CPA, MD + 3: Welcome to My World: Germany Day 1: Hamburg

We arrived in Hamburg yesterday evening after an overnight flight from DFW to London Heathrow and then Heathrow to Hamburg. I still am unable to sleep sitting in an airline seat, but the kids and Brannon had no problem catching some sleep on the flight. Brannon was looking forward to driving a Mercedes sedan for a rental car but when we arrived in Hamburg, the Mercedes they have reserved for us had only 4 seats. So we ended up with a Range Rover small SUV instead. The kids loved the sunroof which takes up the majority of the top of the car. After a short drive from the airport, we arrived at our hotel. We spent a little bit of time exploring the hotel and swimming in the indoor pool and then it was time for bed.

This morning our driver/guide met us in the hotel lobby for a half day of sightseeing. Here is what we've learned:

Hamburg was founded in 808 AD.
It's name means city (burg) on a hill (hamm).
It is Germany's biggest port even though it lies 110 km away from the North Sea on the Elbe River.
The port of Hamburg is the second busiest port in Europe and is known as the country's "Gateway to the World."
There are many streams, rivers and canals in the city that are crossed by some 2,500 bridges, more than London, Amsterdam and Venice put together.
St. Michael's Lutheran church is the most famous church in the city. The present church building is the third one at this site. The first one was built from 1647 to 1669. That church was destroyed on March 10, 1750, by a lightning strike. In 1786, a new construction was completed. This is the church as we know it today. It was reconstructed twice in the 20th century: after catching fire in 1906 during construction work and after the bombings of 1944 and 1945.
The second tallest structure in Hamburg is St. Nicholas' Church. The church lies now in ruins, with only its tower remaining, serving as a memorial for World War II and an important architectural landmark.
The Elbe Philharmonic Hall is still under construction. In 2007, the construction was scheduled to be finished by 2010 with an estimated cost of €241 million. Construction work is now scheduled to end in October 2016 at a cost of €789 million, with an announced opening date of 11 January 2017. So much for German efficiency! :-)
The warehouse district is the largest warehouse district in the world where the buildings stand on timber-pile foundations. It was built from 1883 to 1927 as a free zone to transfer goods without paying customs. The companies in the warehouse district handle one-third of the world's Persian carpet trade, and other goods including cocoa, coffee, tea, spices, maritime equipment, and electronics.
The Binnenalster or Inner Alster Lake is one of two artificial lakes within the city limits of Hamburg, which are formed by the river Alster. The other lake is Außenalster or Outer Alster Lake. It is the larger one of two artificial lakes. The Außenalster and its shores are used by the inhabitants of Hamburg for many sport and recreational purposes such as sailing and rowing.
Besides the seagulls, there is another kind of bird which is very common for the city of Hamburg: the swans. They populate the Lake Alster the whole year through, till it gets cold in November. Then the “Schwanenvater” (“Swans-daddy”… which is actually a person paid by the city of Hamburg to do the job) collects and brings them to a safe place where they can stay over the cold and icy winter days. When spring-time arrives, they get back to the Alster. And this is done every year. It is documented that the care of the swans has at least been in the hands of the city since 1591. There was even a law enacted by the senate of Hamburg in 1264 which would punish if someone should eat, beat to death, shot or insult a swan.

Besides driving around the city to see its sights, we also stopped at the Hamburg Miniatur Wunderland. Miniatur Wunderland (German for miniature wonderland) is the largest model railway attraction of its kind in the world. In September 2015 the railway consisted of 50,525 ft of track in HO scale, divided into seven sections: Harz, the fictitious city of Knuffingen, the Alps and Austria, Hamburg, America, Scandinavia, Switzerland and a replica of the Hamburg Airport. The model takes 13,993 sq ft of floor space - i.e. it is huge! The construction of the first part started in December 2000 by twin brothers Frederik and Gerrit Braun and they are still adding more exhibits each year.

We were still in Miniatur Wunderland when our guide had to leave us, so we continued on without him for the rest of the afternoon. Our next stop was the International Maritime Museum. The museum houses Peter Tamm's collection of model ships, construction plans, uniforms, and maritime art, amounting to over 40,000 items and more than one million photographs. It is organized by floor:

9th floor: The big world of ship models, water sports (over 26,000 models of ship from around the world)
8th floor: Maritime Art (art gallery and "treasure trove")
7th floor: marine research, energy and fisheries
6th floor: merchant shipping, cruise and ports
5th floor: navies of the world (from 1815 to present)
4th floor: life on naval vessels, ship's armament
3rd floor: The development of shipbuilding and engineering
2nd floor: sailing ships - from antiquity to the Hanse Sail, Cape Horniers and piracy (we found a section with an Opti (the boat Madeleine and James sail at sailing camp) and a sailing video game)
1st floor: explorers, navigation, communications and children's area

We spent close to 4 hours in this museum alone and did not see all the exhibits! I am pretty sure Brannon could go back and spend a whole other day there.

After closing down the museum, we headed back to the hotel for dinner. Then it was time for bed to get ready for another day - tomorrow we head to Lubeck with our guide.

Pics from Sightseeing Tour: