Hamburg to den Haag.

Posted on 16th Nov 202416th Nov 2024 by insightndes

Catching the 1243 train I was due to get in to Den Haag at 1910.

The German Premier Inn breakfast was not as good as the British version. Fuelled up for the journey.

Premier Inn – Alster ( nearish to the Alster).

It’s only a 12 minute cycle to the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof.

Arrived punctually at Osnabrück.

The connecting train to Amsterdam was 27 minutes late.

Passing goods train at Osnabrück provided entertainment.

The train to Amsterdam arrived, off we went, crossing the border onto the Netherlands. The train guard had changed from a German to a Dutch person. The announcements went to three languages.

And then the announcement came on, the train was terminating early at Amersfoort Central, due to an accident on the line between Amersfoort and Amsterdam. We were told to catch a train to Utrecht.

Off we got at Utrecht where I followed the crowd who started running. After resisting the urge to join in, I sprinted on the platform to join a very crowded train.

The Christmas decorations are already up.

The next train to arrive at the platform where I had got off was heading to Den Haag, very conveniently. This was the same train I would have caught from Amsterdam. Which meant I arrived at Den Haag on time.

Environment, Tourism

Hamburg

Posted on 15th Nov 2024 by insightndes

Hamburg combines a massive port, industry with a beautiful city including two large lakes, Binnen Alster and the Außen Alster. Lots of history, lots of culture, lots to see. And the there is the Elbe, used by ships to reach Hamburg, which is inland. The container port is built on the Elbe.

Hamburg has a really good public transport system including the S Bahn.

Hamburg has a number of impressive churches.

View from the St Michaelis , including the Hamburger Dom.

Petrikirche- the oldest site for a church.

Not as old as the churches is the Elbtunnel opened 1911. You can cycle or walk through it, free of charge.

View down the tunnel from the north side.

And then there is the Spiecherstadt. A complex of old warehouses next to canals. Now mainly repurposed.

A view of the warehouses next to a canal.

Some of the bridges have two levels.

Warehouses, picture taken from above the previous picture.

There are other interesting buildings.

Schanzenturm- now a hotel. Formerly the biggest water tower in Europe.

FC St Pauli stadium, Grüner Bunker and Fernsehturm.

The former bunker now has a garden on top.

Every year the Hamburger Dom takes place in Winter. It has its origins in the 11th century.

There is a lot of culture in Hamburg, with the Elbphilharmonie standing out as a landmark, built on top of some warehouses.

Elbphilharmonie partially hidden by the bridge to the Spiecherstadt. St Katharinen Kirche in the background.

The Elbphilharmonie is a good place to view Hamburg and the Hafenstadt.

The Elbharmonie has a long curved escalator.

The port is huge, the third largest in Europe. The Elbe gives an advantage, bringing goods inland reducing costs, but the downside is as the ships are getting bigger they can no longer travel up the river.

Vehicles for moving the containers.

On a bus tour

There is of course the Reeperbahn

The Davidwache-the famous police station.

Just off Davidstraße is Herbertstaße. No men under 18 and no women allowed.

A few more Elbe related pictures.

Near Hammerbrook

Hamburg is a a beautiful city but like many cities it suffers from the dominance of cars. The roads are crowded with cars and the seems to be little observance of the 50km/h speed limit. Unpleasant!

There is good provision for cyclists, but could be better. Occasionally the routes are not clear and there are frequent road works which particularly seem to affect the cycle paths. Touring Hamburg on the bike was fun.

And a tip for rainy days. Buy a HVV day ticket and travel on the U3 , which does a loop, mostly above ground, sometimes elevated.

Travel