The road trip to Germany started out like a dry joke with a recognizable punch line: what happens when a couple with German last names drives through Denmark to get to the Northern part of Germany? You get Kellner (translation: “waiter”) and Klein (translation: “small”) lost in translation and lost in an random German village.

The decision to drive west, then south, from Copenhagen into Germany came from the advice of my older brother, a former resident of Madrid and one of the only people I am competitive with about how many countries we have visited; he has me beat by a lot. He stressed to Joe and I that Hamburg was one of his favorite cities in Germany and because he had the know-how of living on the continent, we went along with it.

As often tends to happen, a simple trip to Copenhagen turned into visits to multiple countries within the 8 days we had planned. It is endlessly tempting as a traveler to add and adjust a trip to include as much as possible in the general vicinity of the impetus for the travels, banking on the notion that you will only ever have this one chance to see these places. Largely I aim to remind myself that there will be plenty more trips where I can traverse Europe. In this case, Hamburg was well worth the geographical extension of our trip.

It is a city of contradictions; a bustling red light district, the largest in Germany, situated next to the nautical feats of Germany engineering that is the Hamburg port which originally put the city on the map.

Speaking of German engineering, Joe (our consummate foreign rental car driver) was a bit incensed at the uninterrupted flow of Mercedes, BMWs & Audis that flew past our Toyota Yaris Hybrid rental on the highway, which was cobalt blue in color mind you.

Somewhat intuitively, the German cars that passed us seemed to follow a formula: drive fast but drive respectfully. In the other drivers we found a complete lack of tailgating our little rental car while at the same time a complete disregard for any real or imagined speed limit. We chugged along in the right hand lane, breezing through the Danish-German border without so much as slowing down, the same way we may cross from New York to New Jersey without a thought of boundaries.

The sensibility of open borders between EU countries compared to those in the Americas is reflected in the tangible crossover in history these countries share. We would later learn that a good portion of Hamburg used to belong to Denmark. Indeed there are physical reminders of this changeover in power; etched into concrete slabs of sidewalk around the city oh Hamburg is the physical delineation of where the Danish part of the city used to exist.

Driving itself was simple. After leaving the Copenhagen metro area we made approximately two turns in total to get to the German border. Once across, however, our Maps.me app, integral to foreign driving as we learned in Jordan, ceased to function. It turns out that we had only downloaded the maps for Denmark in its entirety as well as Hamburg… not, however, the German countryside that lives between the Danish border and our destination city.

This led to great confusion and landed us in a quaint Northern German town where we learned an elemental piece of local knowledge: English is not spoken universally in Germany as it was in Denmark. Not a single person we encountered at the local gas station or pizza shop where we asked for directions spoke fluent English. In the end, we spent 10 euro on a glossy map of Northern Germany just to learn that we were one turn away from getting back on the highway to our destination. This is the outcome when the extent of one’s German language knowledge is ich möchte ein Bier!

St Pauli neighborhood and Joe looking like a euro

Nuka the Airbnb dog. Look at the size of those paws

Our home for the trip was an Airbnb apartment in St. Pauli, the artistic district that just so happens to house the Reeperbahn, the aforementioned largest red light district in Germany. The stay was lovely in this modern apartment complete with a German couple to give us pointers around town and Nuka, the lovable Rhodesian Ridgeback who was about 1.5x my size and ready to play. We snuggled on the couch and he bit my sweater but putting my whole arm in his mouth a few times, all in good fun.

As much as I would recommend St Pauli as a fantastic place to stay in Hamburg with its cafes and youthful energy, I would recommend even more a critical activity indispensable to most European cities and particularly to Hamburg: the free walking tour. I can hear my dad saying, “but it’s not really free!” which is true; the payment comes in the form of tips (5-10 euros will do) and positive TripAdvisor reviews.

The places that follow are some that we hit on our two free walking tours and some which we discovered on our own.

Planten un Blomen

Japanese Architecture in Planten un Blomen

I would describe Hamburg as a waterfront city, a city with much graffiti and perhaps a city of rebels but I would surely not describe it as a green city. As such, we took it upon ourselves to roam through the largest, closest green space we could find.

Planten un Blomen was an easy walk from our Airbnb and we found ourselves weaving from either side of a central small river which lead us to the Japanese Garden, apparently the largest of its kind in Europe. The Japanese influence was discernible but the gardens also had the feeling of being almost abandoned. There were few other passersby; we had the area completely to ourselves.

Walking further through the park took us to a sophisticated series of fountains which, at night in the summer, light up for a charming show. I very much enjoyed Hamburg for its sheer German-ness which I found in start contrast to European cities which are more ornate and intricately decorated. No Alice In Wonderland-esque tree shapes as in Paris or flower gardens grown for the sole purpose of appearing attractive from the sky like those in Dubai. The layout was simple, logical and even the fountains were mostly bare in adornment. It made for a leisurely walk and solid people-watching.

The Old Elbe Tunnel

When my brother told us about Hamburg, he mentioned that we had to do “that underground tunnel thing”. Having the relationship I do with the NYC subway system (not a positive one), my first thought was no, thank you. Though after a bit more information learned on our walking tour it seemed well worth the time underground to explore this unique attraction.

Here’s the idea: the tunnel is entered on the city center side of Hamburg through a large industrial elevator. It is crossed on foot, by bike, or even by car - the elevators are enormous. It then ascends on the complete opposite side of the Elbe River where one enjoys a clear view of Hamburg’s HafenCity.

Dating back to 1911, the tunnel was yet another feat of German engineering as it allowed workers in Hamburg’s harbors to connect easily from the city where they lived to the docks where they worked.

