Days: 1 - 5
August 23rd (Fri) - 27th (Tue)
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Hamburg
                                 
       
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Page Index
What We Learned
•  Subways S-Baun & U-Baun
What We Saw
•  St. Peters Church
•  Hamburg Town Hall
•  Miniatur Wunderland
•  International Maritime Museum
•  Fischmarkt
•  St. Michael`s Church
•  Otto von Bismark Memorial Statue
•  Group Walking Tour
•  St. Nicholas Church Memorial
•  The Speicherstadt
•  Elbphilharmonie
•  Boat Tour
•  Nazi Flak Bunker
Where We Ate
•  Hofbräu Hamburg
•  Hotel Alster Hof (Yup... our hotel)
•  Gasthaus an der Alster
Where We Stayed
•  Hotel Alster Hof

  Overview Tour Itinerary
The Tour Itinerary portion of each section of this site covers the activities while on our Rick Steves (R/S) Tour and our activities when we were On Our Own.  Our overall trip started three days before the R/S tour on Thursday August 22nd and ended on September 8th two days after the R/S tour portion of the trip was over. The days/dates of our overall trip are shown in the top left corner of each section.  In this section, Day 1 is the start of our R/S tour not he start of our trip...yeah confusing!

Day -2 (Friday - August 23) Arrive in Germany
After flying for 11 hours we finally arrive in Hamberg.  We only stopped once in Amsterdam.  After spending 20 minutes in line for EU immigration, we hustled of our butts from one wing of the airport, past a second wing  and then down to he middle of a third winf to hop onto a small KLM inter city plane for a short 30 minute flight to Hamburg.

Once we landed in Hamburg it took us over an hour to find out locate the teminal for the S-Baun (subway) from the airport to the city center.  Yup! Something that should have taken a few minutes.  Not the first time we've been that confused.   Once we found the location, we purchased our tickets (couldn't use a credit card because the vending machine wanted a PIN...which of course we don't have) we boarded the subway, made one transfer and road to Stephansplatz.  Easy peasy..if you exit correctly.  But not us.  We left via the nearest stairway which left us as far from our hotel as possible.  Another 20 minutes wasted.

Once checked in and found our room, we decided that all though we needed to take it a little easy, we also needed to revisit the subway to find out how to find the other lines, etc.  In doing so, we ended up at the Jungfermstieg station and walked the underground passage from there to the Rathus station (U3 line) where we surfaced to see where we were (you lose track of your surface location when you're moving around like a worm) and to see what was close by. Two interesting finds.  The St. Peters Church and the Hamburg Town Hall.  When it started to rain, we decided to head back to our hotel and an early dinner at the Hofbräu Hamburg Beer Hall just a stones throw from the front door of our hotel.

After that it's an early night to sleep away the 9 hours of jet lag we've accumulated and our bodies are feeling.

Day -1 (Saturday - August 24) Our first full day in Germany  On Our Own 
Today we'll try to fit in as many sites as we can.  Our plans include the Miniatur Wunderland (minature museum), International Maritime Museum, and a visit inside the Splichherstadt (the warehouse district).

Day 1 (Sunday - August 25)   On Our Own 
Before we meet with our tour group for the first time (in the late afternoon), we have a number of places we'd like to cross off our site-seeing list.  The first is the Fischmarkt followed by the statue of Bismmark and we finish with St. Michael's Church.  


Itinerary Day 1    
Day 1 (Sunday - August 25) Welcome to Germany (Starting the R/S tour)
We'll meet at 4 p.m. at our hotel in Hamburg for a "Welcome to Germany" meeting. Then we'll take a neighborhood walk to get a feel for this prosperous, progressive city and get acquainted over dinner together.  Light walking: 2–4 miles throughout the day on mostly level terrain. No bus. Sleep in Hamburg.


    Itinerary Day 2
Day 2 (Monday - August 26) Hamburg's Old Town and Harbor
Today we'll begin with a walking tour of the historic core of Hamburg, including the resilient St. Nicholas Church Memorial, where we'll learn about "Operation Gomorrah" — the allied firebombing campaign that devastated the city in 1943. Then we'll stroll through historic Speicherstadt to the stunning new Elbphilharmonie concert hall and hop aboard a boat to see the city's massive modern harbor. When we return shoreside we'll set you free for the afternoon/evening to explore more of this impressive port city.  Moderate walking: 2–6 miles throughout the day with some hills and stairs. Boat: 1 hour. No bus. Sleep in Hamburg. 

