So Hamburg is located here:
Self-explanatory, right? If you don't know where at least one of these countries is for orientation purposes, then I'm sorry but you need a lot more help than I can offer in this blog post.
I don't know if you can tell, but that's pretty far North: 51 degrees North latitude, to be exact, about 2,000 kilometers further north than Ventura. It gets cold here. Ass cold, though not as ass cold as Scandinavia, even, because it's relatively close to the ocean. It doesn't even get a whole lot of snow, when compared to the southern parts of Germany in the Alps.
Anyway.
Hamburg has a history as a shipping center: it is often referred to as "The Gateway to the North" because of its proximity on the Elbe River. It is the third-largest port in the world, after New York and London, and services to send goods throughout locations along the Elbe. It is also a city that is proud of its shipping heritage: Hamburg was one of the original Hanseatic cities, a connection of merchant cities that controlled trade across Northern Europe. Hamburg maintained an independent status for centuries, and even today it isn't part of any other German state - Hamburg is one of three city-states in Germany, with government both at the city level and at the Bundesland level. (The other two are Berlin and Bremen) It is also the second-largest city in the country, with appx. 1.7 million people.
But enough of the boring things, here are some pictures!
The Harbor District is criss-crossed with canals. These buildings are all old factory and merchant buildings.
The Elbe River just outside of Hamburg. (from where my new job is)
View of the Harbor from atop a building in Altona, one of the city boroughs.
These guys can be found all over the city, painted different patterns/colors. (Berlin has something similar, but with bears)
See?
The Alster, a set of two lakes in the center of the city, is my absolute favorite part of town. It really is breathtakingly beautiful.
Like Berlin, Hamburg also has a TV tower.
Behind us to the left is the Rathaus, or city hall. The arches on the right are part of a ritzy shopping district.
Nikolai Kirche was destroyed during the air raids of World War II and left standing as a memorial. Hamburg was one of the cities most damaged by the war: over 43,000 people were killed in air raids and the resulting fire storm. As we walked around the church ruins, my friend Merle expressed her guilt over World War II, despite her having no responsibility whatsoever for its occurrence.
"For the sacrifices of war and tyranny."
The view of the Rathaus from atop the steeple of St. Nikolai Kirche. The dark coloring is partly shadows and partly blackness from soot left over from the air raids.
Unfortunately, it's always the dramatic things that inspire us to take pictures, and not the ordinary fun things that I think will make living in this city great. But I'll try to describe them... Public transit is developed and regular and makes navigating the city a breeze (although, to be honest, no city can hold a candle to the London Underground). Bakery chains are as common as coffee chains, and I definitely have to be careful about the sudden influx of carbs in my diet. There are countless pedestrian-only zones where people hang about and street performers play their instruments. In the summer, it is light from 5 AM to 10 PM, and everyone takes advantage of every ray of sunshine in the myriad of parks spread all over the city. Oh yeah, a city with green space! What a novel idea! (*cough cough* Los Angeles). Christmas Markets come alive in December, and the Dom (a summer fair) rises in the summer. And the music and nightlife go on until 5 in the morning.
Oh yeah, and it definitely helps that I already have friends here! Merle and Julia promise to take me out all the time once I move here haha.
That's it for now. Tomorrow I head off to Dresden and Munich, where I will once again by traveling alone for sight-seeing sake. Until January, Hamburg!
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