Day 1 – Explore HafenCity
Morning: Explore HafenCity and Speicherstadt
Start he morning wandering around HafenCity. This recently renovated part of town used to be a major part of the port system and has since become a popular place for business and apartments. For a bit of luxury, stay at the Westin Hamburg which is located above the Elbphilharmonie music hall. After less than a five minute walk, you will be in Speicherstadt, the old red brick warehouse district lined with canal. Stop for coffee at the Speicherstadt Kaffeeroserteri for breakfast. My favorite breakfast on the go is bagel with locks and a heisse shokolade (hot chocolate). They did have some really filling meals that included pastries, savory items, and fresh squeezed orange juice.
The Maritime Museum sits on the corner of one of the looming red brick buildings. With a Hamburg Card, you can save a few Euros. When they say that its over 10 stories of museum, they weren’t kidding. Each floor had a different maritime topic to explore with my favorite being about the engineering of boats. This museum talks about the history of maritime travel from exploration to the slave trade to war to paintings to navigation. There was definitely something for everyone in this museum.
Midday: Miniatur Wunderland
After feeling a little museum fatigue, stop for some more coffee at a local cafe (more hot chocolate for me). With the sun shining, enjoy the pedestrian streets watching people walk back and forth on lunch breaks. People kept walking by with ice cream cones in their hands so we knew that we had a new mission: find the ice cream. As I am always in the pursuit of ice cream, I had to try some German “Eis” before going to Miniatur Wunderland.
Even if you aren’t super interested at first in a “miniature train museum,” this place is so much more than that. Don’t believe me? Watch this video for more:
With our Hamburg Card, we were able to get a discount to admission and snagged a spot for the afternoon. We reserved ahead of time but you may get lucky with a walk-in. Depending on your level of curiosity, I highly recommend planning at least three hours for the Miniatur Wunderland.
There are nearly four levels of to scale model trains and the surrounding worlds they may travel in. Pictures don’t do it justice. The highlight for us was watching planes take off and land at the Knuffingen Airport. Even the figures were all unique, each doing different activities. There was a sense of whimsy and yet intentionality in each design and scene. Dioramas were interactive with buttons scattered throughout for visitors to push and activate different movements.
Still curious? Here is my post on Minatur Wunderland
Evening: Volksparkstadium
The real reason we had made the stop in Hamburg was to see a concert of a popular band. With our Hamburg Card we were able to travel further outside of the city center to the soccer stadium called Volksparkstadium. There were actually several public transportation routes and it was a huge cultural experience to travel with the hoards of fans to the venue.
If you don’t have plans to see a concert or soccer game, no need to visit the stadium. Suggest taking the evening to see a performance at the Elbphilharmonie or have dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Day 1 notable attractions
- Speicherstadt
- Elphilharmonie
- Maritime Musuem
- Miniatur Wunderland
- Volksparkstadium
Day 1 Foods
- Schanzenbäckerei Baumwall (Restaurant)
- Speicherstadt Kaffeerosterei (Restaurant)
- Trdlo Factory (Ice Cream Shop)
- Heimathafen (Restaurant)
- Scnitzel (Fried pork cutlet)
Day 2 – Shops and History
Morning: Shopping near the Rathaus
The second day is mostly unplanned with the only item on the list to explore town. Try visiting the city with two wheels with a bike or scooter rental. Walk or roll along the Kontorhausviertel which is a part of town with cobblestone and windy streets. Simply admire the architecture and stopped for a coffee at Die Rösterei Coffeum.
Then it was time to do some shopping at the small record shop called Michelle Records. Just down the way was Spitalerstraße, a pedestrian street with several international brands. We didn’t stop inside too many of these shops because one can find a H&M or Zara anywhere. Still, there is plenty of great people watching, so still worth stopping by.
The Rathaus or city hall can be recognized by the green patinaed roof and ornate architecture. You can go inside but we chose to simply sit in the square and observe all of the people walking by. I was riding off the high of buying a tote bag at a bookstore called Thalia. This German bookstore chain had everything one could ever desire in a book minus some of the indie bookstore charm. I still had a great time spending hours browsing the books, games, and gifts.
Midday: Groceries and Lunch
One of my must-do’s at any new country is, believe it or not, to visit a grocery store. It is super interesting to see what fresh produce is sitting on the shelves and perhaps as a hungry tourist, the snacks available. Since we were in the shopping district, we stopped in the Rewe grocery store located in the lower level of a shopping mall. I grabbed some Haribo gummy bears and chocolate dipped cookies as my treat.
