When I let you all know about this trip, and the next blog, I told you that I might get distracted and miss a few days. Well, it’s not even been 2 weeks and I am already behind! We have been busy touring the port of Hamburg and making our way to Prague. So, there hasn’t been a lot of time to keep you all posted. Here’s a quick run down on our last few days. I’ll try to keep up going forward. But, we have a very busy schedule…..
On Monday, we set aside the afternoon for a tour of the port of Hamburg. Hamburg is kind of a “sleeper” city. According to the tour books, it doesn’t get a lot of American tourists. I’m not sure why because it’s a great city that has a lot to offer. Hamburg is the second largest port in Europe, behind Rotterdam. So, as you can imagine, there is a large hub of activity at the waterfront. On our first full day out, we opted to take an hour long tour boat tour of the harbor. There is one tour daily that is in English, and we were on it!
The views from the water were incredible…..the skyline of the city and the ship activity on the harbor were both very interesting. There were container ships from all over the world loading and unloading their goods. I don’t know if you have ever had an up close and personal look at these puppies, but they are huge! One of the container ships was about 250,000 tons. WOW! Periodically, we saw windmills working to provide energy to power the massive equipment needed to do the work around these ships. It was mind-blowing. There was also a ship that was licensed in Luxembourg. The narrator, who was German and had a very difficult to understand and fast English narration, found this to be comical. Luxembourg is a country that is land-bound. So, this ship has never seen its home country. Kind of a ship without a country, if you will.
We also saw the “Europa”, one of the Hapac Lloyd cruise ships in dry dock. Mike wants to take this ship more than life itself! According to experts who study these cruise ships, this is the finest cruise ship in the world…..and the most expensive. Might be fun! When we win the lottery, we might consider this.
We also viewed the new concert hall that is right on the waterfront. It is a work in progress, expected to be completed in 2014 or 2015 depending on who you listen to. They are a little behind schedule. the architecture of this building is very unique. It is cube shaped in a way with windows that look like deep portholes. Interesting! The complex will include shops, restaurants, bars and cafes along with the hall. We might need to come back after it’s completed to see a concert! Good stuff!
After the tour, we convinced Mike to walk back into town. He agreed, with some consternation, but, in the end, I think he was glad he came along. Hamburg has 2 smallish lakes. The smaller of the 2 lakes is the center of an upscale tourist area in Hamburg. There are several upscale hotels there, as well. There is a fountain in the middle of the lake that reminded Mike and Gene of Geneva. I haven’t been there, so can’t do a comparison. But, I trust their assessment. We had a lot of fun looking in the shops and the Fairmont Hotel, Mike and Gene’s favorite hotel chain….mine, too. I am lobbying for Carrie to get a job with them so that we can all share in the hotel benefits. HA! So far, she is intrigued, but not sold! I have another 2 weeks to work on her. We’ll see what happens. I can be pretty persuasive!
There is also an Apple Store right there around the lake. I made a visit to the store, as I am having trouble with my cell phone here in Europe. Haven’t been able to make a call since I have been here. They got me going, albeit temporarily. The store is the biggest one I have ever seen….2 floors, just packed with people. Crazy!
On our last night, we had a lovely dinner at a restaurant that Gene had visited when he was last in Hamburg. It was yummy! We shared a bottle of German Reisling, which was very nice. However, it did impact our ability to get back to the hotel when we were through with dinner. We ended up taking the metro to the train station, which was very close to our hotel. But, we were unable to navigate back to the hotel and ended up taking a cab a very short distance. The driver wasn’t too happy. Too bad for him! I make it sound like we are heavy drinkers. We really aren’t. But, after a day of walking and small snacks, a little bit of wine goes a long way.
After our excursion, we were spent, and so packed it in for an early night. We were leaving on the 6:28 am train to Prague on Tuesday, so an early night wasn’t a bad idea.
Tuesday morning came early, but we were at the train station bright and early for our 6 hour train ride. Don’t want to miss anything. We boarded our first class compartment and headed off. The ride was very pleasant….and, we had our very own compartment with 4 seats…..just enough for our group. As I walked through the train, I decided that we definitely had the best seat in the house. All of the other compartments were for 6 people, and the people were really crammed in elbow to elbow. It pays to be early!
So, here’s the next food and travel connection……
Our first day in Prague consisted of eating and drinking beer…and, that’s about it. Mike and I are staying in a really nice Marriott Executive Apartment Hotel that is right off of Wenceslas Square, the happening place to be on the new side of town. We walked down to the square and had some snacks. As we walked through the square, we discovered stand after stand of street food, Czech style. We saw pigs roasting on spits, beer stands, piroghy stands, sausages, crepes….and other things that I couldn’t identify. We, of course, bellied up to the snack stands with the other locals and tourists and had a very substantial snack. It was great fun…and tasty! Again, food pulls us into the culture. There’s just no escaping it!
The other thing we have discovered is that food and beer here in Prague are very inexpensive. We went to dinner at a typical Czech restaurant later that night. We spent about $40.00 total for the 4 of us for 2 appetizers, 3 main dishes and 4 beers. We love this place! We will definitely not break the budget on this leg of the trip.
Tomorrow, we will really begin to explore Prague. I’ll let you know what we find!
Travel With Betsy 
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