Willkommen in Deutschland!!

We spent June 20-23 in Hamburg, Germany so that Chris could audit a potential product supplier there.   The brief trip was an excursion into the unknown for us, as we dealt with a mega-language barrier in a city and country that we didn't know. Though my 2002 study abroad experience to Austria proved valuable in the German department, I only managed to remember basic greetings and a very minimal amount of vocab. Chris really couldn't communicate unless people spoke his language, which he definitely wasn't used to.  He enjoyed the adventure while it lasted, but I know he breathed a huge sigh of relief when he arrived in the London Gatwick airport and could read all signage again. :)

Hamburg is a wealthy and modern industrial city with an eccentric attitude.  It sits on the wide Elbe river (it is so wide it feels like a bay) in Northern Germany.  The city has a canal structure that is similar to that of Amsterdam.  Historically, the Hamburgers were tough traders and hustlers on their river.


Unfortunately,World War II Allied bomb attacks ravaged much of historic Hamburg.  A few historic buildings and churches survived the bombings, and they are gems, but modern structures and wide streets abound.  The wide planned streets reminded me of a home far away.

While in Hamburg, we watched CRAZY 'fussball' fans!!!  I have never seen sports fanatics so dressed up in team garb just to watch a game at their local bars!!  On the Friday night of our stay, Germany played Greece and beat them. We watched the game from the tv in our hotel room while our babe slept.  Every time the German team would score, cheers would erupt out of our window from the surrounding neighborhood.  When Germany won, car horns blasted for at least half an hour.  One would have thought it was a holiday. (FYI, Spain took the UEFA title last week).

 The busy Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (central train station).  Notice all of the global brands.

 Rare old Hamburg architecture that wasn't gutted by allied bombers in WWII.

 Cool door knocker.

A view over the Binnenalster (a large planned open-water area in the downtown).

The 'Hamburger Art und Spezialität' - Currywurst.  Currywurst restaurants are everywhere here. The stuff really doesn't taste much like art at all.  It's not exactly a hamburger either. :)

 

Chris liked the sign.

 Michaeliskirche - This is the crown jewel of Hamburg. Almost the entire neighborhood around this church was flattened during WWII.

View of the pretty Rathaus (city hall) from across the Aussenfleet.

Fun on a canal boat tour. (We didn't know that there were English translation pamphlets on the dock until it was too late. I guess that is what language barriers will do to you!!)

 Cuddles

 These homes sit on a canal and were original structures probably built sometime in the 18th or 19th centuries.  They are built in a Dutch style (we weren't that far from Denmark and the Netherlands!).  The one on the left is incredibly tilty.

 You can tell mom and dad were having fun :).

 Nappy dude.

 Meant to be?  Our boat.

 Irony of the day - we found this monument in a park. I was amazed that the Hamburg government would allow deviant youth to ruin such a significant sculpture. This sits on a hill above the Elbe river and was built to demonstrate German strength to those floating below. You can see just how massive this monument is by comparing it to Chris' height. He is standing above the grey stones. 

Farewell to Deutschland and the river Elbe.