Hamburgers

The engineer in me was totally fascinated
by the train being able to roll onto the ferry
for the crossing to Germany.

As every intelligent person knows, Hamburger refers not only to the delicious meal, but to a person who comes from the German city of Hamburg. In fact, in adjective form, it also refers to anything of Hamburg origin. Unfortunately, when one does not understand German and therefore cannot understand the words that follow 'Hamburger' on a restaurant menu, it is only natural to assume the item is something along the lines of two all beef patties special cheese lettuce onions on a sesame seed bun. Well, one is wrong.

One of many thousands of memorial stones laid in the
ground around Germany in memory of civilians
murdered during WWII. This one is outside the Patriot
Club and is for a Mayer

We finished off our weekend in Hamburg with a late lunch at a restaurant overlooking the surprisingly full beach (it couldn't have been more than a couple of degrees above freezing) just west of the city centre. It was along the city ferry route, and looked as nice a place as any for food (actually, it looked nicer than most, and we needed a break from the ice cold wind in our faces). Thinking we would complete out weekend with its namesake food, we ended up with some surprisingly delicious German broth - fatty soup with vegetables, meat and probably some other things I was unable to identify. So no hamburgers, but a nice local dish instead.

A memorial plaque on the wall of the Zyklon B factory

Much of our 2 day/2 night whirlwind trip was taken up with a pretty interesting walking tour of the city. The main points I got out of it was that Hamburg has more bridges than Venice, London and some other city (I knew I should have concentrated harder) combined. And that there was a major fire in 1842 which burnt most of the city to the ground. We walked past some pretty unique building downtown - many of them kontor (counting) houses set up by trading companies many years ago. Some taking up entire blocks, and all of them unique looking in their own way. The one on the right, apparently, is the most photographed building in Hamburg. It was built to look like a ship, and it does! With railings along the side at the top, the rather symmetrical shape, and the very pointy bow.
 

St Nicholas Church

Apart from the Great Fire, there were of course the two World Wars. WWII was most devastating, with around 70% of the city destroyed. Somehow, the Germans are super efficient and building up a city from scratch and making it look really good. However, in the middle of the city, St Nicholas Church serves now as a war memorial. It is a burnt out shell with not much more than the bell tower (used by the Allied bombers as a marker during the war) remaining. Although it provides a stunning view over the city, it is a telling reminder of the cost the Allies imposed on the Germans for what they did.

The Opera House

Most interesting for me, was the story behind the new (yet to be complete) Hamburg opera house. Set on the peninsula of the Hafencity. It is a spectacular looking glass building set upon an ugly old square red building. The idea is that it will become the symbol of Hamburg (like the Sydney Opera House is to Sydney). Unfortunately, it appears as though people involved in the contract to create the building received their training at the UN. Although the city thought they had a contract for the whole building, the company that won the contract thought the contract was purely for its design! Now, at least 2 years overdue and 6 times the initial contract, the hope is that it will be finished next year (or the one after...)

At the entrance to Herbertstrasse

Naturally, being a group of four guys, we spent one night out on the town. Hamburg is famous for its red light district. Interestingly, Hamburg's red light district (and the area around it) is also a major night-life area in general - with plenty of restaurants, bars, cafes and clubs. So after our potato based dinner (it was time for something other than wurst - or dirty sausage), we wandered around and were rather fascinated by the place. The Reeperbahn is the main drag, though most of the action seems to be in side streets. I have never seen such a high concentration of plainly dressed hookers (so much so, that I wasn't even convinced they were all hookers until I was propositioned). But the most fascinating street of all is Herbertstrasse. A street which one would think does not really fit in a modern, western city, in a country which is at the forefront of the EU. But here we were, at the entrance to a street which is barricaded at both ends such that you have to make a conscious effort to walk down it. And what's there? Well, around 150m of shop-fronts on both sides lined with hookers of all shapes, sizes and colours. Knocking on the windows, calling out at us, etc. Well, us and the other handful of people in the street at the time. It was all, well, a bit icky to be perfectly honest. One step slimier than Amsterdam...

The four amigos of the trip