Hamburg, Germany
A Great City Hamburg is the greenest city in Europe. It is also the largest city in Germany after Berlin and the place where more than one million and eight hundred thousand people live in the city proper, while in the larger metropolitan region over five million citizens find shelter, work and happiness.
The city is situated on the Elbe river and the Hamburg port is the largest in Europe after the one in Rotterdam. It has become the fore running European city in affluence while also being one of the industrial and media centers of Germany. Hamburg is actually the location with the oldest bank in the world, Berenberg Bank, after the oldest one, which is the Bank of England, presumably. However, the thing most alluring about Hamburg is its vibrant cultural life. I had visited Germany last year and took some great photos of the street art and culture, and is definitely one place I’d like to revisit. However next time I’d remember to take my new phone instead of leaving it at home like last time!
In 2005 it was estimated that nearly twenty million people attended cultural events such as museums, cinemas, theatres, exhibitions and concerts. Hamburg has several renowned German theatres, such as the Thalia Theatre, Ohnsorg Theatre, Deutsches Schauspielhaus and Schmidts Tivoli, but if you are yourself not a fluent German speaker, there is also the extremely prominent English Theatre of Hamburg, which has a permanent cast of native English speakers. In terms of museums the city is also abundant.
There is the Museum for Art and Industry, the House of Photography and the art gallery of Kunsthalle Hamburg, which all are at the cutting edge of contemporary art. As a result of Hamburg being a very important port throughout its history, the city now features a lot of marine themed museums, like the Internationales Maritimes Museum Hamburg or Rickmer Rickmers and Cap San Diego, which are both former ships. Perhaps the most amazing museum of them all is the Miniature Wunderland.
The miniature wonderland is the largest model railway museum with more than twelve kilometers of miniature tracks. Miniatur Wunderland started construction in 2000 and is expected to enter its finishing phase in 2013. In terms of the musical scene, Hamburg is even more impressive. It features excellent orchestras and concert halls, but also has a pretty vivid underground scene. Let’s not forget that it was precisely in Hamburg that The Beatles rose to fame. Hamburg is also the home place of many festivals. Such is the Christopher Street Day and the Alster fair, both of which are street festivals. The biggest fun fair in Germany, Hamburger DOM, is also held in Hamburg. Indeed, the tourist aspect of Hamburg plays a central stage in the city life.
It is estimated that more than four million visitors grace the streets of the city every year and it is getting better by the year. If you are part of that lively bunch of tourists, you might want to start with a tour of St. Michaelis, a grand church in Baroque style built in 1669 and dedicated to Michael the archangel. Then, of course, visit Speicherstadt, which is the district of old warehouses and perhaps Landungsbrucken, or the harbor promenade. After the church visits and after sunset, you might want to visit Reeperbahn, which is also known as the biggest red light district in Europe.
There are many night clubs, bars and pubs (not to mention brothels) in Reeperbahn and it was actually the place where the young Beatles toured. So it is worth a stroll around the night life of Hamburg and who knows, you might be the first to find the Beatles of the new milenium.
Bio: Julia Dawson is dedicated traveller and blogger. She likes wandering around the world and revealing the splendour of new glamorous vacation spots. Her present article is dedicated to one of the greatest German cities.