It is not often that you fall for a city over a weekend, but I did for Hamburg. Not because of any touristic attraction, but for the perfect blend of every element!

Be it the port and the fish market, be it the restaurants and bars, be it the blend of architecture around, be it the amazing lakes, be it the world of miniature wonderland, or be it the pub culture, Hamburg got me head over heels with the vibes. If I had to point out one thing, it would be the freezing cold wind! But I was happy to pay that price by wearing n-number of clothing layers all the time! Also thanks to my friend from school Suman, for being one of the best guides for the city!

So here I begin my quest for presenting you Hamburg with my photographs! 🙂

That’s the beautiful Hamburg Rathause (City Hall): seat of the local government of the free and hanseatic city of Hamburg.

This street is special. Because the churches lined up from left to right are: Finnish (yes, it does have a sauna inside), Danish, Norwegian, and German. Again Kudos to Suman for exploring this!

The only city hall with comparable beauty in Germany is of Munich I guess.

Here comes the part of the city that reminded me of Venice.

All I wanted was a Gondola!

Nevertheless, this is actually the Hafen City.

Hafen City of Hamburg is the largest urban redevelopment project in Europe by landmass. It involves urban regeneration of new hotels, shops, office buildings, and residential areas.

So it is common to find very contrasting architectures across the river sides.

That’s the entrance to the Old Elbe Tunnel (Alter Elbtunnel) which dates back to opening in 1911 for pedestrian and vehicles to cross the river. 80 ft beneath water, this 1,400 ft long tunnel was a technical sensation. It was meant to connect central Hamburg with the docks and shipyards on the south side of the river Elbe. With advancement in other bridges over time, the traffic has reduced. But the tunnel is fully operational even today.

The project was criticized because of its cost which was originally estimated to 200 million Euros, while the final cost went unto 900 million Euros. It was inaugurated only beginning of 2017 and is a common scenarios that tickets are sold out here atlas 1 year in advance. Recently I also stumbled upon this article called: What happens when algorithm design concert hall! Yes, that’s true.

We went up to the top of Elbphilharmonie for some amazing views.

It was interesting to find the bridge right below Elbphilharmonie named after Gandhi!

That’s the Gothic Revival Church of St. Nicholas which was the was the tallest building in the world in the 18th century. What remains now is the memorial after World War II destroyed the bulk of the church.

Finally self-timer mode was on and we have a picture together! 🙂

The beautiful Hafen City across the peninsula edge of Elbe river from top of Elbphilharmonie.

The Hamburg port, also known as the “Gateway to the World” (Tor zur Welt) is the second-busiest port in Europe after Rotterdam in Netherlands.

Hamburger Hafen (Port of Hamburg) by river Elbe is about 110 kilometres from its mouth on the North Sea.

We had an amazing sunset by the port in a bistro eating some good fish.

Yes, we were near the fish market.

The world famous Hamburg Fish market is indeed an event with the variety and freshness it offers by the port.

This is a typical Sunday morning view at the fish market. From dusty porcelain jugs to a chirpy family of ducks, you can find just about anything in the shadow of the 100-year old fish auction hall.

Not just cozy cafes and fish houses, but Hamburg seemed to be the paradise for so much variety of food. Also thanks to Ana for this amazing brewery where we had a good time beer-tasting.

Talking about cold, it was the worst by the lake. But then I managed to observe things around, which I would have never managed to unless the lake was freezing!

The Alster is a tributary of Elbe river. In the medieval times, a dam turned the Alster river into a water reservoir to power the mills operating on its banks. This shaped the face of central Hamburg, as it is now made up of two amazing lakes: Außenalster (Outer Alster) and the Binnenalster (Inner Alster).

With the freezing lake, I sit down and watch the sunset for a while!

The pieces of floating ice in real seemed to intensify the golden dusk!

The beautiful Hamburg Port in low light looked amazing!

And that’s St. Pauli which is the nightlife heart of Hamburg. The first time I was here, it was difficult to realize that I am not in Amsterdam. The pub-culture and the night-life is absolutely extravagant here, and by far the best in Germany atleast.

Situated by river Elbe up north, this second largest German city remains very close to my heart! 🙂

More blogs related to Hamburg: The Island of Sylt: -10° Sunshine!  and Miniature Wonderland (coming up)