You Go Nate!

BUSY Day in the BIG City

How does it feel to sleep deeply, waking up to the sunlight creeping past the curtains, and then not remembering where you are? I know you've had the feeling. That's how I awoke this morning. Then slowly it dawned on me where I am and that I have the entire day to explore the city.

I had a pleasant breakfast buffet here at the Bee Fang Hotel (it's Chinese, but I keep picturing a saber-toothed hornet), then I headed out into the town.

The weather was cold but sunny and clear......


I first headed towards the Elbe Riverfront hoping to get a few good pictures. Hamburg was bombed quite severely in 1943, but some structures survived, others were re-built as they looked before, and most were demolished so there are now a great many modern buildings in the city.

One of the most interesting places is the Elbe Island where there are canals cutting narrow paths through the towering warehouses on either side.

One fun thing to do is to go church hunting. I see an old spire poking above the skyline and I head towards it, catching interesting sites along the way.

One of the first churches I visited was St. Michaelis Church. I ponied up a couple of euros and climbed to the top of the spire for a look. On my way up, the Noon bells began to peal. I was able to catch a glimpse of the din-making. I even got some footage....



From atop the tower, I had a great view of the city....


I was quite tired after all my walking and the long ascent so I took a pew in the church and rested a spell. There was a young school class taking a field trip through the church. I was sitting towards the back as they were led by one of the church people to the front and around the altar. Someone played a short piece on the organ. That was nice. Then the church man led the kids in singing a song as he played the guitar. OK, this is the 21st century, guitars are common in churches these days. He talks to them for a while, telling them a story or something. I'm not paying attention. Next thing I know I look over to see the church guy giving horsey-rides to some of the kids! He's galloping around with a kid on his back! I wondered if this was part of the combo ticket: pay a little bit more and you can climb the spire, visit the crypt, and get a horsey-ride around the altar.

The next church to visit you can see in the photo above as the big dark one in the center: St. Nikolai. This church was bombed to ruin in WWII, but the spire remained. Instead of rebuilding the rest of the church, a memorial was installed within the crumbled walls. An elevator takes visitors to the top.

Here's the spire....


And here's my enthusiastic elevator ride to the top (I've gotta get my two euros worth)...


I was tired so I went to a mall and ate a late lunch then headed back to the hotel. I rested for a bit and then went out again to the waterfront to get some sunset pictures of the city...



I like Hamburg well enough, but I've decided that I want to stay in Munich if I can. It's funny how every city seems to have a "vibe" or a "feeling." I guess ABBA knew what they were talking about.

Tomorrow I will meet Sybille & Wolfgang in front of my hotel. Then I head off to the town of Lüssow, 100 miles east of here.

That's all from Hamburg, don't forget to check out some of the new pictures from today. And for heaven's sake, read the captions.