03.24.2012 Hello Hamburg!

speicherstadt. The warehouse district

Surprise! This is Hamburg! My co-workers were discussing plans for the weekend on Friday, and I briefly mentioned about wanting going to Hamburg but not being able to find a flight or method of getting there in a last minute affordable manner. And then one girl piped up, "Take the bus!". I haven't considered the bus, (there is some sort of stigma with buses and safety, but that is just paranoia?) so we looked it up, made a few calls, and hours later, I was rolling my way into another city! 

My ride

Hamburg isn't far. It's like a three-and-a-bit hour long bus ride. Also, the trip was just the weekend, so it was important to pack light (meaning no laptop). Plus, in the scheme of things, Hamburg to Berlin is like Kingston to Toronto, not toooo far, but far enough! Anyway, due to the last minute nature of my planning, I was not allowed to purchase tickets online, so I just headed to the station early and bought my ticket. When I was at the desk, my morning alarm went off, and it rings like a regular phone, so I didn't realize it was mine and it just kept going as I wondered why the lady wouldn't pick up her phone.. When I realized it was mine and abashedly turned it off, everyone in the line had a look on their faces as if to say "Ah, so that's who it was, mystery solved!"

1.empty bus ticket counter,                                          2. safety instructions, in case one does not know what to do on a bus.

a wind farm!

I slept for most of the bus ride because I spent most of my night making sure I had everything packed, and then rationing my time for sleep, getting lost, getting my ticket, and catching the bus. But for the time I was awake, it was nice. Outside of Berlin is just countryside. There's a soft-spot for sitting on trains and having the fields start from right under the tracks going out onto whatever, but the view from the second deck of the bus is almost the same.

It's also nice to note that Germany is trying to be a sustainable country with policies and regulations pushing towards a cleaner, better environment. And because this is what I've been looking into lately, it's super cool to see a wind farm! Compared to the lone "windmill" on the DVP, this is pretty nifty.

1. electricity,                                                          2. ticket

 

1. arrival in Hamburg,                                       2. Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe (arts and crafts)

I like it when the names are in the bridge railings

I came semi-prepared. Took a few pictures of googlemaps on my phone and saved a list of "top ten things to see in Hamburg". Still, the instant I set foot into Hamburg, I had no idea where I was going.

So I just walked, zigzagged, and picked church steeples for destinations, until I saw this giant ball, and then began to head towards that instead.

Where is everyone??

You know what is really weird about Hamburg? It's DESERTED. I wondered where all the people were. It was almost Saturday noontime, and the roads were devoid of cars and the streets were devoid of people. It's as if there was a strange disease that had wiped everyone out. (like in "The Happening", or Detroit?)

plastic steel gates? on the former gate of the dam

photography museum? 

Europe's largest hydrogen gas station! It's a hydrogen refuelling station for their (20) fuel-cell buses, and anyone who has a car that runs on hydrogen..

Maritime museum, didn't go in, looked pretty empty...

Hamburg is a port-town and there is water everywhere, which makes it really nice looking. And where there is water, there are bridges! Actually, there are more bridges here than in Venice, but they kind of cheat a bit because they are also accounting for bridges that do not go over water. 

 

1. underground city?                                                                 2.signal thing? 

1. These empty parks                                                 2.These empty streets

Not only were there no people, there was also construction everywhere. Even so, construction wasn't even  in operation. Everything was in standstill. 

crooked teeth

This building summarizes Hamburg in a neat little package. I'm not really saying it's boring, but I'm saying it's beautiful yet dull. Nothing exciting is happening, but everything is really pretty and clean. All right, this may not be the best example of beauty in architecture, but the uniformity and neat and tidiness of it really reflects Hamburg as a city. (Likewise, for the grimy graffiti bombed streets of Berlin)

every building on this street is different. Does prefab exist in Europe?