Day 2 (Monday - August 26)  On Our Own 
On our final afternoon in Hamburg we decided to visit a very unique attraction...a WWII Flak Bunker.
 
  What We Learned Subways S-Baun & U-Baun
Friday, August 23, 2024
Subways in Hamburg are basically the same as those we have ridden in London, Paris, Rome, etc.We had no problems gettting to all the sites we visited. There were occasions where we had to switch between the various lines but that's really easy and straight forward.
  1. We bought a single day ticket to get us from the airport to our hotel.
  2. We brought a Hamburg card for the two days we were on our own since it gave us full transportation and disounts for several of the sites we visited.  Was it more cost effective...maybe?
  3. R/S Tours gave us a one day pass on our last day in Hamburg.
  4. Subways in Hamburg operate on the honor system.  That is to say, that you don't have to validate the ticket when you first use it.  They are active from the time you buy it and good for 24 hours from that point.  We were never asked to to prove we bought a ticket.
  5. In most station the platform for the subway in both directions was between the tracks so you simply to find the station you want and then pick you direction once on the plateform.
  What We Saw St. Peters Church
Friday, August 23, 2024


 Background from Wikipedia 
With its location on Mönckebergstrasse it marks the highest point in Hamburg's old town at 9.48  m above  sea level . The pedestrian passage on the east side of the church is called Bei der Petrikirche .

The 132-metre-high church tower can be climbed via 544 steps up to a height of 123 metres and offers a good overview of Hamburg's city centre through portholes.

The Protestant congregation currently has a few hundred members. Around 300 people work in the service of the congregation, as pastors, social workers, choir directors, craftsmen, etc., the majority of them on a voluntary basis.

St. Peter`s Church
St. Peters Church
Mönckebergstraße,
20095 Hamburg
   
 
  What We Saw Hamburg Town Hall
Friday, August 23, 2024
We returned to the town hall to see if we could go up into the tower. But it turns out that there's no elevator and there's no way that we're walking up there.


This second group of pictures were taken duing our group walking tour (more below).  Patricia eplained to us about the statuary on the fron tof the building and how it hows that while royalty is given a place of prominence (lower down between the windows), oridinary citizens were placed above them to show that they actually mattered more.

Hamburg Town Hall
Hamburg Town Hall
Rathausmarkt 1
20095 Hamburg
      
 
 
  Where We Ate Hofbräu Hamburg
Friday, August 23, 2024
After doing some sightseeing our 1st day when we stayed very close to our hotel for dinner period we went to the local beer hall, which is a short distance from our fron tdoor.  It was a great choice.  We both had German dishes finished off with an apple strudle topped with ice cream.  Our first meal in Germany filled with yummy German food (clearly a favorite)

We had an interesting discussion with a waiter.  Since win the late afternoon, well before the dinner hour, we were wondering when they would get busy that evening.  He said they were busy in the evening but not like it is from Octoberfest on (the start of their busiest time of the year).  From then on he said it gets very crazy.  They have as many as 1200 guests in an evening.  That's a lot beer. 

Monday August 26th - We tried to find new place we hadn't already been to for our last nigh in Hamburg. But having traveled around the entire block south of our hotel, we gave up and went back to the Hofbräuhaus. It a good choice the second time around.  We both ordered different items and enjoyed them as well as the first.  Still recommended.    


Hofbräu Hamburg
Esplanade 6
Esplanade 6, 20354 Hamburg
      
 
 
  Where We Ate Hotel Alster Hof (Yup... our hotel)
Saturday, August 24, 2024
We ate all of our breakfasts at the hotel.  They did a great job with a large varied select of both hot and cold foods.  Eggs (both scrambled and hard/soft boiled), bacon, various cold cuts and fruits including some delicious cut up fresh pineapple.  There were also a good selection of bakery iem (breads and rolls).  Yup, a very good hotel breakfast.


Hotel Alster Hof (Yup... our hotel)
Esplanade 12
20354 Hamburg
Tel: 040/350070
FAX: 040/35007514
         
 
  What We Saw Miniatur Wunderland
Saturday, August 24, 2024
First let me cover a wonderful surprise we received when we arrived.  We had read that you could get advanced tickets for a specified time and you'd basically be able to walk in shortly after you showed up.  We immediately went online (weeks before our trip) to reserve our spots.  Wrongo!  For the 24th of August the only time we could reserve was at 7:00 in the morning.  Come on! There is no way that's going to work.  Remember this is our first full day in Europe and we are still jet lagged! So fine we decided we'd just get up a little early, have our breakfast and get over there as early as we could, knowing fully well that we'd be waiting as much as two hours because we had no reservation.  That was the plan and that's what we did.  We got there shorlty before 9:00am.  To our utter surprise we were 3rd and 4th in line...less then a 15 minute wait!  Yup! A wonderful surprise!

So on to what we saw.  You can read the information below which does a good job with the "numbers" but what it doesn't cover is the WOW factor!  There are two large floors in two building which are covered (well actually about half the floor space is covered (there has to be room for the visitors).  When they say a picture is worth a thousand words.  With that in mind I've limited the pictures to about 10,000 words.  You should get a good sense of of the Wow factor!  Oh one more thing, click the picture in the in-line slide show to switch to full screen walk through mode.


     
           

Airport in operation


 Background from Wikipedia 
The Miniatur Wunderland (German for: "Miniature Wonderland") is, according to Guinness World Records, the largest model railway system in the world. It is located at the historic Speicherstadt in Hamburg and is one of the most popular and most visited sights in Germany.
The exhibition includes around 1,120 digitally controlled trains with more than 10,000 wagons. The Wonderland is also designed with around 4,300 houses and bridges, more than 10,000 vehicles – of which around 350 drive independently on the installation – 52 airplanes and around 290,000 figures. The system features a recurring day-night lighting cycle and almost 500,000 built-in LED lights. Of the 7,000 m2 (75,347 sq ft) of floorspace, the models occupies 1,545 m2 (16,630 sq ft).

Miniatur Wunderland
Kehrwieder 2/Block D
20457 Hamburg, Germany
      
 
  What We Saw International Maritime Museum
Saturday, August 24, 2024
You wouldn't think a private collection could make a good museum. But this museum goes a long way in proving that caa be true.  The collection  covers nine floors.  We were advised to start on the ninth floor and walk down. Great advice. It's a lot easier walking down the nine flights rather then walking up them.  



 Background from Wikipedia 
The Internationales Maritimes Museum Hamburg (abbr. IMMH, International Maritime Museum) is a private museum in the HafenCity quarter of Hamburg, Germany. The museum houses Peter Tamm's collection of model ships, construction plans, uniforms, and maritime art, amounting to over 40,000 items and more than one million photographs. It opened in a former warehouse in 2008. The private collection was started in 1934 by Peter Tamm—former chairman of the board of the Axel Springer AG—when Tamm was six years old. As Tamm retold the history, the initial event was when his mother presented him his first model ship

International Maritime Museum
Koreastraße 1
20457 Hamburg, Germany
Tel: +49 40 30092300
      
 
  What We Saw Fischmarkt
Sunday, August 25, 2024
The early (it starts at 5:30am...but we didn't get there until 8:00am) Fischmarkt (named after the location not really a market place for fish) is a fascinating combination of food wagons (some selling fish), produce wagons (more on these below), and a flea market with people selling jewelry, tea shirts, hats, clothing, magnets, toys, plants/flowers and you name it...lining both sides of what used to be the fish market right along the edge of the Elbe river.  The area had to be several miles long.  There were thousands of people looking for deals. There was even a band playing in the Pavillion (aka beer hall) which reminds you of a mini October fest.  Everyone was having a great time seeking out bargins. 

Oh Yeah! About the produce wagons. They're pictured below but you need a description.  The vendor lined up bags (paper, cloth, plastic) along the front of the stage and then filled them one item at a time with various types of produce.  When a customer was happy with the contents of a bag they would agree on a price with the seller and off they went with their purchase.  This went on the entire time we were at the market!

Would we recommend it?  You bet! It is definitely unique.


  
 Background from the Website 
Every Sunday morning since 1703 Hamburg's most traditional market has been trading in just about anything and everything that isn't nailed down.  A legend and a must-see for all visitors to Hamburg: Since 1703, pretty much everything that is not bolted down has been traded here at Hamburg's most traditional market. From dusty porcelain jugs to a chirpy family of ducks, you can find just about anything in the shadow of the 100-year old fish auction hall.

Fischmarkt
St. Pauli Fischmarkt 2
20359 Hamburg
      
 
  What We Saw St. Michael`s Church
Sunday, August 25, 2024
We were hoping for a great view of the city. St Michael's is the place to go to do that. There are however 42 steps you have to climb before you can get onto the elevator so it's not straight up the elevator.
 Background from Wikipedia 
St. Michael's Church is one of Hamburg's five Lutheran main churches, one of the most famous churches in the city and is considered to be one of the finest Hanseatic Protestant baroque churches. The church was purposely built Protestant unlike many other Hamburg churches. It is dedicated to the Archangel Michael. A large bronze statue, standing above the portal of the church shows the archangel conquering the devil.  The 132-metre high Baroque spire totally covered with copper is a prominent feature of Hamburg's skyline and has always been a landfall mark for ships sailing up the river Elbe.

St. Michael`s Church
Engl. Planke 1
20459 Hamburg, Germany
      
 
  What We Saw Otto von Bismark Memorial Statue
Sunday, August 25, 2024
While we were looking down from St. Michael's steeple we noticed this statue off in the distance.  I've included the picture I took from the steeple (it's the last one in the series).  Obviously, if you can see the statue easily from that height/distance it must be large. Yup! Sure is.  In one of the pictures (although it's a little hard to see) Linda is standing at the base of the statue. As I said...very large. You'd think the size and location of the statue (alone in it's own park) would mean that von Bismark is very much revered.  But the area around it and the base of the statue in particular is in very bad condition.  One of the sites I just read says that 13 million Euros has been set aside to provide badly needed maintenance on the statue, the structure which holds it and the park it in.  How the mighty have fallen.



 Background from the Website 
Well visible from the port region of Hamburg, on a hill in Alter Elbpark, a 14.8 metre-high statue of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck was erected in 1906. Together with the base, the monument weighs a stunning 625t and reaches a height of 34.3 metres. The Iron Chancellor’s head alone measures a good 1.83 metres - while he’s wielding an 8 metre-long sword. 

The Bismarck memorial is surrounded by far-reaching catacombs. They were decorated with elaborate murals that show Prussian motives and the Chancellor’s quotes.  During the war years, tourists and residents found shelter from air-raids in the catacombs. One of these attacks did damage to the monument, allowing water to enter the foundation. Renovation works are still unavoidable. 

Otto von Bismark Memorial Statue
Alter Elbpark
 
 
  Where We Ate Gasthaus an der Alster
Sunday, August 25, 2024
This is our first dinner together.  We spent the time getting to know each other and sharing information about ourselves.  Starting with names and home towns, we then moved on to our travel history and why we decided to see Germany.  The food was great (although far more than we normally eat) and everyone enjoyed the evening.  A great start to a great trip.


Gasthaus an der Alster
Ferdinandstraße 65-67
20095 Hamburg
      
 
  What We Saw Group Walking Tour
Monday, August 26, 2024
One our first full day in Germany, our group met outside our hotel for a walking tour with our tour guide Patricia.  This is standard operating procedure for a Rick Steves tour, i.e., a walking tour to introduce us to the area (usually within walking distance of) where we're staying.  For those in our group who hadn't arrived early, it was an opportunity to plan the rest of the day.

 
  What We Saw St. Nicholas Church Memorial
Monday, August 26, 2024


 Background from Wikipedia 
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. It was designed by the English architect George Gilbert Scott.  The bombing of Hamburg in World War II destroyed the bulk of the church. The removal of the rubble left only its crypt, its site and tall-spired tower, largely hollow save for a large set of bells. These ruins continue to serve as a memorial and an important architectural landmark. The remains of the old church are the second-tallest structure in Hamburg. In 2005, an elevator was installed to a 75.3-metre-high (247 ft) platform.

St. Nicholas Church Memorial
Willy-Brandt-Straße 60
20457 Hamburg, Germany
Tel: +49 40 371125
      
 
  What We Saw The Speicherstadt
Monday, August 26, 2024
We passed by the warehouse district on our way to the Elbphilharmonie.  We actually visited one of the warehouses when we went to the Miniatur Wunderland which is houseed in two sections of the old warehouses.



 Background from Wikipedia 
The Speicherstadt (City of Warehouses) is the largest warehouse district in the world where the buildings stand on timber-pile foundations, oak logs, in this particular case. It is located in the port of Hamburg – within the HafenCity quarter – and was built from 1883 to 1927.The district was built as a free zone to transfer goods without paying customs. The district and the surrounding area have been under redevelopment for many years as the port industry has evolved. The Speicherstadt was awarded the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site on 5 July 2015.

