My mom and I are going on the RS GAS tour in the beginning of October. After the tour we are meeting up with my dad and going to Hamburg to see some of their friends. We are not staying at their friends house. I know the friends will have some things planned for us to do, but I would like to have some other ideas of things to do when we are not with them. My mom and I like shopping, my dad not so much. They were both in Hamburg in September 2012, I have been doing research but just wanted to get opinions from people here. Thanks!
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
"My mom and I like shopping" Look around the Binnenalster. There's all the shopping you could want and more.
"my dad not so much." What does dad like? Model trains? The biggest display in the world is at Miniatur Wunderland, in the Speicherstadt area of town. Ships? You can visit a few on the nearby docks, or spend all day in the giant maritime museum. Art? The Kunsthalle has several of Caspar David Friedrich's works, including the most well-known, Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog. Drinking, gambling and carousing... oops, I mean, Beatles history? The Reeperbahn in the St. Pauli section.
Posted by
St. Louis, MO USA
1976 posts
I enjoyed visiting HafenCity (Harbor City), a fast-growing part of town with a lot of interesting contemporary architecture. The Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra is there too and part of the exterior of their building was designed to look like waves, evoking the harbor.
I'd also recommend a cruise on the -- I believe -- Binnenalster but it may be on the Aussenalster. Can't remember and am not near my travel notes at the moment. I wanted to do that when I was in Hamburg but the weather was awful. You could also take a walk along the 2 Alsters, crossing the Kennedybruecke (Kennedy Bridge). The scenery, both urban and natural, is very nice.
Check out the St. Nikolai Memorial, a former church dating from the 12th century and destroyed in World War II. It was never rebuilt, as a memorial to those killed in the war. You can walk "inside" the church (the roof and most of the building are gone) and see where the walls and pillars once stood, now outlined in bricks set into the pavement. It's very haunting and beautiful.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12315 posts
I like the Rathaus (city hall) in Hamburg, one of the best in Germany. You can get a tour. Mine was in German, I'm not sure if English is available and, if so, how often.
The walls are covered with portraits of centuries of Burgermeisters. There's one of a man and, assume, wife from about the 1960's that I particularly love. He looks dead and she looks like Cruella DeVille (complete with cigarette holder). We theorized he died without a portrait and his will required her to be in it - so they propped him up and she had to sit with him. :-)
A boat tour of the harbor is interesting as well as visiting churches Martin Luther preached in.
Posted by
OP
Michigan
16 posts
Awesome, thanks for the ideas everyone!
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
For boys (and girls) of all ages, I would strongly recommend the Miniatur Wunderland in the Speicherstadt area down by the river. If you don't fancy it, leave your Dad there while you and your Mum go off shopping.
When I was there they had an old Soviet submarine tied up on the river you could go inside. You needed to be a bit agile to get in (I wouldn't fancy being a crew member), but fascinating.
Alos they do good boat tours round the docks.
Posted by
OP
Michigan
16 posts
Miniatur Wunderland was amazing, we spent 3 hours there and could have probably stayed longer if it wasn't so crowded. There were so many things to look and at, so much detail was put in all the displays, I would recommned this to anyone! We also did the city hall tour and enjoyed that as well, really elaborate building, complete with leather wallpaper. Our friends took us to the harbor and we walked around down there and got to see the Quantum of the Seas come in to dock. Also took a stroll through the Reeperbahn district at night just to "have a look" as our friends would say. I shouldn't have been so worried about finding things to do in Hamburg, but I appreciate all the ideas!