Hamburgin'

Don and I are fairly well recovered from our 3-day scoot to Hamburg. What an excellent city! We stayed in, apparently, a district bursting with drugs (no worries, Mom), but all of the purported dealers were super nice and welcoming. In a few words, Hamburg was clean, easy to get around, quiet, diverse, cozy, not overwhelming and...CHEAP. (After Denmark, ANYTHING is cheap.) (Okay...not CHEAP cheap...just CRAZY AFFORDABLE.)

Highlights: One mind-blowing Italian dinner next to the Musikhalle (didn't see the concert, though...DRAT); incredibly efficient underground (we bought a 3-day pass, then noticed that we ONCE saw anyone purchasing a ticket, and no one checked for them...?); a boat tour of the harbor narrated by a fellow who enjoyed repeating most English phrases four or five times in a row; St. Michael's church (up the tower in the elevator, down the tower via stairs to check out the clock and bells inside...THEY BIG); St. Nikolai's church (destroyed by bombs, the shell has been left as a monument for victims of war around the world); stumbling upon a heavenly Mongolian quartet in front of Town Hall (the Rathaus); the fabulous tap water (I KNOW!!); scrumptious falafel from a streetside kiosk; giving up the vegetarian ghost with a brat, a beer and french fries on a chilly afternoon...

Lowlights: 24/7 cigarette smoke (like having a full ashtray duct-taped to your chin); the worst tapas dinner EVER wherein the primary ingredient was tepid boiled potatoes; German "ketchup" (thin curry-flavored tomato-water); the Kunsthalle (art museum) where 2/3 of the exhibits were closed; choosing to wear boots with 4" heels for a full day and evening of walking...

We took a very comfy bus to Flensburg, Germany, and then a train to Hamburg...

(Apologies for the photo wonkiness. Terribly confusing. Click on any shot and it'll expand/zoom nicely.)