Dearest readers,

I was so happy when a friend of mine suggested we host a friend of his from Hamburg, because I hoped so much that it would give me the chance to visit the city, which I have wanted to do for so long. So in early July I did just that! I road the train the 800km North from Munich to Hamburg. Not only did I have an amazing time in the city but I made a new friend. Thanks again for all your hospitality Inge!

Hamburg is located on the very large Elbe river  which leads directly into the North Sea. It has a huge history as a port city for import and export and continues to thrive in this business today. The many streams, rivers and canals are crossed by over 2400 bridges, more than London, Amsterdam and Venice put together. It is the second largest city in Germany next to Berlin and offers so much. It is full of colourful stickers, graffiti, and so much red brick ( something that gladly reminds me of home. ) I found each area so different from the next, varying in architecture and people. It reminded me of Amsterdam, Berlin, Scandinavia, with a touch of the Canadian Newfy lifestyle. I was so thankful to be able to eat fish for 4 days straight! Below you will see images from the areas of St. Pauli, Old Altona, the Sternschanze and its Saturday flea market, the Old City, Hafencity, the Spiecherstadt, the Harbour, at the ballet Othello by John Neumaier, and the Sunday Morning Fishmarket. It is amazing how variable a country like Germany can be from the North to the South.  Thanks Hamburg for sharing your liberal beautiful city with me, I hope to come again soon.