Hamburg – Amsterdam/Hamburg/Copenhagen vacation – August 2018

Hamburg – Amsterdam/Hamburg/Copenhagen August 2018

I have forever been in love with the rich history of Europe.  I was overjoyed when we got the opportunity to visit!  Our son’s soccer team traveled to Denmark and we knew this would be a once in a lifetime experience for all of us!  We had 10 wonderful days to explore as much as possible and we loved every minute of it.  Our travels included Amsterdam Netherlands, Hamburg Germany, and Copenhagen Denmark.

Hamburg

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The second stop of our adventure was in Hamburg, Germany.  We took a train from Amsterdam Central Station to Hamburg Central Station.  It was a great way to see the countryside of rural Netherlands and Germany.  Our hotel was about a mile from Hamburg Central Station, so we hopped on a short train to Landungsbruken Station.  It was an easy walk to our hotel from there.  We stayed at the Empire Riverside Hotel in the St. Pauli neighborhood for two nights. This was another great hotel in a perfect location (although the minibar wasn’t free – darn!).

We spent the first few hours exploring the neighborhood, walking along the river, and taking in the scenery.  There was a festival with live music a few blocks for our hotel, so we relaxed and enjoyed the festivities before going back to our hotel.

Attractions

The next day was our only full day in Hamburg, so we packed in as many activities as we could.  Here are the highlights of our day.  I recommend purchasing tickets to all the museums online!

• Michael’s church (www.st-michaelis.de/en/) – This is a historical church building with an amazing lookout level below the bell tower. The line for the elevator was long so we opted to hike up the stairs.  The views from the tower were breathtaking and worth the hundreds of stairs we climbed J  The interior of the chapel was the most beautiful and elaborate that I’ve seen!
• Nikolai memorial and museum (www.mahnmal-st-nikolai.de) – Place of remembrance for the victims of war from 1933 – 1945. We did not have time to take the museum tour, but we explored the exterior and read the information available. It is a very impressive building and unique part of history to experience. I definitely recommend visiting.
• Boat tour through the harbor – A great way to view the city including the beautiful historical Speicherstadt warehouse district and HafenCity. The guide gave interesting information in German and English.  We did the 1-Day Hop-on Hop-off Harbor Cruise, but there are many options to choose from.
• Miniatur Wunderland museum (miniatur-wunderland.de)  – The largest model railway in the world!  Explore this unique museum at your own pace.  It contains models of various parts of the world in intricate detail!  It is a perfect experience for all ages!
• Hamburg City Hall (hamburg.de/rathaus/) – This is another beautiful historical building. We stopped by on a whim while walking to the train station.  We only had time to walk through the courtyard and were extremely impressed.  I would definitely go back for a tour!

Restaurants and Dining

We stopped at several great restaurants and bars in our time in Hamburg – here’s a few we tried!

• Warneke Eis Ice Cream shop – I had an “ice cream omlette” that was large enough to be a meal! It is located along a pond with fancy fountains – great scenery!
• The Greek – delicious Greek food and wine!
• Waterkant – This is one of the restaurants in our hotel, which made for a wonderful and convenient breakfast. The options were extensive and we enjoyed great views while we ate.

Missed Attractions

We loved our time in Hamburg, it felt too short – I’d happily return again!  Here’s a few other popular attractions that we didn’t get to:

• Maritime Museum (imm-hamburg.de) – Collection of model ships, art, uniforms, and photographs!
• Hamburg Dungeon (thedungeons.com) – experience Hamburg’s tragedies, fire, floods, and historical torture methods!
• Chocovresum (www.chocoversum.de/en/) – Chocolate museum with 90 min tour and you get to make your own chocolate bar!  Samples included 🙂

I would love to share more!  If you have a question or comment, please feel free to message me below!

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