Wednesday/ Hamburg

[From Wikipedia] IMG_4720 smHamburg, a major port city in northern Germany, is connected to the North Sea by the Elbe River. It’s crossed by hundreds of canals, and also contains large areas of parkland. Its central Jungfernstieg boulevard connects the Altstadt (old town) and the Neustadt, passing Binnenalster lake, dotted with boats and surrounded by cafes and restaurants. Oysters and traditional Aalsuppe (soup) are local specialties.

I did the best I could with the day-and-a-half and rain/ freezing rain at times in Hamburg!  I will have to try to come back in summer some time, when the weather is warmer.   The HafenCity* area’s development continues, even after 15 years since it had started, and I would love to spend more time there when it had been completed.

*HafenCity is an urban center with many shops, restaurants, hotels and cultural venues as well as rising visitor numbers. More than 2,000 people now live in HafenCity as a whole; there are more than 5,000 students at the various academic institutions; upwards of 10,000 employees work in more than 500 businesses.  It aspires to generate and use clean energy and be a model for the new cities that will have to be built around the world this century.

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The Rathaus (Town Hall) of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is a spectacular work of art, inside and out. It was inaugurated in 1897.
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The inside of the main entrance hall in the Rathaus.
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This is the Alte Elbe Tunnel (the old Elbe tunnel), a tunnel that was completed by 1911 that runs under the Elbe river. It is still in use to this day : by pedestrians, bicyclists, and even the occasional car or taxi !
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Here is a car that had driven through the tunnel, and is entering the car elevator to get it up to street level. That HALT makes me think of the Berlin Wall and the World Wars!
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The U-bahn (and walking) was pretty much my only mode of transportation in Hamburg. In Copenhagen I used the bus much more, since there was a convenient bus stop right by the hotel. This is the train station at Ganzemarkt, on the U2 line.
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This is close by the Elbe Tunnel, stone construction on the river bank.
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An entrance to St Pauli U-bahn station, and by the Plante-en-Blumen Park. It was too darn cold, with an icy wind in the park! and so I spent very little time there.
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The U4 route goes to HafenCity Universitat, and the line and stations are much newer than the others. This green overhead light and color on the station changes to blue and purple .. and I would probably have seen more colors, if I stayed longer.
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A brand new truss bridge for cars and pedestrians at HafenCity.
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There are lots of stylish new office buildings and apartment complexes in HafenCity, such as this one.
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This building belongs to Anglo-Dutch multinational consumer goods company Unilever.

 

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Right next to the Unilever building, in HafenCity .. I think this is an apartment tower.
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The entrance to one of the two new U-bahn stations at HafenCity, called Überseequartier.

 

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No, it’s not a work of art (but it could be) .. lots of reflections on the way down to the U-bahn platforms of the Überseequartier station.

 

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