Back from Hamburg.

Canoes for hire.

I arrived safely  on  platform 13a/b at Hamburg central station on Friday afternoon, to be met by Meggie and Jan and a bottle of beer and three glasses!   Drinking alcohol on the station is not allowed, but we took no notice and got on with our celebration.  It was a special occasion after all, as I have not seen M since this time last year.   The beer went down well, after I'd spent three hours travelling on the slow train from Braunschweig to Hamburg. 

We took the underground to the hotel, which was just around the corner from M and J's flat.  My room was excellent and very  efficiently furnished, clinically clean and with a television from which it was difficult to escape, the sort that occupies almost a third of the wall.   I am not complaining, for after a busy day sightseeing, I could lay in bed in the evening and watch tennis from Roland Garros in German and listen to the BBC World News Service in English,  both of which I find enjoyable.

These two photos show the view from the canalside restaurant where we celebrated my first evening in Hamburg.   The inside tables were fully booked, so we had to sit in the cold huddled under blankets provided by the restaurant.  Fortunately after only 15 minutes we were offered a table inside, as someone had cancelled.  How very fortunate that we could then eat our pizzas and drink yet more beer in the warmth.  A good time was had by all, and I went back to my hotel room with the big cinema screen and watched some tennis and news of the Jubilee celebrations in the UK.  A pity about the rain but it is a Bank Holiday!

One of the many trip-boats from the centre of Hamburg passes by.