We flew back to Hamburg from Gdansk and we didn't want to lose any time. The sun was still out, so we thought every new place was a great chance to see more. We headed straight for the metro. Sunny moments are very important in a city like Hamburg. We wanted to reach the city center very fast. It was exciting to go from quiet Gdansk to the busy and modern port of Hamburg. Once we arrived, we followed the signs toward the City hall or the Rathaus. Along the way we passed through passages that were partly under construction. We could see the Rathaus tower from a distance. The lights made the sky look like a starry night. Everything was very elegant. Because it was Sunday, all the shops were closed.
The Rathaus building is very pretty and special. It shows why people call Hamburg the Venice of the North. The building looks amazing, but there was construction work everywhere. Even so, the building is wonderful. Its tall tower looks like a lighthouse in the sky.
The building is huge and the ground under it is very soft and wet. So builders used more than four thousand oak piles to keep it strong. The statues of various emperors in the niches of the facade ad both historical weight and an authoritative elegance. However realizing the winter sun was about to leave us, we knew we couldn't linger. We switched to express tour mode to reach our next stop. Hamburg’s famous canals were calling.
We headed toward the most photogenic spot. The Warehouse District or Speicherstadt. The signs said 750 meters, but on Hamburg’s roads that distance feels like 7 kilometers due to the icy ground. There was a beautiful basilica along the way, but reaching it required trekking through the mud. My shoes are supposedly high quality trekking boots, but they completely betrayed me on the ice. I was waddling like a penguin, out of breath, just trying not to fall. 😄
Then we reached Hamburg’s most famous modern landmark the Elbphilharmonie. The crowd along the waterfront was quite dense. This is one of Germany’s most iconic modern buildings. This large building looks like a giant wave or a sail. It sits on top of an old brick warehouse. It was very expensive and cost more than 860 million euros. The building is 108 meters tall and has exatly one thousand curved glass panels. Inside there is a main concert hall, a luxury hotel and residences.
Heading back toward the metro to end the day, we suddenly found ourselves in an old neighborhood. The streets were a bit messy, filled with graffiti, trash and signs like Sunny night or Top secret. We realized we were in a sketchy area. Honestly I love these contrasts in Hamburg. On one side a million dollar opera house and on the other, chaotic backstreets where life happens in all its rawness. After that we returned to our apartment.
We continued exploring Hamburg the next day. I’ll share the rest of my trip in my upcoming posts. See you soon.