Your next Holiday should be Hamburg!!
And I seriously mean it. We loved every bit of the experience , totally new and amazing.
Yes. We planned on a 3 days 2 nights trip to Hamburg,which means we had to maximise our day at the holiday destination. So we decided to fly from Stansted airport ( for a reasonable carrier charge ) which is 70 miles from home . Booking our parking in advance made it really convenient for us to drive to the airport, which was just 5 minutes to the checkin counters. How handy is that. Don't forget to prebook your parking before you travel - that would be my takeaway for you.
Next, our first experience of flying by Ryan Air, which we were not sure what to expect. Trust me, we had a fab experience too and a lot of rave reviews that we read are bid adieu for good.
As the second largest city of Germany, Hamburg has the biggest port and has a history as a part of the Middles ages taking back to Hanseatic League.
Hamburg is a super organised city with good public transport. Multi cultural, historic, cosmopolitan city with lots of greenery & water bounds. We were absolutely lucky to be blessed with the best weather during our travel. That is perhaps an additional factor for making our trip much more refreshing. We were zapped to find an Indian Kitchen right in one of the food courts of the city. How wonderful is that, when you are actually not anticipating one.
We are globetrotters and do like explore. Knowing this, having a comfortable pair of footwear is the first thingy on the list and yes it paid off. Hamburg being my second city of visit in Germany, we were kind of familiar with the culture, transport and signboards ( first thing a tourist looks for ). For the first time, we travelled light with 2 mini cabin bags and off course my camera ( which I can't let go ).
Just like travel cards in UK, Hamburg's travel card is perfect for exploring the city break starting at € 9.90. This travel card allows you to explore Hamburg by bus, train and harbour ferry (HVV) and save at more than 150 tourist attractions!
Harbour Boat Tour
We took an hour of boat tour on Elbe with Barkassen-Meyer which actually gave us a whole new dimension to Hamburg. Large Cranes, Large cargos, Ginormous Passenger Ships - an overview of structure and productivity of the trading metropolitan in Hamburg. On our return we got a classic view of Elbphilharmonie concert hall.
CHOCOVERSUM
The Chocolate Museum by Hachez is located in the heart of Hamburg, approximately 10 minutes from Hamburg Central station. You have a choice to choose a Deutch or an English guided Tour lasting for approximate 90 Minutes. Through the tour, you learn and explore the journey of a cocoa beans to a bar of chocolate actively being involved and tasting at every stage.
Do not be of the impression this place is just for kids.. Well, Hari and me were the bigger kids here, actively tasting more and more chocolates. You get to add all sorts of toppings and take the bars home. Lipsmacking experience and highly recommended.
Miniatur Wunderland
MIniatur Wunderland is the world's largest model railway exhibition. I really do not have enough words to describe how amazing and enjoyable Miniatur Wunderland is. We spent approximately 3 hours and every minute spent there is absolutely memorable.
It is a wonderland in terms of scale and creativity spread over two floors.There are 930 trains with nearly 14,450 railway wagons, 228,000 trees, 215,000 figures, 8,850 cars, 13,000 metres of track, 3,660 buildings and bridges. Isn't it wow!! You can check out the day and night in every 15 minutes. We were amazed at the minuscule of detailing with the model railway system in the Swizz region. Jungfraujoch and Mt Titis, Engelberg - both are a sight to see in its mini grandeur and in person too. It kindled our nostalgic memories from our 2005 trip. We loved how nature was engulfed in snow and was potrayed like real.
Hands Down, Must visit place in Hamburg irrespective of the age.
When you are travelling with kids, we also tend to take ample breaks , ensuring they are also having a fabulous time. We also stopped by the Stadpark, right in the middle of the city, where we actually got to chill after long walks and travel.. And soon the family spotted some canoeing - a total bonus to our trip.
We had plans to visit the Hagenbeck's Animal Park, but we literally fell short of time.
A trip to any city is incomplete without Shopping.. Just before heading back to the apartment hotel, we decided to take a detour to the centre of the city Jungfernstieg where all the food joints and hubs are located.. Right when we came out of the subway, we were blown away.. Beautiful, Fresh architecture !! Not just us, the kids also felt the positive energetic vibes in the city and wanted to explore. We had nearly walked 20000 steps on my fit bit by then, still we wanted to move on..
Props Shopping
Being a Food Photographer and an avid prop collector, props collection happens every time we travel. There are stores like Butlers, Xenos, One more in Europa passage located on the ground floor ( grr can't remember the name ) that offers some fabulous props, tableware for a reasonable price. My long hunt for tulip Weck Jars ended at Europa passage.
Food
City of Hamburg actually surprised us!! We were only hoping to find some vegetarian food but actaully found some Palak Paneer, Chole Masala, tailored Pizza's as we like inside Europa passage. For another meal, we thoroughly enjoyed the freshly tossed pizzas in Miniatur Wunderland and yes, a fantastic Vegetarian Burger from the Better Burger Company. The burger was so so huge with ample choices of sauces and toppings.
Staying in the apartment hotels, we managed to stir up a quick ramen and some sandwiches before retiring to bed on both the days.
Lodging
Apartment hotels work well, specially when you are travelling with kids. We stayed in Appartello smart living apartments in Hamburg which is very well connected by public transport. We enjoyed it thoroughly and hey.. here is the detailed review.
Ask my family, and they would tell you - Yes! Lets go to Hamburg. The city has got something for everyone - right from Chocolate museum to Elbphilharmonie concert hall. Curry to Burgers and what not. We will be back soon Hamburg, as 2 days is just not enough to explore and freak out in the city.
Disclosure: We were guests of Come to Hamburg. All opinion expressed here are of my own.
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