I have been to Germany before, but only to Berlin. I feel like Berlin gives a little skewed version of Germany since it is so multicultural and urban with district architecture. I was excited when I heard that I would be going on assignment in Hamburg for three weeks to document the renovation of a cruise ship. We would be staying on the ships at the docks that were right at the edge of town. To access the town from the docks you had to walk through the Elbe Tunnel, a 1,398ft long tunnel 80ft below the surface of the river. This made for an interesting journey every time. The best way for me to get a handle on a new place is if I can get on a bike and pedal around. I managed to grab one from the hotel we first stayed at and then figured out how to use the city bike share program they had. It is a wonderful city to pedal around and easy to navigate. The architecture in Hamburg is pretty amazing with many old buildings and cobbled streets. The subway stations were all very thought out and different at each stop as well. The docks were also located directly next to the Reeperbahn which is the cities red-light district. We cruised around there some nights just watching all the shenanigans that happened. There was some decent cheap eats in that area as well, including doner kebabs which are some of my favorite things to eat in Germany. On every Sunday there is an open air market that starts at 5am called the Hamburg Fish Market. They sell everything from chocolates, fish, fish sandwiches, and beer for the people still up from the night before. We headed out to get there before the crowds on Sunday to grab some fruit and it is quite the show. People still drunk from the night before still drinking to older couples getting fresh produce for the week. One of my more memorable nights cruising the city on a bike was when I went to one of the main centers and saw there was a giant inflatable movie screen floating in the lake playing a black and white movie. I couldn’t understand any of the movie but decided to grab a sausage and ice cream and enjoy the rest of it. It was an enjoyable stay in Hamburg, I got a real feel for the city. And yes, someone from Hamburg is considered a Hamburger.
