It was late morning before we finally said goodbye to Bergen and started north for Hamburg. It’s a beautiful day and the autobahns are busy as usual. We chat about the horrors of Bergen-Belsen, it may take us a few days to get over it. The open speed limit sign goes past and it’s on for young and old. The black Audis, Mercs and BMW are all in a hurry today.
Hamburg is Germany’s second largest city and one of the largest ports in Europe. Interestingly it is 50 kilometres up the Elbe River from the North Sea. For us however it’s another big city with lots of traffic. To our surprise we freeway right to the heart of the city without a stop, take the centrum off ramp, travel 3 blocks and turn in the stellplatz. It’s only a 100 metres from Hammerbrook railway station which is 1 stop from Hamburg Central Railway Station.
The caretaker tells us it’s full and recommends somewhere else to our disappointment. Its a small area and we can see about 50 campers are squeezed in already. So we park over the side and start looking at our options. Five minutes later the caretaker returns to tell us the other site he recommended in also full. We get lucky and someone starts packing up and our new best friend the caretaker is showing us to our spot.
Parked under the S-Line In Wonhomobilehaven.
We walk up the tourist office at Hamburg Central Railway Station. After getting a map and buying a train ticket back to Hammerbrook we head on into the Altstradt. The panorama should open full screen wide, if you click on it.
Walking down the Munckebergstr we find this little plaza. Hamburg appears to be a very neat and tidy city.
An interesting bronze door at the rear of St.Peter’s Church, just of the Munckebergstr. Perhaps like a sinner caught peaking in to see if it’s OK to enter.
As Pam will attest I love knockers and Hamburg is full of big knockers.
By the time we catch the S-Line train back to Hammerbrook it’s dinner time and neither of us has the energy to cook. So after a short rest and tidy up we walk to an Italian restuarant a couple of blocks up. It was a great pizza and pasta meal and we also enjoyed a chat with our waitress who worked in Australia for 18 months only recently returning.
In the morning we start chatting to a couple of Kiwis touring for 3 months after doing a motorhome swap with a French family. So we decide to get together for a couple of drinks and a BBQ tonight.
Day 2 in Hamburg and we set out on the bikes today. Hamburg has a good set of cycle-paths and shared footpaths and we make our way about without riding on the roads.
St.Katherine’s Church on the southern side of the altstadt. We spend most of the morning riding the canals of Hafen City precinct.
The Hafen is a mix of lovely old renovated warehouses lining the canals and some very modern buildings dispersed here and there. It seemed to be the very trendy end of town.
Another view of the canals ?
You can see all the way to Switzerland from here ?
No, obviously we visited Miniature Wonderland. Situated in an a huge warehouse on a canal. It has three floor covered with huge city layouts, with trains, planes and vehicle. The level of detail and animation is breathtaking. It is one of the most popular attractions in Hamburg.
Another view of the canals around the Hafen. This time in a redeveloped section of canal.
We have a late lunch in a little Thai restuarant on the canal. It was another really good meal, the lunch special included a Thai soup to die for. It’s another long day but much easier on the bikes, we manage to find a supermarket on the way home and pick up a steak and mushrooms as well as other odd and ends for the BBQ tonight.
It’s our 3rd day and we are a little dusty the morning. It was a late night in the Hymer with lots so travel talk. But we are off on the bikes again, this time to the Neustadt and St. Paul’s precincts of Hamburg. St. Michael’s Church in Hamburg. Having been re-built twice after being destroyed by fire, it was again severely damaged during the bombing of Hamburg in WW11.
St. Michael’s Church is the most ornate and gilded church we have seen in Germany. Being within the Order of Martin Luther, we were a little surprised.
The huge crypt below St. Michael’s and it’s 268 tombs.
From the spire of St. Michael’s Church. 452 steps to the viewing platform. It’s worth the struggle for the view of Hamburg.
Rather than taking a tourist ferry for โฌ14 each we take a commuter ferry ride instead. We just looked at the ferry services map a picked the longest run around the Harbour. The view is the same but โฌ14 cheaper. Much cheaper in fact, for the ticket machine was not working, so we were told to just get on.
After our economy harbour cruise we take the long way home and ride through the circle of parks and gardens that surround Hamburg’s altstadt.
Date: 11th August 2022 Travelled: 170 kms from Stralsund to Peenemรผnde via Putbus, Germany Visited: Rasender Roland Steam Train and Granitz Hunting Lodge […]
We are in a beautiful stellplatz in Wolfenbuttel after a few days in the Harz mountains. Heading north towards Hamburg and hope to be at Buxtehude free stellplatz on saturday evening if you are interested and still in the area. Regards.
2 thoughts on “Hamburg, Germany 2016 ๐ฉ๐ช”
We are in a beautiful stellplatz in Wolfenbuttel after a few days in the Harz mountains. Heading north towards Hamburg and hope to be at Buxtehude free stellplatz on saturday evening if you are interested and still in the area. Regards.
Was that the conceige down in the Crypt??