Sunday 4 June 2017

Our last day in Hamburg. I read about random terror attacks at London Bridge station - very sad. We had our last breakfast at the Radisson Blu, and then checked out and left our suitcase.

The Beatles famously performed in Hamburg in the 60s

We took a U-Bahn and walked to the Hamburg Museum, which was very badly signposted - we got lost in a park. On arrival, we had a coffee and then saw the musical instruments on display. We also liked the exhibits of 20th Century Hamburg life. They had a typical student room and a display about the Beatles in Hamburg.

Colourful flowers in the park near our hotel

After that, we walked back through the park Planten en Blomen with its birds and colourful flowers. At our hotel, we had a beer in the bar and then took our case and walked across the road to Dammtor station. We took two S-Bahns to the airport, via Berliner Tor.


We checked into our Easyjet flight, and had time for a baguette with cheese and a glass of wine. Our flight was on time and full, and we returned safely to Zurich and took the train home. A successful short holiday!

Saturday 3 June

By the canal with its working locks - we saw a rowing boat come through

Raining. Breakfast was very busy but we had a nice cereal, banana, scrambled eggs etc. Then I wrote a few postcards before venturing out into the rain. I only had my skimpy jacket but Richard had his nice new jacket/jumper, and we had one umbrella between us. 



We walked to Stefansplatz station and took the U-Bahn to Jungfernstieg. From there we walked to the Post and bought 6 stamps - a painless process compared to on some holidays.We stopped for coffee by the canal and saw the locks in action, and then walked along the Colonnaden, trying to keep dry. We had soup for lunch at Hier 1st, a nice cafe.

Under the Colonnaden we kept dry

Then we took trains to Kunsthalle. We headed upstairs to start at the top floor where we saw art from the Early Renaissance, German Masters, Italian and Romantic art (Casper David Friedrich) and a few Impressionists. Afterwards we took the bus to Stefansplatz and walked back to our hotel for a rest.

The famous painting by Friedrich

In the evening, back up to the High End bar for a Weissburgunder Rheinhessen. We had booked dinner at Brasserie Flum for 8pm. We walked there via the Dammtor station, and ordered a meal. Service was very slow and they mixed up my order and brought chicken instead of steak au poivre. Eventually we got the right main course and for dessert I had a creme brulee.

The famous Reeperbahn in Hamburg - quite respectable now

Then we took trains to the famous Reeperbahn, the original Red Light district. We managed to find a place to sit outside and got a beer. The street was full of groups of women on hen nights and was quite noisy. We left at 11.30 and were home by midnight.

Friday 2 June, my birthday

The view from the harbour cruise was fascinating

A sunny day. We had a nice breakfast of muesli, fruit, orange juice, coffee and scrambled eggs on toast. On the news we saw that Donald Trump has rejected the Paris Climate Change agreement. He's a dangerous fool. I had lots of Facebook messages with birthday wishes, including an early one from Matthew and Sarah, plus others from Laura, Dave Cowans in Australia, and many other kind friends.

Enjoying the sun on the harbour cruise

We spent the morning on a Harbour Cruise with HADAG. The views of the Elbe on both sides were very interesting. We noticed all the container ships on either side of the river, and saw the Elbphi again. Afterwards we strolled along the river towards Fischmarkt. It was closed but we looked inside the harbourside building. Then we had a drink and lunch at Eier Carl - too much mustard on the food, but nice beer.We took a ferry back one stop, all included in the Hamburg Card, and returned to the hotel by train and U-bahn.


After a short rest we explored the gardens near our hotel, part of Planten en Blomen. Lots of flowers and wildlife, including a cormorant. Back in the room we got ready to go out for dinner which we had booked beforehand.

On the terrace of Anna Sgroi - slow service but lovely food

First we had a drink at the High End bar on the 26th floor of our hotel. We had Sekt. Then we took a bus to Anna Sgroi, a restaurant in a pleasant residential street.

We sat on the terrace and ordered the set 5-course menu and an expensive Riesling, GG Fritz Haag, which was very delicious. The meal consisted of an amuse bouche of avocado and prawn, then carpaccio of sea bass with diced pepper, then chickpea ravioli with langoustine (I gave that to Richard), followed by turbot (Steinbutt) with white asparagus, and then a nocette of Wagyu beef in gravy with small onions and artichoke petals. The service was VERY slow. For dessert, which arrived when it was getting dark, I had nice rhubarb and sponge with ginger ice-cream. Richard had four cheeses.

We returned home by bus again. This time, the driver checked our Hamburg cards.

Thursday 1 June 2017, Elbphilharmonie

The Elbphilharmonie is a new landmark in Hamburg

Our first morning in the Radisson Blu. We had a late breakfast and watched BBC News about the UK election campaign. Then we set out to take the S31 to the Hauptbahnhof, where Richard bought a jacket from a sports shop, as it was cooler than expected. Then we took the U-Bahn to Baumwall for the Elbphilharmonie.


First we took a cross-river ferry and got off at Landungsbruecke. We did a tour of the museum ship Rickmer Rickmers, built in late 19th century. It was very interesting to see the three decks with the sleeping accommodation and the command post. We had good views of the harbour at the mouth of the River Elbe. Then we had a nice beer (Astra or Alsterwasser) before lunch of tuna salad.

Richard beside the old naval ship Rickmer Rickmers

We then returned to the concert hall stop. We asked about a tour and ended up getting two tickets for that night's concert! Very lucky. We would be able to see and hear Beethoven's Triple Concerto and the 8th Symphony.

Then at 2pm we had a tour of the Plaza level, with views all round. Very interesting. Afterwards we returned to our hotel via U- and S-Bahn and had a rest.

Inside the crowded Elbphilharmonie for the Beethoven concert

At 18.00 we headed back to the recently opened Elbphilharmonie. First we had a snack of three tartines to share and a glass of Austrian red wine at the cafe opposite. In the concert hall, we had to climb to Bereich F Level 13 to find our seats. We had a good view of the whole hall.


We heard the Festival Players of Luzern
playing a Beethoven Trio for violin, piano, cello and orchestra; in the second half it was Beethoven's 8th Symphony. Very enjoyable music, and we had a glass of Penfold's Red in the interval. Then back to the hotel by train using our Hamburg cards.

Arrival in Hamburg

Wednesday 31 May

We took the train to Zurich airport for our Easyjet flight to Hamburg. It would be our first visit. Very warm and muggy in Switzerland. I hope we've brought the right clothes!

We enjoyed our lunch at the Upper Deck - I had chicken and veg with a glass of Chardonnay. Then we headed to our gate.

The German  white wine was excellent

We arrived in Hamburg, Germany, at 16.30. We had a long walk to collect our suitcase. Not all the escalators worked - seemed to be a common problem. We bought a Hamburg Card 5-day ticket for 41.50 euros each and took the S1 train to Berliner Tor and then the metro to Dammtor, near our hotel.

We were staying at the Radisson Blu, which as often is the case had building work outside. Our room was on the 23rd floor, with a good view into the distance. Then we went outside to explore the streets near the station. There were police cars around and the sound of a demonstration, so we dived into a wine bar - Der Bocksbeutel in den Colonnaden. We had a white wine from one of the special bottles. We discovered that the wine bar was called Bacchus, Die Frankenwein at Colonnaden 54. The Bacchus Trocken was delicious.

We discovered these iconic wine bottles in our Wine Discovery group

Then we strolled around and ended up at an Italian place, La Prego. I had pork with gorgonzola with a red Montepulciano (there are no decent German reds). The meal came with chips and salad.

After dinner we headed back to our room for a good sleep. Couldn't get anything worth watching on our TV.