge which belongs to the "Landungsbrücken". These bridges lead to the landing stages (see top pictures ↑ ) where the boats and ships take off. What I really like about this bridge are the locks! There's a story about them, they're not only ornaments making the bridge look brighter!

Some years ago a custom started in various cities in Germany, in Cologne, Francfort, Hamburg and some others. Couples began to create their personal, self-designed locks: Their anniversary, the 2 names and sometimes a little heart or rose can be found on the lock. These little love-locks are fixed to the bridge whereas the key to the lock is thrown away into the river by the couple so that the lock can never be opened again and their love will last forever...

Isn't that cute? 

As I told you earlier, our boat trip started where the Landungsbrücken are and went in the direction of Blankenese, a very wealthy quarter where you can observe gorgeous villas built near the shore.

our boat

"Dockland Hamburg" - a fascinating, very modern office building
in the form of a ship. Tourists can visit it too and climb the
platform on top to enjoy a wonderful view.

Blankenese

Christmas time in Hamburg

In my opinion, it's a good time to visit the city of Hamburg around Christmas. The streets are nicely decorated with all sorts of lights and everyone who loves Christmas markets will definitely get happy. :)

Even though I visited after Christmas, there were still Christmas markets in the streets, such as the one called "Winterzauber" (- winter charm) at Jungfernstieg. This Christmas market is opened from end of November till New Year. It's real pretty because all the booths are nicely decorated, and even though there's a big selection of gifts, jewellery, wooden toys, food and much more, the market isn't too crowded. 

Christmas feeling in the streets :)

Other things to do in the city of Hamburg:

Visit the "Europa Passage"

Even if you're not a big fan of shopping, the Europa Passage is worth a visit! It's so beautifully decorated at Christmas time and there are neat places to sit down and drink a coffee or eat a little something to warm up when it's cold outside.

Musicals

If you go to Hamburg, visiting at least one musical is a not-to-miss!!!

It's probably the best city in Germany to go if you love musicals!

They've got the Lion King, Tarzan, Phantom of the Opera and many more. :)

They've even got their own halls where the musicals are held in and boats to lead the visitors across the Elbe. Wonderful!

What you should also do...
Try Franz- and Fischbrötchen

"Franzbrötchen"
- similar to cinnamon rolls, simply special and amazingly good!

"Fischbrötchen"
- if you're a fan of fish, you mustn't miss to taste a typical fish sandwich in Hamburg

Last but not least I'd like to recommend a lovely little shop very warmly to you! It's called 

"Bonscheladen" 

- it's something very unique. 

All different kinds of bonbons you can imagine are produced right here. The shop owners always create new flavours and make the bonbons themselves in front of the customers. That's a really nice thing. And very interesting! You can watch the people make huuuuge rolls of "bonbon mass", then twisting it and turning it into a looong thin rope of bonbon, cutting it down to small candy pieces. - You should go and see it yourself, my explanation is probably not the best :D

long "rope of bonbon" being cut down to little pieces

They've got the cutest and most delicious candy there: smileyface -, heart -, orange -, ladybird - bonbons and even fudge!

The "Bonscheladen" Hamburg is definitely worth a visit!
If you're interested, here's the address:

Friedensallee 12
22765 Hamburg - Ottensen
Tel.: 040/415 475 67

Weather in Hamburg

To finish I'd like to give you some advice concerning the weather conditions.
As the city is in the north of Germany, you can probably imagine that the weather up there is often windy. That's why you should always bring a windbreaker jacket and / or a rain jacket. The wind can be freezing and combined with temperatures in winter, it can get very very cold!
This does not mean you need to prepare yourself for a trip to the Arctic, especially in summer and spring it can get warm too.



So guys, we've now come to the end of my report about the city of Hamburg. I hope you enjoyed reading! :)
See ya soon with some new adventure stories!!
Love, Yoko :)