UnDiplomatic Wife

  • About TDW
    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • AS SEEN ON
    • Collaborate
    • Policies
  • Diplo Picks
    • Diplo Beauty
    • Diplo Mama
    • Diplo Home
    • Diplo Tummy
    • Diplo Tips
    • Diplo Travel
    • Diplo Style
    • Diplo Baby
    • Diplo Inspiration
  • Living in
    • GENEVA
      • good to know
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • Berlin
      • Good To know
      • To Dos
      • food & drink
      • Shopping
    • MANILA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • JAKARTA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
  • TRAVEL DIARIES
    • Finland
    • France
    • Greece
    • Germany
      • BERLIN 2022 ITINERARY
      • Willkommen in Berlin
    • Indonesia
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Malaysia
    • Myanmar
    • Netherlands
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Spain
    • Singapore
    • Switzerland
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam

TRAVEL DIARIES: Hamburg Day Trip

September 29, 2013

A few weekends ago, I accompanied TD to Hamburg to attend a work-related event with his boss. It was a quick trip but we caught a glimpse of the beautiful city of Hamburg. Did you know that Hamburg has more bridges than any other city in the world, and more canals then Amsterdam and Venice combined? Hamburg has a lot to offer and we definitely have to come back to get a closer look. What intrigued me the most is the Elbe beach, which you’ll find after walking through a lush forested area. How amazing is that? Pictures after the jump!

This is a continuation of the post: My First Time on the German Autobahn.

The Catholic Church Kleiner Michel across from a Lutheran Church was under renovation.

01-day trip hamburg germany

Beautiful old buildings beside grand canals and Love Locks in every bridge.

Hamburg made the Guinness Book of Records as the city with four and a half thousand bridges. This is more than Venice, Amsterdam and London put together!

02-day trip hamburg germany-00103-day-trip-hamburg-germany-00204-day trip hamburg germany-003day-trip-to-hamburg   The Hamburg Rathaus or City hall is magnificent – more of a castle really. It took 11 years to build and was finished in 1897. It is where the senate (State government) and Hamburg Parliament reside. Open from 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. daily with regular guided tours and exhibitions in the Rathausdiele of the City Hall. To see what you can expect you can take a virtual 3D tour of the Hamburg Rathause HERE. Ah-mayyyy-zing! My mind was blown away when I “took” the tour!

10-day trip hamburg germany-009hamburg-rathause-city-hall09-day trip hamburg germany-008daytrip-to-hamburg

The market-square in front of the Rathaus is called the Rathausmarkt. There were food stalls that Saturday.hamburg-rathausmarkt

We went into the gorgeous courtyard “that reminds of a Piazza with its so called “Hygieia-fountain”. It is dedicated to the Greek goddess of health.”

hamburg-rathaus-courtyard

They also have this 3D city map in front of the Rathaus. I found it cool because the places with water, i.e. canals and lake, also have water inside them. TD’s boss explained that the blind can feel this “map” and feel the lanscape of the city of Hamburg through touch. How cool is that??? 15-day trip hamburg germany-014    08-day trip hamburg germany-007

The Swans and ducks on the Alster are well fed by tourists and residents. TD’s boss told us that these lovely creatures are specially protected by the city during winter. The ducks and swans have to be transferred from the lake and canals by the city government, because they can fall asleep in the water and freeze to death. Even as early as the 1200’s Hamburg was already taking great care of their swans.

In 1264 the senate of Hamburg enacted a law to protect the swans of the city. Hard punishments should be given if a swan was beaten to death, insulted, shot or eaten. A popular belief is that Hamburg will be free and hanseatic as long as swans are living on the Alster river.

hamburg-market-square-rathausmarkt

I long to sit in a cafe and browse the posh shops lining the Venetian style Alsterarkaden – if only we had time!

14-day trip hamburg germany-01311-day trip hamburg germany-010

Next time I would love to take a boat tour of the Alster lake.13-day trip hamburg germany-012 12-day trip hamburg germany-011

Coming from Jakarta, where we avoided tap water at all costs (even brushing with tap water is not recommended and it stings to open your eyes in the shower, and we had to keep your mouth tightly closed too!), it still amazes me that we can just drink from tap here.06-day trip hamburg germany-005We were really puzzled while walking around because there was something really strange about the pedestrian stoplights in Hamburg. Though there is only one green light, there are TWO red ones. I found only one source in the internet for the reason behind this. The writer even went so far as to write Hamburg Tourism to ask them about it. CLICK HERE to read his findings.

05-day trip hamburg germany-004

The Hamburg skyline is marked by fascinating old and new architecture. 16-day trip hamburg germany-015

I’d like to end this post with photos of our walk to the Elbe beach. The forest is quite dense and it was such a lovely walk. I regret not having my beach gear – I would have been perfectly happy to lounge by the sea.

17-day trip hamburg germany-016 18-day trip hamburg germany-01719-day trip hamburg germany-01822-day trip hamburg germany-021

21-day trip hamburg germany-020 20-day trip hamburg germany-01923-day trip hamburg germany-022

It was so surreal to turn around have have this scene of the sand fading into the lush greenery of the forest. 24-day trip hamburg germany-023

Hamburg deserves a second and longer look for sure. I hope we can schedule a weekend visit soon, while the weather is still good and we can enjoy the outdoors and feed the ducks.

GOOD TO KNOW:

  • Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany, Berlin being the largest. It is bigger than Munich & Frankfurt.
  • Hamburg has a world-renowned red light district, called the Reeperbahn.
  • It has the Germany’s biggest port – the second-busiest in Europe and only the third largest in the world, after London and New York.

