Weekend in Hamburg

Tia Cecilia, Hyrum, and Maria Andrea

We spent last weekend in Hamburg, visiting Hyrum's aunt and cousin.  (Why does Hyrum have an aunt in Hamburg?  The story I got was that when she was in her 20's she worked for an airline, so she did a lot of traveling.  She met her future-husband in an airport in Spain.  He's German.  Fourteen years ago, they moved with their daughter to Hamburg.)  We spent all of Saturday and Sunday running around Hamburg seeing things, and with our two tour guides to lead us around, we never had to look at a travel  book, map, or bus schedule.  That was certainly convenient!

We ate SO much food!  Hyrum was spoiled.  

The Rathaus (town hall) of Hamburg

There was a free in-door garden, which was a great excuse to ditch our coats and enjoy the 'warm' weather.  

Hyrum imitating nature.

A building taken over by hippies/homeless people. Apparently it used to be a nice theater, but the police can't seem to get it cleaned up.  You can see the mattresses on the steps. 

There's a tunnel that goes underneath the Elbe River that you can walk through.   It's half a kilometer long, and was built in 1911.

I couldn't find the name of this on Google, but there's a small alley you get into through a little doorway.  There are almost miniature houses where the sailors used to stay when they were not at sea.  They've been converted into small shops.  (Cecilia's husband worked on boats his whole life.)  

One of the small houses-turned-shops. 

Famous Lutheran church in Hamburg, St. Michaelis'.   Like most old churches, it's been destroyed and re-built many times over the last 400 years, but the most recent version was done in 1912.  Unlike the south-east where we're located, northerners aren't very Catholic, and seeing Protestant churches is more common. 

There's no lack of ships and water in Hamburg.  The city revolves around the port, and there are even public transportation boats (considered as lines of the subway system) you can ride to get around. 

Hyrum's model pose. 

HafenCity is a newly developed area with very modern buildings and apartments along the docks.  

More HafenCity.

HafenCity.

As much as I wanted ice-cream, it was SO cold already. 

And for Hyrum, no trip is complete without visiting the soccer stadium. (Imtech Arena.)

The drive home should have only been 6 hours, but took a bit longer since we stopped at multiple Ikeas.  :)  Luckily we were able to find all the things we wanted!  And luckily they were all right off the freeway.