The City of Hamburg
The windshield of a car gives you the most revealing view of the city upon entering. It is like driving through an ocean of fog, suddenly clearing out to expose the sights of numerous church towers and the great river of the City of Hamburg. Distracted by the green meadows and the river shore, you totally seem to forget that you are in one of Germany's largest cities.
The first glimpse of urbanity I caught was the Four Seasons Hotel slowly emerging out of the horizon of the windshield. The white façade ornamented with several emblems and the traditional flags on the rooftop do not look very urban, for it reminds me rather of an old Gothic building.
Driving further down the busy street you will find yourself entering downtown, which keeps the most interesting landmark of the city. It is the “Alster” which is a great pool with a large fountain in the middle. That fountain always seems to be the loudest point of the city, because whenever an open-deck tourist boat comes along, you will see people screamingly rushing away from their seats in order not to get wet.
At that point Hamburg seemed to me like the little sister of Venice, with some channels here and there, the Alster and its smaller rivers, a couple of piazzas filled with people feeding doves and other birds. Actually everything seemed very Venetian except the romantic ambience and the people. Seeing people fighting in the middle of the streets or beggars urinating at a building does not really give you the romantic tingle.
Along the Alster is the shopping mile of Hamburg called the “Gaensemarkt,” which stretches throughout downtown. The buildings are old Victorian, yet remodeled, since nearly all parts of the city had to be rebuilt, to “fit in” the new millennium. Hamburg and her citizen were victims of the World War II bombings in 1945, destroying three fourths of the city and killing one third of Hamburg's population. The restoration period literally fused all ages together to help one another rebuilding the city. That's what I saw in the shopping mile, the fusion of the old buildings with the young fast food chains of Burger King or McDonalds. Downtown satisfies every consumer's heart from the expensive designer stores like Versace, Louis Vuitton, or Bulgari, to Calvin Klein, Diesel, or H&M. Squeezed in between all those stores you will see several cinemas and theater houses displaying the latest movies, and probably musicals and plays.
It is almost impossible to not to get distracted by the view of a large open space in the middle of the shopping mile. It is called the City-Hall market, because it is situated right in front of the City Hall of Hamburg. The City Hall itself reminds me of an old, small palace. It carries the crest of the city of Hamburg above its entrance. The market space itself displays monuments of two famous artists of Hamburg. One is a statue in memory of Thomas Mann, who was a writer and a poet. The other is a plaque on the ground honoring a famous composer; Felix Mendellsohn-Bartholdy.
As soon as you position yourself to the back of the City Hall, you will see several new clubs, playing R&B music all night long. Near dusk you would see the young fashionable people gather around such places and drink a few drops of liquor always within the reach of the policemen patrolling nearby. Old people would complain about how violent and rotten the youth is, which would always cause some “Fights of Generations” here and there. Those fights though are still more common in the harbor region, which is just several minutes by foot. This is the place where every sort of entertainment can be found, from the sultry red light district to the rave clubs and musical theatres of the city. With its blinding neon lights and blinking signs, the entertainment district invites its costumers, sometimes luring them into the unknown. Once inside a club you are very prone to dance away the night until you are not aware of time anymore, which you also do not need to be, since discos and clubs do not have a closing time in Hamburg City.
This part of the city is plastered with stands and kiosks selling Frankfurter Wurst and French fries, always surrounded by doves and seagulls picking up the leftovers. Another attraction Hamburg has to offer are her several casinos, inviting players from all parts of the city to join the big game. I was denied access to the big house of game. I didn't own an ID that said I was 18 years old.
No one who ever visited Hamburg said no to a walk along the pier and its great river called “the Elbe”. The pier was packed with luxurious ferries and old sail boats. There were a couple of little fisher boats trying to sell their fresh fish to whoever came along.
From the pier you have the best view over all the churches that are situated in the city. Hamburg is famous for its numerous churches, and of course its towers. From Gothic to Baroque, every style of architecture is present. St. Micheal, probably the most popular and the only church in the city known for its constant reconstruction, is a tall church and stands highly visible throughout Hamburg City. It has a green colored tower and a grey façade body. Upon entering you find yourself in a great hall with all the usual wooden seats, yet if you look at the ceiling, you will be able to see charming paintings of angels. Three organs manifest the sound in the St. Michael church. As mentioned earlier it has been rebuilt after it burned down, and was hit by a bomb in the Second World War. A five minute walk away is another church that is known as the St. Nikolai church. It is the black gothic church of Hamburg. It reminded me of a “villain-headquarter,” because it is sinister and dark. It is impassable, for its hazardous and vulnerable walls. It is said that several relics are displayed inside, yet no one I know has ever seen them. Hamburg has its numerous mysteries and the St. Nikolai church is definitely one of them. Aside from the mystery, Hamburg was sleek, elegant, chic, and yet mature. Everything seemed to be united; old and new, the latest fashion and “so-last-season,”
It was all there, everything in one place, all in one city. The fusion; the syncretism of Hamburg's different ages and ethnicities living together, was what showed me that we can live in harmony despite gaps and differences.
