My views do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.
Sunday, December 2024 to January 2025
I had high hopes that the Christmas markets would still be up the Sunday after Christmas – but alas, they had disappeared. I had been warned that Germany shuts down on Sundays (Sundays is a day to focus on families rather than shopping), but I was not going to let that get in the way of my adventure!
The first Sunday after Christmas, I checked out and checked back in at the front desk, moved to my new cabin and then took a three hour nap. It felt so good. Feeling refreshed, I took the shuttle into the town center, pulled up Google Maps and looked for a German restaurant that was open. One was just around the corner from the shuttle stop!
I was in food heaven. But I wasn’t ready to go back to the ship just yet, so naturally I ordered a different beer.
Then I asked myself: “If I were in Germany, but not on a ship, what would I do?”
I started Googling things to do. I found a tour of a chocolate factory that wasn’t available for a couple of weeks – that sounded fun! So I booked it. Later that week a guest said that they had gone to the Miniature Wonderland Museum (home to the largest miniature train display with mini replications of places from all over the world) and that it was fine, but what she really enjoyed was the Dungeon Tour – she said it was so fun. So I booked that for the next Sunday!
The next week I moved cabins again and set out early. I found the Dungeon with enough time for a stop at a coffee shop.
The Dungeon tour exceeded my expectations. It was so fun. A small group of us were shuffled through different historical scenes where actors fully committed to making us part of the experience. We had to escape from the Great Fire of Hamburg, one of the guests was put on trial and threatened with humiliation and torture, we found ourselves in a hall of mirrors, we crashed a pirate ship and ended up on a ride that dropped us like the Tower of Terror in Disneyland (though not as high). It was 90 minutes and absolutely worth the ticket price.
Well now what? I still had the whole afternoon to enjoy Hamburg so I searched google for a self-guided walking tour.
The first landmark to find was the train station.
It was amazing. This was where all the open shops in Hamburg could be found. I loved the vibe.
Behind the train station I found another traditional German restaurant, Nagel.
I loved this place even more!
When I went back outside to find my way to the ship it was snowing!
The next week I went on the chocolate tour which has so many pictures I’ll give it its own post.
The Sunday after that I set out to find a “Water Castle” that the guest lecturer had mentioned. I didn’t know what a water castle was, but I wanted to see it! When she mentioned the water castle, my brain pictured a castle made of water. It turned out I wasn’t alone with this association (when I mentioned the water castle to others), but it is actually just a castle on the water. Which makes sense. I searched for the Water Castle on Google Maps…
And this is where it took me! I wasn’t entirely sure that this was the place I was meant to look for, but after stopping to take a picture of it on a tour bus and going by it on a boat (on tours of Hamburg I would go on later), this is, in fact, the famous building.
I considered going there for lunch but it was just a little more fancy than what I was in the mood for.
So I googled German restaurants that were open, and I found one… that was closed for a private function. So I looked for the next one and I found this:
I went inside and they seated me under this staircase:
And I – obviously – ordered a German Beer.
I was having so much fun. This place was adorable. I loved eating schnitzel in Germany but I was thinking it was about time I had a Hamburger in Hamburg! I thought I ordered one but then this arrived:
It looked disgusting. I figured out that Hamburger is also the word used for something that is from Hamburg- so this is a traditional Hamburger dish, but it is not a hamburger (as in a meat sandwich). I took a bite and it was delicious. It turns out that I like pickled herring and I already knew I liked pickles. The potatoey stuff tasted like hash (I know it looks like mushy raw meat, but it’s more like mushy potato- really creamy and full of flavor. I was so pleased and entertained.
I had seen this apple cake at the counter when I came in so I had to try a slice – it did taste as good as it looked.
The next week I took a four-hour shore excursion. The first stop was at a marina for some free time.
I called my friend Andi and looked at the boats. Later, I would take a boat ride from this very marina with my friend Peter. I would also walk from the ship into town by way of the Elbe tunnel, which ends here.
We drove through the neighborhood where the Beatles earned their chops. There were some Beatles statues on the street. I decided I would come back to get a closer look at these places one day – which I did!
Our next stop was to visit the Widow’s houses. These buildings were little apartments that had survived the war, where widows could stay (and I think they didn’t have to pay rent). They had their own space but were also able to be part of a community where they could support each other.
On the main level of the widow’s house she had a tiny little kitchen:
The stairs were steep and narrow:
And the widows must have been tiny in those days because the beds were very small:
Someone later told me that people were afraid of dying in their sleep, so they would sleep sitting up – which explains the short beds.
Up another set of narrow stairs was a parlor:
The view from the window:
Outside the widow’s houses there were little mirrors so the widows could see what was happening on the street from inside.
Across from the widow’s houses was a Jack in the Box
The bus took us through some really pretty neighborhoods and around the big lake- places that I had definitely missed when I had done my exploring on my own. I found myself blissed out and thinking that Hamburg is so lovely and I would love to come and see it in the Spring when everything is green, and not on a Sunday when more things would be open. I started getting ideas for my next vacation – I could come to Hamburg and while I was there, I could go to Berlin, which I’ve been trying to get to for years, and since I’m in the neighborhood, I would obviously have to see my friend Rose in England and then stop by the East Coast, since it’s just right there on the other side of the water…
Then our final stop was at the town hall:
Instead of returning with the tour, I opted to take a later shuttle bus back to the ship so that I could finally eat an actual hamburger in Hamburg. This time I made my search more specific. I found a place called Burgerlich!
The burger was meant to be a double patty but I selected a single one. It was tiny! I forgot I wasn’t in America! The combination of flavors was delicious and the sparkling apple cinnamon lemonade was refreshing with a surprisingly unique taste that I really enjoyed.
What a relief – I was worried I wouldn’t be able to accomplish this mission.
And as for Hamburg – I’d be back the next Sunday too!