The air in the tunnel was cool and the distance, almost 1,400 ft long, seemingly ceaseless. We shared the elevator down with a cyclist who quickly sped off into the distance as we entered the tunnel. The center portion of the tunnel is for bikes and vehicles only so pedestrians are relegated to the two raised sides of the pathway. In typical German fashion, the entire process was highly organized and not a single pedestrian stepped off the raised walkways, not a single biker rode on the pedestrian path.

We embarked upon this quest to the south side of the Elbe on a weekday evening around 9:00 pm and upon resurfacing on the other side there was not a soul in sight. We rounded a few corners with minimal signage to find the ultimate goal: the Hamburg views. This city is all about its harbors and while the skyline may not be exceptionally remarkable, the sensation of seeing a place from afar that just moments before had been right in front of you certainly was.

Several other people did end up sharing the viewpoint with us; some kids jumped over a barricade to sit on the walls of the river and share a beer. In fact, almost every young person we encountered when the sun was down in Hamburg was carrying a beer down the street.

This activity represented all of the quirks that make Hamburg the cool city to visit that it is. There isn’t a standout reason to go, necessarily, but the little things like this add up to a stimulating trip.

Otto’s Burgers

I left Hamburg completely unclear on the relationship that the city has with hamburgers. The Internet seems to believe that the word hamburger originates from Hamburg although this is disputed. Delightfully, I noticed on signs around town that people from Hamburg also seemed to be referred to as Hamburgers. Either way it felt crucial to try a hamburger in the city that so eloquently represents its name.

Phillip, a spirited Australian and our effervescent walking tour guide, mentioned Otto’s Burgers on his tour. The outpost located in the Schanze neighborhood was close enough to our Airbnb that we could swing a last meal before we hit the road to Aarhus, Denmark.

Schanze is a trendy part of town, marked with graffiti as is most of the city, and home to interesting coffee shops, hot restaurants, cute clothing stores and a large protest or rally that we couldn’t quite make heads or tales of on our first night in town. Hoards of young people headed to the square with their beers in hand while music played and someone shouted over a loudspeaker until the crowd moved together to another part of town. Not sure if they were protesting for something or against but regardless, the energy was there.

Otto’s was a great burger. That’s coming from someone who eats red meat exclusively in burger form. If looking for a way to connect Hamburg with hamburger, Otto’s is worth a try. The neighborhood is remembered even more fondly than the food so a visit to Schanze with a stop at Otto’s makes for a solid Hamburg(er?) afternoon.

Drinks at clouds - Heaven’s Bar & Kitchen

Boasting the most delightful address at 1 Reeberbahn, unmistakably the beginning of the street that becomes the heart of Hamburg at nightfall, clouds - Heaven’s Bar & Kitchen was visible from our Airbnb. Situated on the 22nd floor of what appeared to be the tallest building around, we read about this spot in a small notebook left in our Airbnb room where past travelers had written their recommendations for future ones like us.

For a nicer meal than the fast food joints attached to the clubs on the Reeberbahn, this is the place. We enjoyed a bottle of wine and a cheese plate, mostly zoned in on the windows. As the sun set the scenery adjusted to the wave of night ascending on the city. We watched lights pop on in the distance over a bottle of white, surrounded by the cream of the crop of Hamburg or, just as likely, the hooligans of the Reeberbahn enjoying a fancy dinner before a rowdy night out.

Winkel van Sinkel

My patronage of local plant shops in New York, such as The Sill, has led to a well-adorned West Village apartment filled to its brim with aloe and vines and a long-living ZZ plant. Therefore walking past Winkel van Sinkel on our way to downtown Hamburg, I couldn’t resist.

It was as if Hamburg threw together all of the things a twenty-something woman from a fashionable city loves: greenery, painted homemade pottery, witty greeting cards, and home accessories. We purchased a few postcards for the future purpose of our postcard gallery wall, now up and running, which displays postcards from Joe and my worldly travels.

The greatest part of Winkel van Sinkel was the friendly staff. I have written before about the importance, and also challenge, of meeting people as we travel especially now that we stay in Airbnbs or hotels instead of hostels. The benefits of meeting locals and other travelers are significant and include under-the-radar recommendations for activities that one may not otherwise receive.

One associate at Winkel recommended that we visit Speicherstadt, what would become the next stop of our day…

Speicherstadt

Hamburg is a city of bridges, over 2,000, as a matter of fact more bridges than Amsterdam and Venice combined. Water weaves through this city, notably in the downtown area, so much so that one turn down a side street could put you over a maze of bridges.

The warehouse district of the city, called Speicherstadt, was built as a tax haven to transport the goods that came through Hamburg’s harbor without incurring customs charges.

This area of town has the essence of an elevated neighborhood; the bridges are so omnipresent that they appear to be sidewalks themselves. They dip into old warehouse buildings turned office buildings a few floors up. Located within the network of bridged buildings are several museums which draw many tourists. We opted to simply walk through, taking in the vast expanse that are the waterways and nautical systems of Hamburg.

Hamburg was a welcoming entree into German culture and life. Coming directly from visiting Denmark, the historical perspective that connects the two countries was relevant to my understanding of the evolution of the city. If we had longer I would have spent time taste-testing all of the coffee shops around St. Pauli and delving into the impact of WWII on the city which we only briefly touched on in our walking tour. Much more German to be learned in connection to our surnames, much more to be discovered in Germany for future trips.

Next stop: Aarhus, Denmark!

A German Road Trip: Destination Hamburg