Another trip report.

We left our home and little Simba in the capable hands of Tati. We headed for an overnight in Bologna where we left the car. 

Tuesday 13 October
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We took the shuttle to the airport. Our flight on Austrian Air was this time in business class. Our first time doing that for an intra-Europe flight. The best part is that we could use the lounge. I had a cappuccino and croissant. In the Bologna airport the coolest thing is the business lounge has its own security line. No waiting. Nice.

We flew to Vienna where we had the shortest connection I ever had outside of one business trip connecting in O’Hare. We landed and my heart sank when I saw we were on the runway. Stairs down, bus ride to terminal. I looked at my watch. Five minutes until they closed our gate. They did know we were coming because our flight attendant told us what our gate was. It was a very long walk in the same terminal. They have no people movers and it was 27 gates away. I used to be a runner. But no more. So all I could do is put my head down and walk. We made it but I didn’t like it.

We had a meal because…business class. It wasn’t bad and I was hungry. We landed in Hamburg one hour and twenty minutes later. Got our luggage and grabbed a cab. It was a slow traffic clogged ride into the city. 

Our hotel, Nikolai Hotel, is right in the middle and on a canal. There are a lot of canals and a river in this city. It is a major port. After a rest we checked out the bar prior to dinner. I am not a cocktail drinker but this bar is very heavy on them. So I tried a dark and stormy. I liked it. 

Dinner was in Avelina which was actually abutting our hotel. Good reviews and a tapas place.  We like to try ethnic food when we are in a big city. We will be in the country after this and will have plenty of German meals. Avelina was good. Owned and run by Spanish people. And I saw at least two Spanish speaking families there. The food was good but much larger than traditional tapas. 

Wednesday 13 October
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I woke to part sunshine. I hadn’t noticed we were across the canal from the tall spire we had passed in the taxi. I looked it up. It is the St. Nikolai memorial. It is a very tall spire that was formerly a church spire. We will visit it tomorrow.

This was our day to explore parts of Hamburg. It was 12C “feels like” 8C. (53F feels like 46). First we breakfasted. It was a good spread plus eggs made to order and today, pancakes. We headed north of our hotel stopping as we liked along the way. We aimed for the Rathaus (town hall). We came to the St. Nikolai Memorial I mentioned before. The spire, and walls were all that were left of the church after the allied bombing in WWII. There was an amazing array of bells low down on the spire.

We arrived at the Rathaus. Really impressive with a large square in front of it. There were tons of (rambunctious) children all along our walk. I assume there are schools nearby and there were obvious field trips. We went into a shopping mall. Luther needed new shoes and he likes ECCO. We got a new pair for him. I was on the lookout for a pair of reading glasses. Finally found some in a supermarket. 

We decided to break for lunch in a little Cafe Pizzeria. We had sandwiches. Tonight we have planned a dinner out so we didn’t want to fill up. Not a great lunch but ok. 

We got caught in the rain on the way back. We took shelter for a while, while a patch of blue sky headed our way. Finally it quit and we scurried back to the hotel. We

When we got there we were surprised to see the canal completely empty of water. Big muddy! I knew it was tidal but didn’t think the water would go totally away.

It was a good day. Not exciting but fun to see a new city. And we walked almost 8,000 steps. 🙂

We went to dinner at Wohler’s. It was a German place but known for its mussels sourced from Sylt, one of the northern islands. The mussels were delicious. As always the courses, even the small plates I chose, were just too big for me. I enjoyed the place. It was small and packed. The noise level from the conversation was high. The waitresses earned their money for sure. 

On the way to dinner our taxi driver was very talkative and all about US politics. He did say, in the past, everyone in the world looked to, and respected the U.S. as the beacon on freedom and democracy. Through, Clinton, Bush, Obama, no matter the politics. He was sorry and afraid. I said. Imagine if it was YOUR country. I’ve lost my country. I never thought it would be possible I told him.

Thursday 15 October
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Big day. We traveled to Bremen on the train. I should mention the fact that the city of Hamburg, and the city of Bremen were both free Hansiatic cities. The Hanseatic League was a medieval trading confederation of medieval merchant guilds and market towns, dominant roughly from the 13th to the 16th centuries across Northern Europe. Some cities keep Hansestadt in their official names and a few have special status. Hamburg and Bremen are just two of them. We will also visit Rostock, Straslund and Wismar which are all Hansiatic cities. The License plates in Hamburg are HH — Hansiatic city of Hamburg.

