Wow, what a packed program it was on 9 May 2015! Two days before the tour: “Sarah, your ship will be eight hours late!”, one day before the tour: “Sarah, your ship will be four hours late!”, two hours before the meeting: “Sarah, your bus will be 30 minutes late!”, at the meeting: “Sarah, your bus will be 60 minutes late!”. After 45 minutes: “What kind of bus is that? – Oh, that’s mine!” Yay! So, 45 minutes late, we set off on the tour, which had to reckon with some traffic obstructions for the harbor birthday. The tour I had planned beforehand would not be possible in the remaining time – oh, and the bus driver also had to take an hour’s break due to traffic jams on the highway and delays at the quay in Kiel. Well, let’s get going! I get on the bus at the S-Bahn station in Othmarschen and fear the worst, as the guests had actually booked a vacation. But contrary to expectations, everyone was still in a relatively good mood. So we set off straight down to the Elbe. What beautiful houses! This part of Hamburg was hardly bombed during the Second World War. We came down to the port, the second largest in Europe – after Rotterdam. The jetties are closed due to the harbor birthday.
So we drive right past St. Trinitaskirche in Altona up to the Reeperbahn. We spot Beatles Square and erotic stores, but also theaters and restaurants. From the “Sinful Mile” we pass the anti-aircraft bunker and the Anglican church to reach Hamburg’s symbol, the Michel. We take a quick pee break and then take a quick look inside the beautiful, largest baroque church in northern Germany. This “Hamburg Highlights” tour continues to Rödingsmarkt, where we can marvel at the St. Nikolai memorial and the oldest subway train, albeit above ground here. Across the high bridge we see the Nikolaifleet, Hamburg’s former harbor and the impressive front of the Speicherstadt. This complex was built at the end of the 19th century as a free port on countless oak piles. Today, museums and offices have moved into the partially restored warehouses. The newest part of the city, HafenCity, stands in stark contrast to the brick warehouses but is also worth a visit. There we see Hamburg’s cruise center and then head into the city center, where our driver Ali manages to find a parking space for the bus.
We take a look at the Town Hall, the Rathausmarkt, the Kleine Alster, the Inner Alster and the Outer Alster and then the group has some free time. 60 minutes to soak up Hamburg’s atmosphere once again and then head back to Kiel. It was a nice, albeit very short tour and I always look forward to English-speaking guests!
