Hamburg, Germany

Today I saw the downtown portion of the city of Hamburg, Germany. I was worried in the morning since it was pouring rain in the midst of a thunder storm. Thankfully the rain slowed down and I continued my day as planned.

As I am still getting used to the transportation system as well as the country in general, I was guided by Marian to the train station near their home. Although it was only a short distance, there was no chance of me finding it without my phone which is not working at the moment due to SIM card issues. What did people do without GPS back in the day? I am the worst with directions even with the GPS.

From the train station I would be taken to the central station in Hamburg which puts me in a prime location in the city. From here I was able to catch the hop on hop off city tour bus similar to the double-decker buses we have in downtown LA. I would never take one of these buses at home since I don’t consider myself a tourist in LA, so it was weird to be on one now. It is the most tourist thing you could do but it was a great help getting around the city and being able to see all of the main attractions. The tour guide was kind and spoke in English, so I would understand, and offered to help tell me when my stop was coming up.

I got off at only one stop but from there I walked to see many of the famous locations and buildings in the city. My favorite, was St. Michael’s Church. I wasn’t so interested in the interior of the church but I was intrigued by the bell tower. I was able to go to the very top where the bells for the church rang. At the top the view allowed me to see the entire city of Hamburg. A 360 view that I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else. It was amazing and I was so lucky the rain stopped and the day turned out to be beautiful.

Along my way through the the city I ran into a few fellow Americans and even a Washingtonian believe it or not. It’s amazing how even though this world is so big it can be so small at the same time. All in all I made it home safe and sound, in one piece, by myself on the right train with all of my belongings.