HAMBURG AND BEYOND
By Jenny M .
“ How We Did Hamburg ” is a better title for me because my time there is in the past . We lived there for 20 years and had visitors every summer , so perhaps I can offer some new ideas for you .
No holiday was complete without a trip or two to the Dinobad Dinosaur Swimming Pool in Altona , especially on a rainy day .
Our first visitors each summer were our grandchildren , and we discovered that there are many interesting things to do and places to visit with children . There are wonderful parks near our old home in the center of the city . One is on the grounds of Heiligengeist Kirche across from the Hauptbahnhof and near the start of Lange Reihe . It ’ s small , safe , and perfect for very little children . As our grandchildren grew older , we took them to the “ Pirates Playground ’’ at the Grasbrookpark in Hafencity near the Elbphilharmonie . There ’ s a pirate ship to clamber on , a paddling pool , swings and jumping pads , and , best of all , a bamboo tunnel to run through . There ’ s another children ’ s playground in Planten un Blomen , and this has a rope installation for brave children to test their climbing skills on and a “ mountain ” to slide down .
Other regular treats included a trip to the Freilicht “ Open Air ” Museum am Kiekeberg near Rosengarten , where children can dress up and pretend they lived in earlier times and see ( and smell ) a grand old pig and that year ’ s piglets .
The best treat for all the family was a ride on a double-decker train to Travemünde . This train goes from the Hauptbahnhof and links up with a small , local one which goes directly to Travemünde . It ’ s nice to walk past the cafes and shops to the beach and then hire a Strandkorb for the day .
Photo of Kaffee und Kuchen by Miriam Soliman from Unsplash
This was always packed with excited children who loved sharing the pool with dinosaurs . There ’ s a slide ( scary if you ’ re very little ) in the park nearby to round off your visit .
Our grown-up daughter and her husband were our next visitors each summer . Kate liked to celebrate her July birthday in Hamburg and hunted for restaurants in Lange Reihe and around the Alster for celebratory meals . There is a roof terrace on top of the George Hotel on Lange Reihe that is perfect for cocktails and has a view over the Alster . Cafe Gnosa was a favorite for Kaffee and Kuchen . They discovered a super Terrasse in the Fontenay Hotel which has a view of the Alster , too , from the other side of the lake . The hotel serves a mean cup of tea , as well as summer cocktails .
The Alster served us well when we had visitors , and we had many a brunch at the AlsterCliff restaurant . We ’ d cross the water by boat from the Atlantic Hotel landing and alight at the AlterCliff dock . We ’ d cross the Elbe too , going from Landungsbrücke to Finkenwerder and then back across to the Hotel Louis C . Jacob ’ s terrace restaurant for afternoon tea overlooking the Elbe and the enormous Airbus planes , plus a peek at the Max Lieberman painting on display there .
Photo of Planten un Blomen by Moritz Kindler from Unsplash
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