view from the viewpoint. nothin but construction, rubble, and water

I found Hafen City first. (after the big ball in the sky, which was just a hot air balloon thing, so it doesn't count). Hafen City is Hamburg's new quarter next to the river where they are in the process of getting rid of the old warehouses and replacing them with new offices, hotels, shops, and residences. The neat thing is that it's not just an expensive industrial facelift, but there's more to the planning of the city that meets the eye. (more here)

Coastal cities (Like Hamburg) are more susceptible to the rising sea levels (climate change if you believe) and most likely of all, flooding. As a result, HafenCity has been planned with resilient and adaptive infrastructure strategies that are integrated within the construction of the roads, buildings, and spaces. Instead of new dykes, areas of public space are raised above sea level, ranging from 8m (streets, parks) to 37m (Elbphilharmonie), parking garages are waterproof, and nothing residential is built ground level. And of course, the buildings are sustainable too, with environmentally friendly materials and efficient façades like walls that store solar energy .

Being an obliviant non-coastal city living person, this is all news to me. Raising promenades instead of blocking out water and building dykes may seem like a regular solution. So maybe it's not innovative perse, but the idea of a new city is still pretty exciting!

1. Unilever German Headquarters,                                                      2. "the Viewpoint"

damsel in distress

1. elbphilharmonie - 3 concert halls and a hotel, restaurants, condos, and plaza-ness in one building. thanks to Herzog &de Meuron        2. Marco Polo Tower

 

1.seating,                                                                                         2. sandboxes

 

1. Bball court.                                                                                          2. Fabio Novembre's Nemo chair is watching.

ships ahoy!

first level residences begin where they hover I believe

A "music box" to listen to different pieces of classical music. It's the promo-box for the elbphilharmonie

Spiederstadt!

Probably like the coolest place in Hamburg..! These are old warehouses for spices and textiles, and ships would come in through here and trade without having to pay customs. The pictures look kind of inception-y too. 

1. Really narrow store, do you see? It's Pepe Jeans London,                                                                   2. windows in windows

water everywhere

At this point, I was really starting to wonder why there was nobody on the streets on a Saturday. Was it a holiday? Is everybody staying home today? Was it even Saturday?? So I kept walking, until I came across this sign which made me laugh because it's like the divine direction and answer to my question. I followed it, and lo and behold the signed proved true. I did find streets filled people! Everyone seems to hang out in front of the Rathaus (Town Hall), eating, sun tanning, hanging out, it was actually busy!  

proof that I was here

Looks like Venice right? It's strange to find this here, because although Hamburg has plenty of waterways, it is nothing like Venice, plus, Saint Marcus Square is beautiful. I would also show you the town hall, but it was almost impossible to fit the entire thing in the camera and I was getting tired. So you will just have to imagine it.

 

The people of Hamburg are also better dressed

I got stuck here, in the shopping streets of Hamburg. I tried not to, but I couldn't help it because my eyes like to wander. Even though I wasn't on any sort of plan and was only discovering things by walking without a map, I still had an idea of places to check out before nightfall. Anyway, I got sucked in this area for a bit, and then finally headed back out to find this church that you could climb to the top of and catch the sun setting over the city.

There are two lakes in the middle of downtown where along the perimeter there is nothing but peoples legs dangling over the water

Oh, the lure of water. What is it with it anyway. The reflection, the refraction? Anyway, in the search for the church tower, I wandered along the waterside which sticks itself right along downtown. There are no railings, so you could totally fall into the lake by accident, but I suppose for a port city everyone here knows how to swim.

I want to hug your leg. You make me think of home

LOOK WHO IT IS! Maman! I've located two out of the eight permanent pieces, and this is a temporary one because there's currently an exhibition on Louise Bougeois. Although, I wonder, how does this thing travel?

1. Kunsthalle has a neat elevated courtyard all slopey and angular,                                                                                   2. doing tricks

All the young kids hang out here for some reason

Cubism? But it's really a cyclops by Bernhard Luginbühl, a Swiss artist who enjoys building wooden sculptures and then setting them afire as an art event.

