Hamburg - day 1

Megan is working from home today because she has a doctor's appointment in the morning. We head off, at the same time, in different directions. I get as far as the city centre before she calls to say that the appointment has been postponed.

Back at the Klosterstern, we head off to the bi-weekly Ise-markt, an astonisjing array of stalls, strung out underneath an elevated stretch of S-Bahn. I buy some bio cheeses and we each get a Chinese street food pancake (Jianbing) [extra]. They are too stuffed and mouth-scorchingly hot to eat confortably on the hoof, so we head back the flat to enjoy them at leisure. And enjoy them we do. I also manage to try the cheeses, which are fine but unexceptional.

After lunch, I leave Megan to work and head of to play my part as tourist. First stop is the philharmonic building, shiny and curvy, where I ride the arched elevator and take a turn around the busy viewing platform.

From there I walk to the Rathaus, past canals lined with elegant buildings, connected by high level, glass walled bridges [extra]. The Rathaus is an impressive piece of architecture, but I'm far more impressed by the city park (Planten und Blumen). The reclining sculpture [extra] is a great welcome, and the varied curated sections are beautiful and relaxing: the old garden; the Japanese garden [extra]; the Apotheke garden (closed).

I continue via the Messe and its huge tower to the Schanzenpark and its old/new Môvenpick hotel. From Schlump I take the U-Bahn to Niendorf, where I spot an anachronistic Woolworths [extra] and enjoy a beer at The Village bar in Niendorf Markt


The 16 takes me to the ring road and I cross over into a more affluent, almost rural setting. A short walk takes me across the border into the state of Schleswig-Holstein which I wrote about on LinkedIn. And then its getting dark and I retrace my steps to Hochallee.

We are both still tired, so we head over the road to Tassjara, where we have a lovely meal - with surprise starters that we didn't order thrown in. My aubergine tortilla was tasty and filling, but the blackcurrant sorbet stole the show.