What time is better for a Hamburg city trip than the Christmas season? So we headed to the far north of Germany for a weekend.
Zurich to Hamburg
It all started on Saturday evening in Zurich, where we, loaded with luggage, waited and waited and waited for our Easyjet flight to Hamburg for two days... and then we finally took off. We have a one-hour and twenty-minute flight ahead of us. Perfect time to start my new book, „Håkan Nesser - The Wrong Verdict.“ I love Swedish crime novels, as some of you know.
Hamburg Port and Speicherstadt
For breakfast, we're meeting up with my brother, who promptly brings us to a great restaurant on the Elbe beach, where we get a delicious fish sandwich for breakfast just 90 minutes later. We had to eat outside in a tent, but we like rough weather anyway, and the view there was magnificent. The restaurant is called Strandperle Hamburg And we sampled quite a bit from the menu. The dishes they offer are really great, and the ambiance is just as you'd expect by the sea (or rather, the Elbe). The best way to reach the restaurant is by taking the HVV ferry line 62, getting off at the Museumshafen Oevelgönne Neumühlen stop, and then walking left along the beach.
After our hearty breakfast, we head to the Speicherstadt. The red brick buildings, which already characterize Hamburg's cityscape, impressively tell the story of the Port of Hamburg. The district has been a listed building since 1991 and has even been on the World Heritage list since 2015.
Enough culture, we're heading straight to the Miniatur Wunderland. Also located in the Speicherstadt, you can see the whole world there in about 2 hours. The details are insane. For example, over 15 km of model railway tracks have been laid for over 1000 trains, including the RHB and SBB from Switzerland. We are more than thrilled, but after a good hour we realize that we are close to sensory overload. *laughs* We also looked at all 260,000 figures up close and photographed all 4,110 houses from the inside. You should definitely book tickets in advance. You will then be assigned a timeslot and won't have to wait there long afterwards. You can find more details on the website, of course. Miniature Wonderland.
We relaxed and ended the evening at the Wasserschlösschen restaurant.
Shopping and Wellness Day
Now that the Christmas holidays are practically starting, things should be festive and, of course, relaxed. We already saw and discovered a lot in Hamburg the day before. So today we are exploring the shopping mile on our own. On Mönckebergstraße, you can find pretty much everything you should find in a large German city. 🙂 The Europa Passage is especially great, not just for shopping, but also for eating healthily, as there's an Immergrün store, yummy.
Around midday, we'll head back to the hotel and get ready for some spa time... can you write it like that? The spa area in the hotel is small, but it's nice and quiet, with a pool, whirlpool, and two saunas. For a city hotel, it's top-notch.
Conclusion
We had two wonderful days in Hamburg, saw interesting things, ate traditional Hamburg kale stew, and enjoyed the Northern German friendliness.
Here are some impressions from our Hamburg city trip
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On my travel blog Wandernotizen I'll take you along on our family trips around the globe. Between wanderlust and everyday chaos, you'll find honest travel reports, tips, and plenty of material to ignite your wanderlust. 🧭 ❤️ 🏝️
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