The Kunsthalle is Hamburg's contemporary art museum. I think it's really cool and popular, but I'm not sure how good it is. If I ever go back to Hamburg, I would want to see nothing but museums.

Tall people, the same height as Maman?

1. Chilehaus,                                                                                                          2. line! pattern! repetition!

don't squint, yes, it's blurry

Chilehaus is your typical brick expressionism styled building. (like expressionism, but with bricks) It's all angular and tense looking and has some nice details that I didn't photograph. Oh, and an interesting tidbit, they put their heating equipment in this watertight bubble that can float within the building when it floods so it won't get damaged!

I thought this was funny, a buoy on the balcony like a ship, but I guess when it rains it floods..

Finally I was lost. Time was ticking and in the search for the church tower before sun down someone gave me a map and upon looking at it I didn't know where to go. Left? Right? For the entire day I was able to see almost everything on the "top ten list of things to see in Hamburg" by stumbling along the streets without a destination in mind. Now with a map, a time frame, and an actual destination, I didn't know which way was right and since the sun was starting to wane, I debated on whether or not I should just stay by the water for the setting sun, in case I never find that church tower...

warehouse district, again, walking in circles??

1. I thought this was it, but it wasn't, but it's an open middle church!                                           2. like the Louvre pyramid. 

witty storefront

see? water is EVERYWHERE

St. Michaelis Kirche

I found it! But it was stupid expensive to go up the tower, and I was meeting a friend soon, so I ended up not going in. But this is what the tower looked like.. 

It was getting dark fast, so there was not much to see. One of the last items on the list was this park called Planeten un Blomen (it's like their botanical garden), which is useless to visit in the dark, so I didn't bother trying to look for it. So I headed in the direction of centertown downtown, and ended up at the park instead (downtown and the garden are in opposite directions). Since I was already there, I went in, of course, but there was nothing much to see. However, the deeper I walked into the garden, I started to hear excited shouts and screaming. The kind that you hear from kids on a rollercoaster. Then, walking further, I could smell cotton candy, and popcorn, and all sorts of yummy sweets. Can you guess what I saw next...?

lights! excitement! people! food!

The fair was separated from park by a fence. It was so close yet so far, but I finally got to the end of the fence and found the entrance to the fair. Walking through this reminded me of the Christmas markets in Berlin-- especially the one at Alexa which had rides and rollercoasters. Only this time, there was no gluhwein and there are no chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

The lights and crowds and noise was a nice change of feeling for the day because I was starting to talk to myself aloud while walking and I realize that's what the crazy people do. I also saw the same homeless person twice in two different places.

Hello Hello Kitty

1. disco bumper cars,                                                              2. roller coastin

bang bang

Hamburg has more old people than Berlin.

 

1.caaaandy                                                                  2. does it play music?

sausage

everybody's a winner

1. go karts! but outdoors, stacked! interesting right?                  2. The creepy version of the make-me-hurl ride

I know that you want the candy

see ya!

I had recently made a friend a week or so ago who lived Hamburg. We met up for dinner, and ate at this place where the menu is a tablet and only activates when you place your meal card on it. The transgression from tablet to a digital menu is not surprising, but this is the first time I've come across the application...I was totally distracted.  

Before calling it a day, we visited the Reeperbahn, which is the red light district on one side and the entertainment district (like musical theatre Abba's Mamma Mia, or Cats) on the other side. There are stores and live theatre, but unlike Amsterdam's red light district, there is no one in the windows. Strangely, this is the city's party central, and it's a huge contrast to the neat and tidy Hamburg of the day. At night, here, it almost resembles Berlin. The Beatles are also known for playing in some of the taverns here before becoming famous. It's a weirdly mixed street right?

Anyway, it was a long day, and a long post, but I think I cleared all of Hamburg's downtown!