Sweden Bound: Hamburg

In early December, John and I and two friends started a trip to Hamburg, with a focus on going to the well known Jul (Christmas) Market. But there was a bad storm, and although we could get part of the way there, we had to turn back.

What happened: There was a lot (!) of rain and wind coming from the west. The water in the canal surrounding Malmö was ~ 3 1/2 feet higher than is typical. One way to get to Hamburg from Malmö, which is the way we planned, is to take a train to Copenhagen, switch trains, and then travel southwest to the water's edge - where the train gets on a ferry !!! (I know!!) - the ferry crosses to Germany, and then on to Hamburg.

Well in December, the wind was so strong that the water level was too low for the ferry - because the water had been blown east - which I find shocking - and we could not cross. We were refunded the money for the train ticket, and were given credit for our hotel, so we took the trip in late February.

When the train gets on the ferry, everyone must get off the train and get onto deck of the boat. This is a fast picture I snapped while walking along the train to get back on as we approached Germany.

Note - Do not take a picture of food without asking permission.

Sales persons can get rather nasty about it...

Uhh, this just doesn't look good to me. It looks raw...

Below is St. Peter's Church:

For more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter's_Church,_Hamburg

The three pictures below are from Hamburg's beautiful city hall, or , "Rathaus".

What is interesting about the picture below, is that we had gone to a very nice department store (I do not think I saw anything under ~250 Euros). There was a new line of clothes being promoted. Rather than a fashion show, the store had the clothes displayed on racks, and was serving wine, champagne, and small desserts, with a DJ playing (heaven help me!) techno music. Anyway, we got a kick out of the fact that the alcohol was being generously served to the general public.

Can one say enough about German Sausage? The answer is "No!!"

If you have never tried mayonnaise on your French Fries, give it a try. Yes, really.

I love French Baguettes, I love Swedish whole grain bread, which is similar to the roll pictured below, but I have to say, the German bread you see here, is the best bread I have ever had.

Below: Inside the Hamburg train Station.

The Fish Market.

Honestly, not for me.

One goes early, as the fish market, on some days, opens as early as 4 AM.

One can get a variety of items: fish, baked goods (though be smart - I bought a roll that was so dry, I ended up throwing it away), flea-market stuff, produce, and seafood. There is a music hall with full bar which is open very early in the morning. So at ~ 8:15, we were disappointed to find a hall full of middle aged (20ish aren't up that early on a Sunday morning) people drinking and swaying to the music of a mediocre rock band. Some were drunk enough that they were having trouble standing.

Not high on my list of places to recommend.