The metropolis in the north

Moin! Hamburg is built so close to the water that it glitters and sloshes everywhere: in Germany's largest seaport. On the wide-flowing Elbe. On the Alster, which looks like a lake, but is actually a river. Canals and canals, the difference between which must first be explained to non-Hamburgers: In the canals the water level depends on the tide, in the canals it does not. Or from a total of 2,490 bridges. Even the North Sea would be only 80 kilometers away, but who needs an ocean when you have the whole world at home? Hamburg, the gateway to the world, the Hanseatic and trading city with its Storage housesThe city, with its long-established shipping companies and its connections across the globe, has been multi-cultural for centuries: People from all continents have found their second home here. 

Hamburgers are cosmopolitan on the one hand and Hanseatic on the other. Fine Hamburgers live in the snow-white Gründerzeit old buildings in the Eppendorf district, whose magnificent facades are hard to get enough of. Twice a week, they can be found at the city's most beautiful market, the Isemarkt, where French raw milk cheeses and handmade brushes are sold under the viaduct of the rattling elevated train. Then in the evening, the Elbphilharmonie is the new meeting place. With its avant-garde glass and steel architecture, the spectacular concert hall is the highlight of the newly built Hafencity and dominates the city like a piece of surf that has solidified into glass. The Elbphilharmonie's plaza - a 37-meter-high public viewing platform - offers a panoramic view of the city and the harbor.

Other sounds can be heard in St. Pauli. The neighborhood between the Reeperbahn and the Landungsbrücken on the Elbe is the cult neighborhood: It is enough to turn into the small side streets, where real harbor pubs still serve beer. The Millerntor stadium is also home to FC St. Pauli, a soccer club much beloved by the scene and eyed suspiciously by its big brother HSV. 

"Down by the river, down by the harbor," as Hamburg musician Bernd Begemann so beautifully lyricized, lie even more exciting neighborhoods. The UNESCO World Heritage Speicherstadt For example. Long rows of five- to six-story, beautiful, historic warehouses made of red brick, with dead-straight canals in between. Just board one of the historic round-trip barges and enjoy the atmosphere: The ships glide past dark brick neo-Gothic, over smooth canal water and under narrow bridges. It is a quiet, enraptured world. Merchandise from overseas was once stored, processed and refined in the warehouses. A little further down the Elbe, in the charmingly gentrified former working-class district of Ottensen, you can immerse yourself in the lives of Hamburg artists and creative people: Portuguese sidewalk cafés smell of cinnamon and warm cream cakes, courtyard flea markets hawk '50s armchairs, and bearded hipsters fill up on unpackaged millet in organic stores. Wonderful for strolling, looking around, hanging out. And then? Just stroll further downstream along the banks of the Elbe. If you don't get stuck on one of the tempting, sandy Elbe beaches and their beach bars, you'll eventually come to Blankenese, Hamburg's most beautiful village: columned villas in expansive greenery stretch along the shore, and climbing roses with thatched roofs and muntin windows compete for charm points on the little steps leading up from the beach to the Süllberg. Well, you should have become a shipowner, then you could see the ocean liners sailing along the Elbe from your own front yard. But Blankenese is also fun for visitors: Fortunately, there are cafés and restaurants with the most beautiful viewing terraces.

Hamburg is a city-state with 1.8 million inhabitants and the second largest city in Germany after Berlin. It is located on the Elbe River and is the site of one of the largest transshipment ports in the whole world, which covers 72 square kilometers and is visited by 18,000 ships every year. The new landmark of the city, the Elbphilharmonie, reaches 110 meters. The tallest building in the city is the Nikolaikirche, 147 meters. 

Hamburg is one of the most popular city trip metropolises for Germans. Two million visitors come to Hamburg every year to see a musical. That makes the Hanseatic city the third largest musical location in the world after New York and London. The legendary "The Lion King" has been running here for 19 years, but the city's four major musical theaters - two of which are located directly at the harbor - also bring cutting-edge productions such as "Tina - The Tina Turner Musical" or "Pretty Woman - The Musical" to the big stage. Curtain up!

Hamburgers and visitors to Hamburg love fish. They like to have it for breakfast, which tastes best on Sunday mornings at the fish market after a night of partying in St. Pauli. The fresh fish roll is accompanied by hot coffee, the hubbub of the market, and plenty of atmosphere. And everything fits together perfectly.

And later in the day? The fish sandwich is often refined into creative street food in food trucks. Food trucks and their colorful offerings from all over the world are big in Hamburg. Fancy a tasty, casual meal? Then just drop by on Thursdays at Spielbudenplatz for "St. Pauli Straßenmampf," Hamburg's "open-air canteen," where visitors can eat their fill of burgers, dogs, bowls and other street food. 

But freshly caught fish from the North Sea and other oceans also ends up in the restaurants along the Elbe and in the harbor. Whether sushi, poached crab with eucalyptus or plaice "Finkenwerder style". And no matter whether on white-covered terraces or directly in the Elbe sand with bottled beer: as a side dish, there's a dream view of water, harbor cranes and ocean liners. And that's a real treat. And speaking of enjoyment: eleven star-rated restaurants pamper the discerning palate. The undisputed superstar of the gastronomic scene is Kevin Fehling with his "The Table," where guests sit at a single long counter practically directly in the open kitchen. Three stars! Better make a reservation in good time.

And for drinking? Hamburg has its own vineyard at the Stintfang opposite the Landungsbrücken. There's also a top-notch local craft beer scene: Eleven small breweries in the city area still brew their own beer with dedication and a lot of creativity. Cheers!

Hamburg Platt is a form of Low German in which numerous loan words from Scandinavian can be found. Missingsch, a mixture of Low and High German, is somewhat easier to understand. 

Here are a few useful phrases for a first, friendly conversation with locals:

Moin - Hello (and all day long)
Sick högen - to rejoice
'A round of chatting - hold a chat
Da not for - you're welcome
Schiet an Boom - dumb luck
Bangbüx! - Scaredy-cat!
Torfkopp! - Idiot!
Nu gev's wat op de Mütz - Now there's something on the cap
Kiek mol wedder in! - Take a look again!
Klock Twee? - at two o'clock?
Luscher beautiful! - Sleep well!
Plietsch - smart
Sutsche - loose, relaxed

Cover photo: Waymark at the end of the Speicherstadt and Hamburg's new landmark: the Elbphilharmonie © mediaserver.hamburg.de/CooperCopter GmbH