Hamburg

Hamburg is something special, not only because it is “the most beautiful city of the world” but although for the political organization. The city of Hamburg – official called “Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg” is a federal state as well as a city. There are no other free cities in this area. The seven districts of Hamburg have not the right to make decisions like other cities, they have restricted self-governments. The limits are on different areas. Even the districts have look-alike-governments, the members cannot really decide anything. The districts are more an administration, then a government.

I always liked this city. Even it was the artist “Freddy Quinn” who declared in the movie “Heimweh nach St. Pauli”, that Hamburg is “the most beautiful city of the world” I agree so far. Maybe I will see a more beautiful one on my travels, but I have not found one yet, even I adore cities like Prague, Vienna and more. For me Hamburg is special because the lake in the heart of the city and the harbour. The silhouette of Hamburg has changed during the years, a lot of streets have been broadened. I do not like the “Unfinished” (like Beethovens Unvollendete) Elbphilharmonie and the politics around the building, but I can forget this one, when I look in another direction. By the way it was finished at the end of 2016 and opened January 11, 2017. It is a miracle ;-).

I was living in Hamburg for about five years. That was a dream coming true. It was my third try to go there. Anyway I became so disappointed of the politics, that it was easy for me to move to Malta. My first time I have been in Hamburg was in 1965. I think it was during easter holiday, but maybe in summer that year. It was my first time traveling alone. My parents brought me to the train in Kassel and my cousin picked me up at the Central station in Hamburg. At that time it still took seven hours to go by train from Kassel to Hamburg. By the way I was so happy for this opportunity, that I was walking around in our home with the (still empty) suitcase a whole week before I was visiting my cousin.

To be honest, my cousin did not really live in Hamburg, but close by and we have been in Hamburg several times. She showed me the airport – in 1965 still a special place, we visited a horse racing, were walking along the river Elbe, visited the fish-market and more. I fell in love with Hamburg. It is still my favorite city even I love Malta, too.

The photographs from that time I have to prepare before I can put them on this site, but I have a lot of photographs from 2009 onwards. I cannot show you all of them here, though I chose my favorites. One more thing I have to tell you. There is a little island, which belongs to the sovereignty of Hamburg. The island is called Neuwerk. One can only reach or leave it twice a day – one time by boat and the other by the special horse carts because the tide. I have been on that island, too. If you want to know more about Hamburg, you have to look it up on the Internet or – better – visit it. Enjoy!

When I was in politics in Hamburg I also have got the opportunity to visit the island Neuwerk. It is administrated by the borough: Hamburg-Mitte. One can only reach the island twice a day. By boat, when the flood is high enough and by ebb with horse and wagon. There are no many people living there, but it usual is a school there for grade 1 – 4, then the children have to go to boarding schools and are only at home on weekends and holidays.

October 2015

Actually I should make more pages for Hamburg, but just now I will put in the text for the time, when I travelled home from Malta to Sweden after I retired from my job on Malta. I did that, because I had a surgery for my thyroid cancer. On the way home I visited friends and relatives in several destinations in Austria and Germany.

29th October 2015

The bus was a quarter of an hour late at my destination Hamburg. I looked there for a woman. I had get to know her by “ebay Kleinanzeigen”. I have had an advertising to look for a fellow traveler. I did not find her, of course, because she wrote to me, she will pick me up at another place, where I have to go by bus. I remembered that soon and took the bus in the right direction and left at the right place. That was easy, because once living in Hamburg, it was a place were I have been more than once. I was looking around there, were I should wait and decided for a place, which could be the right one after the directions I have had got. Actually I was late. After a while she picked me up there. She had been there before, but had to go home for some minutes meanwhile. We walked to her home just 5 minutes away. She served me a meal and we talked a lot before we were going to bed around 10pm.

30th October 2015

I awake around 8am again. Even the couch was not very comfortable, I have had a good nights sleep. I took my medicine, checked my emails (sent two as well) and was invited for breakfast.

I am happy that another friend, will send my parcels by dpd to my son in Malmö – because I found out, that it is allowed to send heavy parcels to Sweden, one cannot send by mail. Though there is no need to make two of the three parcels. I also send an email to the authority for the drivers license (Führerscheinstelle) in Hamburg, because I hoped, that I could get an international drivers license by visiting in Hamburg and neither have a home on Malta nor in Sweden or elsewhere, but they denied this time, too. I do not know why they are so repellent, if it belongs to that they do not like to write something in English or because they have to much to do. Anyway they named a paragraph after which I should get it in Sweden and have to ask there.

Before lunch I was going by bus to Hamburg-Altona looking for the repair of my hearing aids at the shop, where I bought them in 2013. That was no problem at all and I also have got it for free. Therefore I was happy, that I decided not to try to get a repair on Malta, even I only had one working hearing aid for some month. I strolled around in that shopping area before I was continuing to “Jungfernstieg”, central in Hamburg. I was looking at the lake Alster, which I like very much. It makes Hamburg to be the city I love. I went for a meal in another part of the city, not far away from the Michaelis cathedral, which I continued to later. Using the street with all four Scandinavian sailors churches and the Spanish and Portuguese Tapas bars. Furthermore I took the ferry throughout the harbour to Finkenwerder, but I was not leaving – I just went back with it to “Landungsbrücken” again.

It was not really dark when coming back by the ferry, though I decided to take a sightseeing bus to go around Hamburg to all the places I know and have seen before. I thought, I may hear something I do not know about Hamburg – so I did. The famous “Elbphilharmonie”, which I call the “Unvollendete” according to the “Unfinished Symphony” of Schubert, has no cranes anymore and seems to be finished outside, but the day for opening will not be earlier than in the year 1917 – if it ever will be opened.

The evening I spent by trying to get in touch with the “Pirat Party” of Hamburg. I told them, that I will come, but none was awaiting me. Anyway after a while, one of the two deputies in the “parliament of Hamburg-Mitte” was coming and we had a warm welcome. Anyway another friend of mine was coming there, though I followed her instead to spend the evening together with her, her husband and another friend of them.

I was back between 10pm and 11pm at my host’s place.

31st October 2015

I did not sleep well during the night and got breakfast at 10am as well as a chat with my host. We left her home together one and a half hour later and were going by bus to the bus terminal. We arrived very early and my host told me, that I should not pay 8 EUR for a box, though we went to the McDonald’s coffee shop and she took a coffee while I was taking a coffee and a muffin. She left at 1pm and I walked the few steps to the bus stop for Malmö. The bus should leave Hamburg at 1:30pm, but did not come before 2pm. It left at 2:13pm. The bus was late because it was not allowed to go through a barrier for a demonstration and anti-demonstration. You have to know that there are some few Nazi-people in Germany with some sympathizer, but the anti-demonstration were five times so many! No Nazi / No AfD!

At least you have the unique opportunity to follow me throughout Denmark over the Öresundsbridge till Sweden. Usually I take a flight to Copenhagen or Stockholm, which means I will not use the bridge. The bus will arrive in Malmö, where I will see three of my four children. Follow me over the borders.