Below are the sources of information for this post. There were times when I quoted them, but I’ve made sure to link these quotes directly to the sites they were taken from. If there are any errors in this post, please drop me a comment and I will try my best to correct them.

  • 36 Hours: Hamburg Germany – NY Times
  • Hamburg in 2 hours – Easy Hiker
  • Hamburg, Germany’s Window to the World – Europe Up Close
  • Hamburg, the City of Bridges – Amusing Planet
  • Hamburg Rathause – Wikipedia
  • Hamburg – Wikipedia
  • City Hall – Hamburg.de
  • Famous Bridges of Hamburg – GPSmycity.com
  • Seeing (Double) Red – Herein, Hamburg

3 Comments · Germany

Comments

  1. Angel marth says

    June 19, 2015 at 3:10 PM

    Nice pictures shared by you. Hamburg is one of the best place to visit. Nice information about Hamburg anyone can easily get all details of attraction, visited places in Hamburg.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. HAMBURG INFO: Driving in the Autobahn says:
    January 27, 2014 at 7:33 PM

    […] UPDATE: A quick post on our daytrip to Hamburg […]

    Reply
  2. Hamburg Tourist Attractions / Travel Guide / Tips / Blog says:
    June 25, 2014 at 6:55 AM

    […] HAMBURG DAY TRIP […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

READ MORE
 

LET’S GET SOCIAL

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

TRAVEL DIARIES: Fischer’s Fritz Zürich

Summer hack: Portable Neck Fan

Summer hack: Leguano Barefoot Wet/Dry Shoes

Excellent Chinese Food at Le Tsé Fung in La Réserve

AirPod Anti-lost Accessories Philippines

DISCLOSURE

I am an Amazon affiliate, but all opinions are my own. The content of all my blog and social media posts are products and experiences that I truly enjoy and I only work with brands that fit my life and style.

GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

Every year I add a little bit more to my Halloween Every year I add a little bit more to my Halloween decor collection so it’s not so heavy on the wallet. I’m so happy with this year’s finds & make sure to carefully store them so they have many more years of use.

It was @diplobaby’s idea to add googly eyes to the bats. So we did it together! I love the one eyed bats 🦇 and I love it when we decorate together! Definitely one for the core memory banks! 👻🎃🤍

I was tickled pink coz people would pass by and take pics, stare or even tell me good job. 🎃 Halloween is really my favorite holiday!

What do you think of our Halloween prep this year?

#udwhalloween
I couldn’t stop laughing! It was still a little I couldn’t stop laughing! It was still a little too long for him this year but we sure got a kick from it.

DM me if you want to know where to order!

#udwhalloween #diplobaby
VILLAGE PUMPKIN CARVING EVENT Every year I look f VILLAGE PUMPKIN CARVING EVENT

Every year I look forward to this event for families in our village. We also invite our friends outside the village coz it’s so much fun for families. Parents and kids can come in costume. It’s done beside a fabulous park so kids can run around and play.

The pumpkins 🎃 might be overpriced (the bigger ones went from chf 18 last year to chf 23 this year) BUT it includes the free use of NIFTY CARVING TOOLS, waste disposal, clean up & cute decor that the organizers have provided.

We draw together. TD removes the guts. Then @diplobaby & i do the carving together with our son and it’s a controlled way of showing him how to use the tools in a safe way. Which is something I appreciate in Europe.

One year we tried pumpkin 🎃 carving at home and clean up was a totally nightmare. Never doing it again!

Then when kids and parents are are hungry we can buy food & drinks. 

We go home with a carved pumpkin 🎃 & don’t have to do the clean up. The pumpkin guts are also turned into soup by the organizers.

It’s also a good way for parents to unwind, catch up while the kids play in the playground. We usually see our neighbors here too.

It’s a win win for everyone & it reduces unused waste. I love it so much!

We never did pumpkins before coz it would rot@so fast in Asia. But i  the past 3 seasons of doing this I’ve learned so many tips and tricks for pumpkin 🎃 carving - especially how to prevent molds and insects. Let me know if you want me to do a separate post on that!

#udwingeneva #udwhalloween #udwholidays #halloween #halloween2023 #halloween2023🎃  #pumpkin🎃 #pumpkincarving #pumpkincarvings #pumpkincarvingideas #diplobaby #diplofamily #expatfamily
Hi guys it’s been a while since I’ve posted ab Hi guys it’s been a while since I’ve posted about our #DiploHome.

This is our BALCONY/TRASH SEGREGATION AREA.

Because we use it to entertain in SPRING & AUTUMN (too hot & too many insects in summer) I made sure that the trash segregation remains AESTHETIC by using white @ikeaschweiz SEGREGATION BINS.

So far SWITZERLAND TRASH SEGREGATION in our experience is even more complex than GERMANY but it has led to at least 50% RECYCLING rate which is pretty good, even though Germany still has the highest rate of recycling 66%

Let me know if you want to know more about how we manage trash in our village.

#diplohomegeneva #whiteliving #balcony #aesthetic #aesthetic #whiteinteriors #whitebalcony #expatliving #expatingeneva #expatinswitzerland
Come visit @fcbarcelona SPOTIFY CAMP NOU MUSEUM wi Come visit @fcbarcelona SPOTIFY CAMP NOU MUSEUM with us!

- tour their cool museum
- see the former record holder before @leomessi who was actually PINOY 🇵🇭
- view the construction site of the new stadium
- check out all the merch
- see @diplobaby beat ROBOKEEPER

Definitely a highlight of our Barcelona trip!
This place is a must for any football fan and Messi fan! It is also home to many of the women footballers who won the @fifawomensworldcup 2023 and a great training ground for future football stars.
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Designed by Fancy Girl Design Studio.