Sep 9, 2012 - Posted from Brooklyn NY
Remember, click a photo to see it larger.
And... see the entire collection of photos by following the link at the end of this post.
We're back home. (been back for a couple of days, but thought you'd enjoy these last two posts). Our trip to Wales and Germany is now behind us. Behind, but not forgotten. One trip but two very different weeks with great contrasts and that made the trip that much more rewarding.
Week one in Wales - a place of great natural beauty; of ocean and rugged shoreline. With the added bonus of spending quality time with old friends.
Week two in Germany's 2nd largest city, Hamburg - prosperous, sophisticated and elegant, orderly, clean and well cared for. A beautiful city with lovely canals and parks and magnificent buildings that are architectural gems. A city with a long history, including the dark period of Nazi dictatorship and its genocide against its Jewish residents (as well as trade unionists, progressives, Romani, homosexuals and others).
I'm embedding a song here:
Why Aye Man by Mark Knopfler (a great guitarist and singer/songwriter, formerly of the group Dire Straits). In this song he writes of a humble worker from Newcastle in UK - a Geordie man, an
economic refugee forced to flee his economically depressed home to work in Germany.
We had no way of staying afloat,
We had to leave on a ferryboat.
Economic refugees,
On the run to Germany.
I thought this song appropriate since we visited both countries. (and in any case, I really like it).
Hamburg is a prosperous town. Though one week is hardly enough to know a city, let alone a country, a casual observer comes away with the feeling that things seem OK here and headed in the right direction: orderly, neat, clean, well maintained and cared for. The prosperity comes with a price that other European countries like Greece and Spain are paying for. German banks are demanding that those countries pay their debts on the back of severe slashes to people's standard of living. Still, Stacey and I were both impressed by the quality of life here. Coming from the U.S. and New York with a stench of austerity laying heavy in the air; with what seems like never-ending layoffs, budget cuts, attacks on unions and constant GOP talk of deficits and smaller government; with our infrastructure in tatters ... well, Germany seems a world apart. The idea that is so fashionable in the U.S. today (among certain circles) - that government should
not be employed to improve the quality of life for
all its citizens seems alien and unimaginable to Germans. It's also obvious that when you spend close to 60 percent of your annual budget on wars and Pentagon budgets, there is precious little money left for taking care of your cities, schools, health care, transit systems, etc. Germans pay higher taxes than Americans but they get, it seems, a very good return for their money that pays back with a very high quality of life.
One other point: in flying back I sat at the window of the plane and watched the German landscape far below. I was amazed to see hundreds upon hundreds (maybe thousands) of wind turbines all across that country, spinning gently and generating electricity for the villages and cities next to which they stood. Flying in to the U.S. through Maine, Massachusetts and New York, I was able to see just one single set of turbines. (To be sure, there are many more, but trust me: my anecdotal observation showed a staggering difference in the amount of turbines deployed in each country). Recently, Germany has stated that they intend to produce 35 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2022. This year they have already surpassed the 20 percent mark. They have also declared, categorically, that they will end the use of nuclear plants to generate electricity. They obviously have a plan and they are embarked on making it reality. Despite the President's proposals to invest in clean energy, we've gone virtually nowhere in ending our addiction to oil and all that that portends for our planet not to mention this country's foreign policy that depends on securing access to oil, often through use of military power. Congress, controlled by the
Grand Oil Party, has blocked any progress in that direction.
So, like Mark Knopfler sings: "Germany's alright with me." Play the song.
~~~
Again, this is a biking city: old, young, solo and in groups - people are out on bikes everywhere and all the time. We found it easy to fit right in. The bike lanes are on the sidewalk, not in the street. It seems to work. Cars look out for bikes crossing - they must yield the right of way or face a hefty fine. Bikes must look out for pedestrians and drive with care (not always the case it seemed, but by and large, yes).
 |
Stacey on her folding Brompton bike in front
of our apartment house on Hallerstrasse. |
 |
| Bike paths are on the sidewalk and well delineated. |
On our second day in town we biked our way to Mirjam and Kris' house, about 2 miles away. They live in the Altona section of town, not as wealthy; more working class, more diverse.
 |
| Mirjam and Kris's house on Max Brauer Allee. |
 |
| Mirjam at home. |
 |
| Jona at home after school. |
We went out for a walk through their neighborhood and over to the Stamp street fair which we loved watching - both the performers, the vendors and the locals out enjoying them selves on a Saturday.
