Four-hour train ride takes visitors to Germany’s main harbor city -- Hamburg

By Anemone Rueger

U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden Public Affairs Office

WIESBADEN, Germany -- Like it’s twin city of Chicago, Hamburg airs your mind with gusts of history, culture and architecture around every corner.

The windy city on the Elbe River is just an hour’s drive from the North Sea in the northern part of Germany.

The city’s history lures tourists around every cobblestone turn and then makes them stare down at the harbor to watch ships, ferries and the big bright balloon moon that comes up behind the harbor cranes.

Arriving from Wiesbaden and hungry from a four- hour ICE trip on the early train that cost just 80 Euro (for a round-trip ticket) booked a week in advance with a 25 Bahn Card at the local train station, it’s time for breakfast with a water view.

Walking down Moenckeberg Strasse, Hamburg’s equivalent of Wilhelm Strasse for Wiesbadeners, make a right turn, and the Binnen Alster, a large square lake surrounded by historic buildings, is at your feet. The Alex Café offers a breakfast buffet for € 6.90; a windy view is included.

Just across the street, dive into Hamburg’s labyrinth of boutiques and galleries, exquisite book stores and restaurants all separated by water and connected by numerous bridges. Enjoy some time in the place where the treasures of international trade were brought to the harbor city in centuries passed.

Hamburg has been amazingly well restored after World War II when 80 percent of its houses and much of the harbor, the heart of the city, were destroyed.

Hamburg is a city with big history and big presence. Daring modern architecture is found next to artful historic buildings. The Rathaus, the richly ornamented city hall, is hard to miss. Just across the square the swans on a side arm of the Alster River are posing for tourist pictures. If you’re lucky, you can catch the Swan Father of Hamburg, who comes out daily to feed the birds. On the bridge heads and bicycle stands nearby, youngsters are challenging gravitation, jumping all over the place with their bikes.

Also on Moenckeberg Strasse is the Levante Haus, the posh representational building of a historic trade organization with the big flying elephant over the entrance.

Need a break for coffee? Stop by the Kaffee Roesterei for an unforgettable aroma.

Feel like an afternoon of art? The widely visible Kunst Halle by the Bahnhof or the Bucerius Kunstforum by the Rathaus are some starting points.

Now with the day in full swing think about buying a Tageskarte, a day pass that costsa little more than € 5 at any local subway stop.

As the train comes up from under the earth just in time to afford you a breathtaking view of the harbor, you might realize why it’s called “Hochbahn” – an elevated train.

In Chicago, the massive iron construction carrying the city trains along or just above street traffic the “CTA.”

The great news is that the Tageskarte is also valid for the water shuttle taking you on a rocky boat ride along the docks, ocean carriers, shipping companies and trade representations. Get off at Museumshafen and enjoy a picturesque walk along the river promenade with its beautiful houses which resemble the Russian czars’ winter residencies on the Crimean Peninsular.

When the weather is warm, the Hamburg equivalents of the Hessen beer gardens on the Elbe River are swamped with happy people.

But the real dining experience is in the Portuguese quarter. Back at the harbor, just cross the street from the Hochbahn and down Ditmar-Koel Strasse two dozen Spanish, Portuguese and Italian specialty restaurants welcome weary wanders with tables full of original tapas and good glasses of red wine.

A second day in Hamburg begins with a leisurely walk along the Grosse Alster, big sister of Kleine Alster. While walking along the alley of international consulates, the sailing boats shining in the sun make for picturesque photographs. The other option would be to take one of the boats starting at Kleine Alster in downtown, for instance the historic boat parked next to the Alex Café.

A tour of Hamburg would not be complete without a visit to the “Michel,” the St. Michaelis Church on Ludwig Erhard Strasse in the southern neighborhood of Neustadt. The Michel serves as the city’s landmark and is represented on many Hamburg souvenirs.

For a few Euros take the elevator or climb a couple hundred steps up one of Germany’s most famous baroque churches and be rewarded with a breathtaking view at the top.

And for a good meal of curry wurst, the Edel Curry on Grosse Bleichen Strasse nearby is said to be the best in the republic, offering a good dozen different sauces.

If the magical harbor is still beckoning for some exploring, don’t miss the opportunity to get on a boat tour through the fascinating labyrinth of waterways that leads through the many storehouses in the “Speicherstadt” – memory town. In the northeastern part of the harbor is the largest warehouse complex in the world, more than 100 years old.

Hamburg claims a rich history not only for storing and moving goods around the world but also serving as the gateway to a new and better life for countless people.

From the mid 1800s to the mid 1900s, almost five million emigrants, mainly from Eastern Europe, left the Old World through the Hamburg Harbor to escape economic plights and pogroms.

On the San Diego ship parked at the main harbor promenade, see historic marketing posters for the Hamburg – New York Line and an impressive bilingual exhibition on Hamburg‘s emigration history called “A Suitcase Filled with Hope.” Read about individual stories in “The Emigrants” by Gerd Fuchs.

For a more “alternative” side of Hamburg, check out the Sternschanze quarter. The subway right into the middle of an area full of bars and cafes where younger folks hang out. For example, you can find great falafel and Middle Eastern music on Beck Strasse.

For dessert, give the day a perfect finish with a free classical music and light show at the fountains in Planten un Blomen Park in the northern part of Hamburg every day at 9 p.m.

For more information on the city of Hamburg, check www.hamburg.de.