Hamburg

First I have to say that we have taken some pretty epic naps in Hamburg. Today we went to the top of St. Michael’s cathedral, the first of such things that I’ve encountered that had an elevator. Needless to say, I took the lift. Dad opted for the stairs, which probably lead to today’s siesta.

Here is the church.

Here is Michael taking out the trash.

Here I am at the top looking fresh after the elevator ride. Dad didn’t want to get that close to the edge.

Here’s the other view from the top, including the Elbe.

We’ve sampled some excellent local cuisine. Here is a pork knuckle.

We’ve taken in the sights. Here is Dad taking a picture of the post office.

We got on the tour bus, though the commentary was in excitable German.

The warehouse district was huge and brick and beautiful.

We also did a canal tour where we learned it is illegal to insult the swans.

Why would you want to?

The view from the boat was beautiful.

Hamburg is a lot bigger than I anticipated. I was picturing kind of a Bruges-like city, but Hamburg is huge and mostly modern. It has more bridges than Amsterdam, London, and Venice combined. There’s that old Venice envy again.

The rain has for the most part threatened but turned out to be sound and fury signifying nothing. I am glad I picked up that jacket in Copenhagen though. It’s windy here. Especially at the top of towers.

Don’t think I’ve escaped the Demon. Look at this.

Always stay vigilant, sir.

Tomorrow evening we fly to Riga, Latvia.

I am reading Good Behavior by Molly Keane and Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff. Dad is reading Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose.