The Beatles, Kevin Keegan and Burgers.

No riding!!

It is a strange feeling, having a day off the bike. I probably deserve a rest. Certainly Hamburg is a big enough place to warrant a day of sightseeing in its own right.

But what should I do? I dipped into my knowledge of Hamburg and came up with the three things I mention in the title. First of all I remembered that The Beatles came here before they became famous. I googled it but there didn’t seem to be much reference to them in the tourist literature.

Next was that Kevin Keegan played for Hamburg after he left Liverpool. Not much mention of that either.

Lastly, it turns out that Hamburg only claims a flattened mince meat pattie and it was (probably German emigrants) Americans who created the burger between the bun and called it a Hamburger!

That’s three failures….but….what a great city it is.

I had a tiny breakfast and walked to the main harbour. I bought a ticket for all day ferries and set off.

The Elbphilharmonie Building certainly dominates the river views.

I had a short ferry to the Fish Market Hall.

I then walked under the river in a tunnel that was restored and only reopened in May this year. There are two tunnels, one for bikes and one for pedestrians. Amazing!

I caught another ferry and made another friend…

I thought it was about time I had the hamburger I promised myself.

Back to the accommodation for a little rest and then back out for another ferry trip.

As you can tell it was a hot sunny day. Hamburg was showing itself off in all its glory.

I was impressed by the mix of industry, old and new. Its architecture was amazing and the transport infrastructure was superb with road, rail, ferry and cycling all integrated. I didn’t hear many foreign voices so it seemed to attract mainly German tourists.

I did a little montage of photos.

I’m off to explore the Hanseatic League tomorrow. You will have to look out tomorrow to see what teams play in that division!