A trip to Hamburg: Day 2

On our second day, we had a leisurely wake-up and enjoyed the breakfast buffet at our hotel/hostel. As part of the Ameropa deal, breakfast was included. Otherwise, it's 6 or or 7 euros.

After eating, we headed out to the Goldbekmarkt (UBahn stop Borgweg), a weekly market in the Winterhude district. Oh my goodness, was it ever lovely! The neighborhood is fantastic, filled with trees, a beautiful canal lined with Schrebergärten (allotment gardens for residents), and just a wonderful vibe.

The market is on the right, behind the canal. Isn't it a beautiful area?

Our next stop was St. Nikolai Church memorial. It was bombed during the war and only the spire remains, which is constantly covered in scaffolding, it seems. For 4 euros (we had the Hamburg Card discount), we took an elevator to a viewing deck on the spire. The views were impeded by scaffolding but we still got a look at the town. The documentation was interesting; it mentioned how Hamburg had been firebombed during WWII and that more people died there than those who did in Dresden.We also visited the museum, below the memorial. It was well done, a thoughtful documentation of life during and after the War.

Inside the museum.

Part of the memorial, the remains of the church.

After that somber experience, our mood was lightened by a strange sight: this car had no driver's side door! It was so strange and didn't look like a legal way to drive.

Recovering from that odd sight, we visited the Reeperbahn (which means "ropewalk," or area where ropes were made) in the St. Pauli district. Basically, it reminds me of Las Vegas and is the party area, red light district, and nightlife area all rolled into one. It wasn't really my thing.

Part of the district. Very Vegas-y.

I was a bit amused by their customized ATM sign.

We moved on to a neighborhood that I did love: the Schulterblatt ("shoulder blade"). It is a hip, creative, and crafty area that reminds me of the Friedrichshain area of Berlin or the Neustadt are in Dresden. We stopped by Herr Max for a sweet treat. I had a berry muffin with chocolate ganache topping. It was a disappointment, unfortunately; the muffin was super dense and a bit dry and the topping was just too sweet. I loved the vibe of the bakery though; it was super, super cute with a kitschy theme of Dia De Los Muertos skulls. I have a friend in the US who loves making sugar skulls so I was very fondly reminded of her during the visit.

Even the dishes on the wall on the left side have skulls painted on them!

 

We were quite tired after all of our gallivanting so we returned to the hotel for a nap before the highlight of the trip: the visit to Miniatur Wunderland. That will get its own entry as it was quite the experience! More to come...