Hamburg isn't that big but we did have aching legs after walking for a few hours. We first walked to see this unique building known as the Chile Haus. The building is famed for its top, which is reminiscent of a ship's prow, and the facades, which meet at a very sharp angle at the corner.
Impressive building, right?
Along the way to the Rathaus (or Town Hall), we passed by 2 churches, St. Jacobi Church and St. Petri Church. Churches had become a must see in our Europe trips even though they all looked the same somehow. But if we don't see churches, there's really nothing much to sightsee in these European cities! =p Then we reached the Town Hall and the big square in front of it. Quite a regal looking building with green roof. It's just in front of the beautiful Inner Alster Lake.
Rathaus with WWII memorial
Inner Alster Lake
We had a lunch pitstop at a Chinese restaurant - 红太阳. Pretty decent food except for the hard like stones 豆沙包 which we returned and ordered something else. We were so glad Trisha ate her fried rice happily and quietly. =) The Chinese owner was a very friendly guy too but not friendly enough to give discounts.....kekeke.
After the satisfying lunch, we walked to the nearby St. Nikolai Memorial. It used to be a church but was burnt down during the WWII. All that remained was the tower and the side walls. In 2005, a disabled accessible lift in the tower was installed in what was once the world's highest church at 147.5m. In all the churches' towers we visited all over Europe, we will need to climb hundreds of steps to reach the top to have a bird's eye view of the city. With a little girl, we simply can't do that....actually even without a little girl, we may not climb the steps too....heheh. But in Hamburg, there's this lift! Hurray! This was definitely our maiden "climb" up a church tower in Europe. =) Well worth the cheap €2.50 for entrance fee cos the view was great and up there, there's exhibition photos of how the surrounding area looked like during WWII.
St Nikolai Memorial
Our last stop was the St. Michael's Church. While walking there, we saw a huge crowd on the road. Yes, the road was blocked off and there's thousands of motorcyclists with their bikes on the road! We realised that there's a motorcyclist event going on and was pretty amazed and amused by the sight. =p Being the ever curious (or KPO) tourist, we stopped and snapped photos and videos of them driving off. Trisha was too tired to join in the festivities and fell asleep in her stroller amid all the blaring of horns and "vroom, vroom" noises made by the motorcyclists.
What a crowd!
We didn't forget what we came here for - St Michael's Church. =p
Finally, we took the U bahn back to our hotel for a much needed leg rest before heading out for dinner at Hauptbahnhof. The world is indeed small cos we met some fellow Singaporean students there. What a way to end a good holiday! =)
Click here for more Day 2 photos.
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