 |
| Locals enjoying a drum band. |
Various shows were being performed over many blocks of a shopping promenade. Drummers, a brass band, bubble blowers and more, were out in force and surrounded by large crowds of strollers and onlookers.
 |
| Kris and Maya - enjoying the festivities. |
 |
| A large and loud drumming band. The audience loved it. |
We walked back to Kris's house. The neighborhood was very interesting. On one building, a statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I, the unifier of Germany. One could spend weeks walking around this city, admiring its buildings and architecture. At least, those which were left after the World War. Allied bombers unleashed a week of devastating carpet bombing in July of 1943 that was said to have killed almost 40,000 civilians, many of whom were burned to death in the ferocious firestorms that ensued. Almost 80 percent of Hamburg's buildings were destroyed. The story of the Hamburg bombings weighs heavily on the psyche of Hamburg residents to this day. The story of the Nazis era that
unleashed the World War - well, I don't know how heavily that burdens their outlook.
 |
| Hello there Kaiser! |
From Kris's place we walked over to Ilse's (Mirjam's mom) house for dinner. She lives nearby and her apartment overlooks a lovely cemetery/park. Very peaceful and green
.
 |
| Ilse's lovely apartment - scene of a great dinner! |
~~~
On Day 3 (Sunday), after our every-day breakfast at the
bakerie on the corner, we biked through stunningly beautiful neighborhoods on our way to Hamburg's centerpiece:
The Alster.
|
It's hard to describe how beautiful this section of the city is. It's filled with elegant old buildings, apparently exempted from the Allied attacks and reserved for their use after the war. Indeed, today's U.S. consulate is directly on the Alster and has been there since the end of the war.
 |
| Block after block of these beautiful buildings. |
On the west side of that lake is a beautiful park that Hamburgers flock to for walking, biking or just hanging out on a lovely day. What a beautiful setting!
 |
| Old and young - the Alster's the place to be. |
At the south end of the Alster is the historic city center with its magnificent City Hall (Rathouse) and fancy shopping streets and lovely canals. When Stacey and I reached the end of Alster Park we came across a giant food festival packed with people.
 |
| Wurst is best in Hamburg. |
 |
| Zuckerwatte anyone? That's cotton candy to you. |
Now for a word about Marie, a very special woman we met through Mirjam and Kris. Marie owns the building that we stayed in. Along with her husband, Almicar, the building, which was built in the 1880's, has been brought back to its former glory. Marie is also a pediatrician. Marie made our week in Hamburg unforgettable. You never know what moves a person to be kind, generous, and embracing but whatever it is, Marie has it in spades. Over the course of the week, we had breakfast and a dinner at her place; then a dinner out coupled with a tour of the city; on one morning she took Stacey shopping; on another morning, she drove me to her practice so that I could be looked at by her colleague - I had been suffering from a stuffed ear that was impacting my hearing. "That's just the way she is" Kris told me when I asked him about the attention and generosity that this stranger, now new friend, lavished on us.
 |
| Stacey with out friend, Marie. |
On the evening of our third day, Marie invited us to a concert. Her husband was part of a choir that was performing down by the harbor at the Gustav Adolf Kyrka, a Swedish church. We joined Marie and her daughter, her friend,Wolfgang and some others by boarding the No. 15 bus in front of the apartment and then transferred to the subway for a ride down to the harbor. The concert was lovely and for us, a chance to be Hamburgers out for a local event. A very special night and so unexpected.
 |
Stacey with Marie, her friend Wolfgang and another friend, Ruth.
Waiting for the No. 15 bus near the apartment. |
A short video of the choir. Press PLAY to enjoy.
 |
| This little boy thought the choir was a bit loud. |
After, we all took the subway back home. Marie and friends went to attend a 75th birthday party that in progress on the ground floor. She begged us to come in as well but we declined. We went out, just the two of us, to a nearby Italian restaurant,
Der Etrusca (The Etruscan) and enjoyed a late dinner. Another memorable day in Hamburg.
This is the end of this part of our Hamburg Visit. My final post, the third part, continues shortly. I hope you'll join us for the conclusion. - Matt
To see ALL of this post's photos,
CLICK HERE.
