Day 12 Hamburg

 After 11 straight days of rain, and another 4 in a row predicted for the Berlin area, I decided to change plans and take a train to Hamburg.  I got the train at the central Berlin train station which was pretty big.  Its got 4 separate levels, with trams on the top level and trains below.  The station also incorporates a shopping mall which was interesting to see.

The train itself was one of the high speed electric trains.  It was really nice.  Comfortable seating and very quiet.  Even the passengers were quiet.  No cell phones went off.  No music was playing.  Just peace and quiet.  

Here is a picture of the information screen inside the train.  Note the speed: 227km/h.  That's about 141 mph.  That's moving pretty fast; and super quiet.

I rode around Hamburg for about 3 hours before the rain started again.  Like most cities, there are some nice areas and then some not so nice areas.  There are 2 artificial lakes in the middle of Hamburg which are very nice.  Large enough for sail boats and motor boats.  Numerous parks around the lakes provide ample opportunity for city residents to get outside.

Tonight I stayed in a hostel.  My roommates were Nolan from California, Tuan from Vietnam and Alex from Russia.

Although the city is nice I'm itching to get back out in the countryside with quieter bike paths and quaint little villages.  That will start again tomorrow.

 

Hamburg.  2nd largest city in Germany (1st is Berlin).

Speicherstadt - considered the largest warehouse district in the world.  17 interconnected buildings with over 3.3 mullion square feet of storage.  Currently one third of all the world's carpet is produced in these warehouses.

Elbphilharmonie - Contains 2 concert halls, a music education school, restaurant, and a hotel.  Designed to resemble the large sail of a boat or a wave of water.

St. Michael's Church - built in 1669.  Has over 2500 seats.  Has a crypt containing 2425 people.

Beatles Platz - The Beatles played many small clubs in Hamburg before they became famous.

St. Pauli and Reeperbahn - Used to be exclusively the red light district but now contains many bars, restaurants, art galleries, clubs, theaters, and a carnival.

Planten un Blomen - Botanical park with great water show at night synchronized to scores of classical music.

Japanischer Garten & Teehaus - free to enter.