Bremen was a charming town. Not too big. A compact center. It takes about an hour to get there from Hamburg. We walked the 18 minute walk to the Altstadt.  The first thing we came to was a flower market set up around one of the two churches. We visited the first church with one big, fat steeple. Inside the organist was practicing. I love to hear organs in churches. The acoustics are amazing. Then we went through the little village of wooden houses that, when open, sell junk and food. Most were closed. I imagine they open in the evening. We came upon the bigger church with two big, fat steeples. It also had the big chorus of bells.

We went in search of the statue to the Bremen town musicians. It is a folk tale gathered by the brothers Grimm. Here is the story.  

There were four farm animals who had worked hard all their lives and had outlived their usefulness. They would soon be killed by their owners so they each left. Eventually they met up and decided to become musicians. Bremen was a free city so they were headed there when it got dark. They saw a house with the lights on and went to the window. The donkey had the dog on his back, and the cat was on the dog, and the rooster was at the top so he could see in the window. There were a band of robbers inside gloating over their loot. So the musicians began their first concert. The robbers were frightened and ran away. The animals moved in and marveled at their luck. But later the robbers tried to return. The donkey was inside. The dog in front of the door, the cat on the mantle and the rooster on the stairs. When one robber came in he saw the gleam of the yellow cat eyes. Frightened he moved and the dog bit him. The cat scratched his face. The donkey kicked him and the rooster yelled into his hear. He ran away proclaiming there was a witch inside and the robbers never returned. The animals never got to Bremen. They lived out their lives happily in the cottage. 

We found the statue. It was darling. The donkey had a very shiny nose and front feet. According to the legend, you will have good luck if you grab both front feet of the donkey. His nose doesn’t give good luck but people still touch it making it very shiny.

We went into the Schnoor which is the oldest part of town full of pretty alleys and tiny streets. It wasn’t crowded with tourists. That was nice. Our restaurant was called Olymp. Traditional food. And it was. I had delicious tomato soup and then a dish of pfifferlinge which are mushrooms, scrambled eggs and bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes). Way too much for me. 

As we walked back through the Schnoor I snapped some pictures of the pretty buildings and small streets.

We wound our way back for our ill fated train ride back. We found our train was 15 minutes late. We went up to the platform, gate ten.  Long story short, the train was on platform nine. We missed it and waited another hour. Finally getting back to Hamburg at seven.

We stopped at a supermarket for sandwiches and walked back to the hotel. We walked 12,000 steps. Almost seven kilometers. Way above my activity level!

Friday 16 October
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Our final day in Hamburg dawned bright and sunny. We had a leisurely breakfast and walked south this time, toward the docks. 

I wanted to see the UNESCO world heritage site of the blocks and blocks of historic brick warehouses along the many canals — the Speicherstadt. Our hotel is actually at the edge of this district. Right around the corner we found a group of very old six story, brick buildings. They all had many windows. The one that had a date carved into it was built in 1603. It survived the bombings which was in itself amazing. These buildings typically have very narrow staircases inside. If you wanted to get furniture into any room above the ground you had to lift it up using the built in winch at the top just under the roof eaves. My picture shows it.

We next went to the Elbphilharmonie. The concert hall. It is built right on the water across from the forests of cranes servicing the container ships. The bottom half of the concert hall is brick. The top is all glass. It has a wave-like roof line. Like the sea, or maybe sails. I can’t say it is beautiful like the Sydney opera house. But it is unique.

By now it was lunchtime. We had a place in mind called Fleetschlösschen. It was a very small, old free standing building by a canal. We wanted to try the fischbrötchen. Fish sandwiches. The place was plain, no frills. They had beautiful photography on the walls of the surrounding area in black and white. There was also a beautiful wrought iron spiral staircase inside, to the bathrooms. 

Thoroughly sated we headed back to rest. 

We went down to the bar for a drink before dinner. I wanted to say goodbye to Fernanda our favorite bartender. But sadly, she was not there. She knows about this blog so I will say goodbye and wish her a really good vacation in Thailand and a great life. 

Dinner was at Maison Mai. It was a fusion place. We had the Asian tapas. A selection of five between us plus noodles. It was tasty but I missed any spice. 

When we left it was pouring rain. I had seen it might rain so we both had rain coats and I borrowed an umbrella. It was ok except for the deep puddles. My shoes and pants got soaked. Back to the hotel for our last night. I must say Nikolai Hotel was very comfortable for our four nights. We had a suite so that helped. 

Tomorrow we leave for the northern coast on the Baltic Sea. The region is called Mecklenburg. Stay tuned for part two.