Hamburg, Germany (June 28-30) - Euro Adventure 2024
- Stephanie
- Jun 30, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 26, 2024
It always amazes me how quickly you can move from country to country once you've crossed "the pond." We said our goodbyes and left London early the morning of June 28 and were seated at a lakeside "beach club" in Hamburg by noon, awaiting the opportunity to surprise my Swedish sister's son for his 30th birthday!
Gesine (See SIDE NOTE in Seeking the Sun on the Emerald Isle - Euro Adventure 2024) and I had planned that she and Vincent and girlfriend Victoria would be walking by a Hamburg bar and "run into" Chris and I sitting there. We had all the details worked out. Then our flights landed in Hamburg at the same time, so we feverishly texted one another - "Let's connect going through passport control," but they have EU passports and went to a different area, "Let's connect on the S1 train into town," but Chris and I couldn't figure out how to purchase the appropriate train ticket fast enough. In the end, we stayed with "bumping into each other" at the lakeside bar.
From the train terminal, they went to their hotel to check-in, while we sought out a shaded table at ALEX in the Alsterpavillon overlooking the beautiful Binnenalster, one of two artificial lakes within the city limits. A short while later, Gesine, Vincent and Victoria came strolling toward the hoststand. I ran up to meet them and escorted them back to our table. Vincent was shocked and surprised. It was a great birthday present. We sat at our table and enjoyed refreshing cocktails and appetizers before walking to the harbor next door and boarding a tour boat that provided the history and information on surrounding landmarks, IN GERMAN, of course. We were in Germany after all. Fortunately, Gesine gave us the highlights in English!
From there we all returned to our respective hotels to freshen up and change clothes before meeting up again and attending a performance of the Lion King. We grabbed a quick snack along the river near St. Pauli Piers before boarding the ferry across to the Theater im Hafen (musical concert hall with a view). Although it's a Disney production, Germany does not allow performances in their theater houses in English, therefore, again, we listened to the play IN GERMAN. Luckily, the Lion King was a favorite of Chris's kids growing up so he knew most of the lyrics to all the songs IN ENGLISH!
The following day, Vincent and Victoria set out to explore on their own, Chris was under the weather and spent the day recuperating, leaving Gesine and I to connect. We met in front of the Hamburger Rathaus (town hall) in Old Town, a beautiful baroque building from 1897 that today serves as the seat of the local Hamburg government. From there we walked to Planten un Blomen (Plants and Flowers) Park, enjoying a refreshing spritz while we shared stories of our lives.
Gesine and I met Vincent and Victoria at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg (Elbe Philharmonic Hall), the tallest inhabited building in Hamburg, for some incredible views of the city. The glass construction of the hall which resembles a hoisted sail, wave, or iceberg, sits on top of a 1963 warehouse near the historical Speicherstadt (warehouse district).
Hamburg's City of Warehouses, built between 1883-1927, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the river Elbe, and is considered the world's largest warehouse district where the buildings stand on timber foundations, oak logs in this case. It was created within the Port of Hamburg as a free zone to transfer goods without paying customs. Carpet production, cocoa, coffee, tea, spices, electronics and maritime equipment pass through this port.
Later that evening, we officially celebrated Vincent's birthday in the heart of Hamburg's Old Town, when we reconvened for a classic Austrian meal at Tschebull Restaurant | Beisl | Bar. The restaurant sits on the second floor of an exclusive shopping arcade featuring cowbells and edelweiss motifs on the ceiling and along the staircases.
The next morning it rained. We had a quick coffee at Junge Die Backerei (bakery), near the main train station, and said goodbye to our Swedish family. We spent the remainder of the day wandering the city and taking in the sights before enjoying a last meal of pizza near our hotel. The next morning we headed back to central station and boarded a train to Berlin!
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