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 number of impressive churches.

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

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

Some of the bridges have two levels.

There are other interesting buildings.

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.

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

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.

There is of course the Reeperbahn

A few more Elbe related pictures.

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.