Another nice day here in Hamburg, so we decided to spend our “free” day exploring some of the city parks.

First was the city cemetery, just across the road from our hotel.

Possibly a strange choice, but the place is enormous, with 2.5m people buried in the woodland.

Next was the Stadtpark, not so interesting, but nice beer and a lake.

Then we went back to another section of Planten un Blomen park.

Now back to the airport, to see if DifficultJet are going to fly us home tonight. Update: For the 3rd day running, this flight has been cancelled. So we’re still in Hamburg…

Yesterday, we left Phil and Lucy relaxing in the park and went to visit a Spice Museum. It was a bit of an adventure, because part of the route was closed (possibly engineering), but we found it in the end. It was small but very interesting, with actual spices we could feel and sniff.

We were amused that one of the exhibits included Phil’s favourite chilli sauce!

We got one last boat on the way back.

Following the thunderstorms yesterday, its been a lot cooler and fresh today.

Lucy and I spent the morning watching the boats go by on Alster Lake:

Whilst the others went to an interesting spice museum by the docks.

We met up for lunch at a nice Italian restaurant:

Then dropped the girls off at the airport as they had an earlier flight home.

We then visited the unimpressive Beatles memorial in the Reeperbahn:

And had time for a few beers before our flight.

Once back at the airport, our flight was shown as departing on schedule on the departure boards, but an online check showed it increasingly late. Eventually it was shown as cancelled (as was the inbound flight from Gatwick). So we queued for an hour only to be told we had to sort everything out ourselves online… Not impressed, but we do now have a bed for the night and a booking for a flight home tomorrow…

We went to one of the many parks in Hamburg today, and despite this one having a strange name, it was really interesting, with a mix of very different areas:

We went in a tropical hothouse – not the best choice when the temperature outside was above 30C, but fascinating nevertheless:

Next was a Japanese Garden – apparently the largest in Europe:

Then it was time for a beer and a plate of chips (with mayonnaise), then the Apothecary Garden, divided into sections by the plants uses:

Then came some nice water gardens:

And just as we were passing, an enormous multi-jet waterfall started; the spray downwind was very welcome to cool us down!

Our next stop was an excellent Rose Garden

And finally, a walk around a different lake:

We got home just before the thunderstorms started, so excellent timing!

Phil and I can usually find a good park in any city we visit, but this one is one of the best. A kind lady offered to take a photo of all of us.

We had to be up early to get here in our allocated time…

This involved a couple of trains and a walk across the docks:

As for Minatur Wunderland itself, where do you start? So much to see, and even walking round twice, I’m sure I missed many things.

As well as trains, there are moving lorries, boats and animations.

Every so often, the rooms darken into night:

Different layouts are based on specific countries:

And winter:

Thousands of LEDs and people are used:

The control room was fascinating (for me):

Switzerland was well modelled over two floors:

And an airport, with planes taking off and landing!

A rock concert:

Even a working volcano:

And so much more, including trains!

These photos are really just a tiny snapshot of the models there – a recommended visit.

Afterwards, definitely time for a beer…

We wandered from the hotel to a square we’d seen last night; lots of cafés and bars…

Having chosen one, we navigated the mysteries of a German menu and chose an interesting starter to share:

And something that was an interesting variation on a pizza – much lighter:

Plus of course, various beers to wash it down!

A very hot day today, so we used the U-bahn and S-bahn to go to the harbour. More interesting than some, with touristy things on one side and commerce on the other:

First visit was to a restored sailing ship with an interesting past:

After which, time for a beer (is this a familiar sentence on our posts?)

Our travel ticket for Hamburg includes the harbour ferries, so we had a quick tour around the harbour:

We enjoyed this so much that we got another ferry that went further along the river (Elbe) and got off where there were many bars and cafes for lunch.

We settled on pretzels (and beer/juice) in a place overlooking the river:

Further up was a beach, but the sand was too hot to walk on, so we caught the next ferry onwards and back to where we started:

Then it was just a couple more trains back to the hotel for a shower and cool down!

It was a smooth journey last night, though quite late once we all met at the airport and got the train into town.

This is the exciting view from our hotel room:

Looks like it’s going to be a hot sunny day today, just like home!

We’re on our way to Hamburg for the weekend. A pleasant (and fast) journey on the train via London Bridge, and now the endless wait for the plane.Still, overpriced beer is at least available!