Debarkation & Hamburg, Germany

            Thursday, 23 May 2013 – We woke up about 6:20 AM, about 25 minutes before our alarm clock went off, had breakfast, and finished packing.  At 8:10 AM, the cabin steward “kicked us out” of our cabin.  Apparently, we were supposed to have been out by 8:00 AM.  Then we proceeded to our assigned debarkation lounge, where we sat and talked with a couple from Puerto Rico.  Although we had gone on several excursions with them, we never did get their names.  (Like many others, they went on English-speaking tours, though English was a second-language for them.)  They gave us their opinion about Puerto Rico becoming a state: apparently, 98 percent of the citizens voted for Puerto Rico to become a state, but a few “powerful” citizens/organizations blocked it.  But they agreed that there are both pro’s and con’s regarding statehood.

City Hall

            It took about an hour for our tour bus to reach Hamburg.  Northern Europe has had too much rain this spring (just like eastern Iowa); we saw water standing in lower-lying fields.  When we walked, it was lightly raining some of the time, but not pouring rain as it had in St. Petersburg or in Warnmünde.  The ship newsletter predicted the coldest temp (about 55 degrees F) of our entire trip to be at debarkation in Kiel.  During our bus ride, our tour guide, Pedro, pointed out sights in Kiel and the countryside, and gave us a little history of the area – in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.  In Hamburg, we passed through downtown Alster Lake and the city’s exclusive areas, the Jungfernstieg with its luxury shops and shopping malls, the Renaissance-style City Hall and Stock Exchange, modern downtown architecture, parks and gardens, the TV tower, the exhibition center, and 19^th century court buildings.  We also visited the city’s famous landmark “Michel” – St. Michaelis Church and the “Kramer Amtssuben”, a well preserved complex of restored buildings, presenting the living conditions of the early 18th century.

Schweinske Restaurant

            After the tour, the bus driver dropped us off at the Hamburg train station, before proceeding to the airport with the remaining passengers.  Instead of finding our way to Hotel 66 by public transportation, we decided to splurge and pay 10.7 Euros for a taxi.  After a short recuperation period, we walked through Hamburg’s famous red light district, eating dinner at the Schweinske Restaurant, which specialized in Schweinerschnitzel.  We ordered one plate with onion-bacon sauce and French fries, and one with sauce and Spätzle; both also contained small salads.  Also, we each had a large, dark beer (called Duckstein).  Sally had forgotten how huge the plates of food are in Germany – we easily could have split one meal.  With some difficulty (for Sally, who felt the beer), we returned to the hotel, walking several blocks out of our way, at first missing the street our hotel was located because we had walked back on the opposite side of the street.  Since this walk was almost totally in Hamburg’s red-light district, Jesse was quite distracted by the signs and shops.  Sally was in bed, asleep, by 7:30; Jesse by 9:00 PM.

            We awoke around 7:30 AM, Friday, and went to breakfast – yes, Sally slept 12 hours!  It was a full breakfast with eggs, various meats (including salmon), cereal, breads with nuts and raisins, cheeses, juices, and coffee.

Joker Restaurant

            Later, we walked straight down our street several blocks to the bank of the Elbe River.  We saw a paddleboat that looked like the Mississippi Belle, local cruise boats, and a cruise ship in the distance.  Sally had to stop at a bakery for two Florentine cookies.  Around 4:00 PM, we walked by to the red-light district for dinner at the Joker restaurant, where we ordered Duckstein beer again (large for Jesse, regular for Sally), and a Schnitzel to share.  This one was much smaller than the ones we had last night, but we both had plenty to eat.  When we examined the bill, we noticed that it did say “Schnitzel, Wiener Art,” which probably means that it was Wiener (veal, not pork) tonight so this would explain the difference in cost/size of serving.  While there, a large group of young men came in for dinner.  When we heard them speaking English, we asked where they were from.  They were from Manchester, England, and had taken a 1.5 hour flight to Hamburg for a bachelor party for one of their group.  Distances are so much closer here – we wouldn’t even think of flying to another country for bachelor party.  Then we returned to the hotel to pack for our trip home.