The Speicherstadt
Brook
20457 Hamburg
   
 
  What We Saw Elbphilharmonie
Monday, August 26, 2024
After our walk from the hotel by St. Nicholas  and the historic Speicherstadt (warehouse district) we made our way to the Elbphilharmonie concert hall.  While there is a lot of controversy about the addition of the concert hall portion of the building to the former warehouse that makes up the base (it took a lot longer then planned AND the cost overrun was 5 times he original estimate) I doubt that anyone is sorry it was built.  The pictures we took aho a beautiful view of the river and the marine community up and down the river.  You have an opportunity tow walk around the entire buidling so there are some shots of Hambur as well.  A great visit. a recommended use of tyour funds and time.



 Background from Wikipedia 
The Elbphilharmonie (Elbe Philharmonic Hall) is a concert hall on the Grasbrook peninsula of the Elbe River.  The new glassy construction resembles a hoisted sail, water wave, iceberg or quartz crystal resting on top of an old brick warehouse. The project is the result of a private initiative by the architect and real estate developer Alexander Gérard and his wife Jana Marko, who promoted the project for 3.5 years until the City of Hamburg decided to develop the project by itself. It is the tallest inhabited building in Hamburg, with a final height of 108 metres. The Elbphilharmonie was officially inaugurated with concerts of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and a light show on 11 January 2017.

Elbphilharmonie
Platz d. Deutschen Einheit 4
20457 Hamburg, Germany
Tel: +49 40 3576660
      
 
  What We Saw Boat Tour
Monday, August 26, 2024
Our final group activity of the day was a boat tour of the Hamburg Harbor.  Hamburg is one of the busiest and important harbors in all of Europe.  Our tour was narrated by our guide Helge.  It's a much different perspective from the tour boat then simply walking along the shore or even the balcony of the Opera House. 

We started by going into the inner harbor (Binnenhafen) in amounst the old warehouses.  We learned that they were now being used by a host of businesses (including the Minature Museum we visited ...more above), offices, and appartments.  Out into the harbor we were treated to a close encouncter with a Cosco cargo ship.  We've all probably seen pictures of these ships, but getring close-up really brought home their huge size.  Not something you can see from the shore.


 
 
  What We Saw Nazi Flak Bunker
Monday, August 26, 2024
On our final afternoon in Hamburg we decided to visit a very unique attraction...a WWII Flak Bunker. Unfortunately, the only way to get to the observation level was a very long set of stairs. So the only photos we have are of the outside.  But that wasn't really our goal. We just wanted to see the bunker up-close. We first caught site of the bunker while on the steeple of St. Michael's.  Getting close to it was well worth the trip.  Wow! It is huge.  Now imagine the labor (allbeit slave labor) which it took to build it.  Every yard of concrete had to be mixed and then hailed to up it's final placement.  Remember the walls are 1.5 feet thick and 125 feet tall.  That's a lot of concrete to mix and hail!



 Background from Wikipedia 
In response to the Allied air raids on Berlin, on 9 September 1940 the Führer ordered the construction of anti-aircraft towers in Berlin , which was extended to the cities of Vienna and Hamburg by the end of 1942 to protect them from bombing raids. Hamburg became a target of Allied air raids during World War II , partly because the city was home to several large shipyards which produced many of the German submarines. The anti-aircraft towers were designed by the architect Friedrich Tamms under the direction of Albert Speer with the use of thousands of foreign and forced labourers.

The high-rise bunker on Feldstrasse was built in 1942 by 1,000 forced laborers in 300 days. It was armed with  four 12.8 cm Flakzwilling 40 guns. The Flak Tower IV is one of the largest bunkers ever built. The base measures 75 meters × 75 meters, and it is 38 meters high. The walls are 3.5 meters thick; the ceiling is five meters thick. Windows were installed and sealed with concrete seals. Although the capacity was limited to 18,000 people, up to 25,000 people sought shelter in the bunker during the heavy air raids on Hamburg in the summer of 1943. There was a special stroller entrance for women with children. 

Nazi Flak Bunker
Next to U3 Feldstraße
 
 
  Where We Stayed Hotel Alster Hof
Nice hotel.  Great location. There's a subway stop just down the street and there are a good selection of restaurants close by.  The room was spacious and the air conditioning worked well.  This was going to be an important theme on the entire trip! Oh yeah,...great Internet, also an important theme.  
  

Hotel Alster Hof
Esplanade 12
20354 Hamburg
Tel: 040/350070
FAX: 040/35007514
         
 
 
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