Sightseeing and Tennis in Hamburg

Hamburger Harbour, the 9th largest port in the world
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My previous two visits in Hamburg were quite short and this time we planned to spend much more time with Kyu-Hi (Kyu-Seok's sister) and to see much more from the city with the most bridges in Europe (not Venice).

After our arrival and a short  walk through the Stadtpark, we took the Hochbahn ("elevated railway") to go to the Port of Hamburg. To get a good picture of the second largest port in Europe we got in one of these boats called Barkassen and made a round trip through the port starting from the Landungsbrücken. We passed different kind of ships (small and large, old and new ones), but the one from China was really huge (height like 22 floor building)- full with containers having different sizes, which were being unloaded. We passed also a site where scrap is stored, Shell oil refinery, repair docks, the building of the famous musical "The Lion King"... The port is mainly built on the river Elbe. At the end of the trip we drove through the old red-brick warehouse district called Speicherstadt, a UNECSO world cultural heritage. This trading district was built in the end of the 19th century and goods like tea, coffee, carpets, spices, salt were quite common. The impressive buildings are used now as galleries, museums, clubs, etc.

Another view of the emblem of 'Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg'
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The next day we got a picture of the city. We started from the main station and went down to the Rathaus (town hall) with its really impressive ornate facade. In the inner courtyard around the wonderful fountain Hygieia-Brunnen one can enjoy a cup of coffee. From there we went to the Gaensemarkt (Goose Market Sqare) passing many bridges and canals. We ended the city trip at the lake Binnenalster and in the shopping center Europa Arcades.

Barkasse
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Our next destination was Karolinenviertel, a neighborhood famous for its alternative shops. One was quite impressive, I felt like I was in the 60s and 70s,  in the basement of a nicely recovered old building any kind of cloths and accessories for men could be found and in the first floor the same for women with a lot of jewel. For the newborn of our neighbors we bought a cute giraffe made out of a old towel. Next to this artists' district is the park Planten un Blomen" (dutch name for plants and flowers). Exotic plants and extraordinary fountains made our walk through the park quite pleasant.

Repair dock
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Luckily, at that evening there were tremendous fireworks, which were part of the Japanese Chery Blossom festival. The best fireworks I have ever seen. After that at about 11:30 pm we made the obligatory walk through the Reeperbahn. The most famous streets in the amusement and red light district St. Pauli. After that we went to a dancing party in the cult building called Bunker (quite interesting people there).

Harbor of Hamburg
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The next two days I spent at the Rothenbaum Tennis Facilities watching the semi finals and the final of the tennis ATP Master Series tournament. Luckily, I watched really impressive games like the one between Carlos Moya and Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt vs. Rafael Nadal.  But the best game was the final between Federer and Nadal, in the press the so called "dream final". The first time Federer bet Nadal on clay and he also broke Nadal's 81 victory series on clay. I was quite happy, because I was for Federer. It was so incredible, a child dream of me came true on that weekend.

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On Saturday evening we went again to the Hamburger Hafen (port) to have a nice fish dinner in the Portuguese district. On our way we walked along the Speicherstadt, the Landungsbruecke, the Rickmer Rickmers, Cap San Diego (museum ships), but this time with less tourists. Within these 4 days we had  really nice time. For me the highlight was the Rothenbaum Tennis Tournament. There are a lot of other things that can be still done or seen in Hamburg. Finally, the last impressions - the people there were really friendly - a nice positive surprise for us ;-).