Hamburg – the Aura of Faraway Places

Hamburg -  the first things that come to mind are the city‘s stunning location on the Elbe and Alster rivers, the impressive harbour, St. Michael’s Church (the city’s landmark), the 110 meter high „Elphi“, and non-stop entertainment in the St. Pauli district where the Beatles once performed. The over 1,200-year-old Free Hanseatic City is Germany’s second-largest metropolis with around 1.85 million inhabitants and also Europe’s third-largest port.By Helen Cleary

Close to 13,000 ocean-going vessels from all over the world arrive every year and each and every ship above 500 BRT is welcomed from sunrise to sunset with its national anthem and a short message in the appropriate language at the Willkomm Höft. A harbour tour is the best way to get an impression of the imposing docks. 

Hamburg is Germany’s greenest city with half of the surface made up of either green spaces or waterways, and 14% of the city given over to recreation areas. Hamburg boasts 2,302 bridges, more than Venice, London and Amsterdam combined.

The magical aura of faraway places is still very much alive in the century-old Speicherstadt located between the Deichtorhallen and Baumwall. It is the world‘s oldest warehouse complex built at the turn of the century in red brick, typical of northern Germany, with gabled roofs and small towers, which are beautifully reflected in the canals. Today, as in bygone days, merchandise from all over the world - coffee, tea, cocoa, spices, tobacco, electronics and Oriental rugs - is stored here.

While the city is full of majestic buildings, Miniatur Wunderland (the world’s largest model railway) is full of must-sees on a miniature scale. Travel the world from South America to Bella Italia to Scandinavia in just a few steps. The USA, Switzerland, Austria, France and Monaco can also be found here. The Harz Mountains, with a seemingly endless ICE high-speed rail line and more than 130 trains, are also on display. The exhibits were made by more than 300 employees in over 990,000 hours of detail work. Visitors can also watch the model-building team in the workshops.

Downtown Hamburg is a paradise for shoppers. Glass-roofed malls and exclusive boutiques on the elegant Jungfernstieg promenade make every shopping spree special. Here you can find almost everything your heart desires.  Failing that there is always the fish market, Hamburg‘s oldest, most traditional open-air market, dating back to 1703, where (very) early birds can purchase virtually everything from crawfish to crockery.

Since November 2016, Hamburg has had a new landmark: the Elbphilharmonie concert hall (Elphi for short) with breath-taking architecture and equally exciting performances. After the concert, you can quench all hunger and thirst in eateries on three floors while enjoying a magical panoramic view over the harbour. What better way to end the evening.