A weekend in Hamburg: Cruise Days and Open Monument Day

On Friday afternoon we arrived in Hamburg with our mobile home and then unfortunately had to find out that the search for a parking space turned out to be more difficult than expected: the first place we went to was closed due to the Cruise Days this weekend, the second was already fully occupied. We finally got lucky at the RV port and got a spot.

From there we took the train to Hafencity (a little late after our tour back and forth due to rush hour traffic on Friday).

After a walk through Hafencity, we walked a little along the water and looked at the many stands that were set up here for the Cruise Days.

We had concert tickets for the Elbphilharmonie that evening.

From there you also had a good view of the blue-lit harbor and the Vasco Da Gama, a large cruise ship that made a round here for the Cruise Days.

The return journey in the subway was quite comfortable: we were just able to squeeze into the carriage and then found ourselves a bit cramped.

The next morning we had booked a culinary city tour in the Schanzenviertel.

The guide who told us about the history of the area also lived nearby.

In addition to a lot of information, we were allowed to try some things in the restaurants in the area.

After Franzbrötchen, wild boar currywurst, bruschetta, croque and summer rolls, we were full.

We took the train to the Binnenalster because we wanted to visit an escape room on Ferdinandstrasse.

With a little help, we managed to find the golden compass that got us accepted into a criminal organization of art thieves.

After we escaped from the room, we still enjoyed the sunny weather during a city tour.

Past the town hall and chamber of commerce we went to the Nicolai Church.

From there, of course, we had to continue to the Michel and the Landungsbrücken.

On the waterfront, we pushed the crowds of visitors along the Elbe promenade in the direction of Hafencity.

The Cruise Days took place here and were obviously very well attended.

Through the Speicherstadt and Hafencity we went back to the Elbphilharmonie.

From here we watched the parade of cruise ships departing in the evening.

There were also fireworks.

However, the breaks were so long that we accidentally left before the end and then saw the end from the Marco Polo terraces.

This time we didn't choose the train via the main station and didn't have to squeeze in, we even had a seat.

On Sunday was the day of the open monument, for which we had chosen two more destinations in Hamburg.

First we drove to the Chilehaus, an expressionist office building from the 1920s.

All of the offices here are still rented today, so during the tour we looked at the stairwells and the exterior of the building.

Then we drove to the Rödingsmarkt to visit the former head of finance.

A modern hotel has opened here since 2019, through which we - together with a huge group - were guided.

There was still some of the original furnishings to be seen, but of course also those of the modern hotel.

After so many impressions over the weekend, we went back home at lunchtime.