I then slipped into another bookstore, this time and indie one called Marissal Bucher. This store had the indie charm and was so tiny that it made my heart very happy. The staircase led up to the open second level which was more like a balcony and I browsed the children’s book, considering picking up a translated copy of a beloved story.
We then stopped for lunch at a German chain burger place called Peter Pane Burgers.. We ordered burgers and onion rings to get a small taste of home. I had noticed that the ground beef is leaner in Germany but I am not complaining about it.
Off in the distance from our hotel, we could see the spire of a burnt church steeple. Determined to figure out what it was, he headed in that general direction. As we approached the St. Nikolai Church, we realized that there was more to it than being super old. From the ground, the church façade had most of its structure of the entrance and steeple. Once inside, nearly the entire nave had been destroyed. During WWII, much of Hamburg had been destroyed by Allied Forces and yet, miraculously, the spire had remained intact. We got a discounted admission with our Hamburg Card to take the elevator up to a lookout area. Being smushed into the small glass elevator that creaked upon its ascent was a little unnerving but the view from the top was quite impressive.
Evening: Dinner
We could smell the curry wafting from around the corner in a HafenCity Indian restaurant called Goa HafenCity Indisches Restaurant. We were hesitant to have Indian food in Germany but our love for the cuisine couldn’t keep us away. We sat on the patio. The food was flavorful and high quality. I would even argue that it was one of the best Indian foods I have eaten before (high praise!). We were so full from eating that we spent the rest of the evening in the hotel room drinking the bottle of wine we purchased at the grocery store.
Day 2 notable attractions
- Mönckebergstraße
- Rathaus
- St. Nikolai Church
- Kontorhausviertel
- Marissal Bucher
- Michelle Records
Day 2 Foods
- Die Rösterei Coffeum (Cafe)
- Rewe (Grocery Store)
- Peter Pane Burgers (Restaurant)
- Goa HafenCity Indisches Restaurant (Restaurant)
Day 3: Fish Market and Elbphilharmonie
Morning: Fish Market
If you do happen to be in Hamburg on a Sunday, definitely make a stop at the Fischmarkt. Similar to a farmers’ market, you will see several local vendors selling things from chocolates to fish to pineapples. As we headed down the riverwalk, people were hauling out huge bags overflowing with goods. This made me wonder, if I was staying for any extended duration of time, should I stock up on some chocolates by the bag.
My German class had prepared me for the fish yellers but only to an extent. One thing you’ll notice aside from the hustle and bustle of a local market is that certain stands have a vendor with a bellowing voice yelling in German about their products. There was one guy hollering about bananas as he threw assorted fruits into a bag to sell for twenty euros. I don’t know who was buying these bags but it seemed tempting. Another man was yelling about chocolate, calling “schokolade” as an audience gathered around his stand.
One of the must-do’s at the fish market is to try a fishbrot or a fish sandwich. Some have a raw piece of fish nestled into a bread roll, which I couldn’t quite get myself to try. However, I was more than willing to try the Backfisch which translates into fried fish. Even though it was eight-thirty in the morning, it was delicious.
Afternoon: Auto Museum and Elbphilharmonie Viewing Deck
Cars are deeply connected to modern German identity. We stumbled on the AutoMuseum Prototyp as we scooted around the HafenCity again. It was a great stop especially for car lovers but even I had fun. There were two full levels of cars on display. Some were real cars that had been on the road and others were prototypes. Some of the notable cars included: Michael Schumacher’s Jordan 101 F1 car, Herbie from the Lovebug movie, Porsche 911 GT3 RS
Since we were staying at the hotel, we were able to access the Elbphilharmonie viewing deck. It is free to go but you do need to get a ticket. I recall standing at the window and seeing the crowds accumulate closer to noon as people got in line to get access to the viewing deck. The lookouts were nice; a 360 degree view of the harbor and into the city. There is a gift shop and café for those looking to spend a little more time there. If you have time, seeing if there are any shows playing while you are there could be another great way to spend the evening.
Day 3 notable attractions
- Hamburg Sunday Fish Market
- Automuseum Prototyp
- Elbphilharmonie Viewing Deck
Day 3 Foods
- Fish Market (Market)
- Fischbrotchen (Fish sandwich)