"Germany's Gate To The Seas" a Hamburg Travel Page by RhineRoll

Hamburg is my favourite city in Germany. It is cosmopolitan, it's pure class in its noble quarters, but it also has its bumpy areas. It is a Northern European city having many similarities with Copenhagen and Stockholm. Hamburg has done particularly well keeping in mind that large parts of the city were virtually wiped out in the bombings and subsequent firestorms of WW II with more than 100,000 civilian casualties.

My parents live about 25 km north of Hamburg and my brother has just moved to the city, finding a job at the local Airbus factory.
Because of my family connections, I am a frequent visitor to Hamburg.

Hamburg's seaport is Germany's largest, even though it is almost 100 kms inland, on the river Elbe. The Elbe broadens into a wide estuary and becomes tidal from Hamburg to the North Sea.

Sightseeing boat tours of the harbour and the picturesque old docklands are a must when visiting Hamburg.

By any comparison, Hamburg is a vast city. This is a view towards downtown from the promenade of the Aussenalster lake, one of Hamburg's most upscale parts of town. Don't get fooled by the picture, the lake is completely surrounded by the city, it's a tiny area that's not built on. From here, the city reaches out at least 20 km into all directions. How does Hamburg compare to Germany's other top 3 cities? Berlin? Berlin is even larger and has also larger waterscapes, but the main lakes are out of town and do not offer the same aura of proximity to the sea and the wider world. Munich? LOL... forget Munich! Against Hamburg, it's nothing but a village. All over Germany, there is nothing to match the powerful impression of the Hanseatic tradition -- made even more powerful by its sheer class and British-style understatement.