Hamburg Sightseeing Day 2 from container ship

Monday 18th February 2013

Day 24

Although we had such a day of busyness yesterday and writing so late into the night I wake at 5am. I don't write anymore as it is too much to assess. I just rest quietly and Roy is snoring. I need to shower and get ready for breakfast but Roy prefers to sleep. He ate, drank and smoked too much. I go down to breakfast alone. The new Captain tells me he had just received the sms I sent last night to inform Gary we would not be at dinner on board. We laugh and I concentrate on my orange and muesli. The officers have their duties. I take a thermos back to our room with teas. Roy drinks and sleeps. I make another tea later when he showers, too. I dress in my angora wool jumper as it was still so cold yesterday. My boots are causing a pinch in my right little toe and I put a corn pad there. It helps. First we go up to Captain's office as he insisted last night and again this morning. He is friendly, chats easily about his experiences, shows us the bridge across the railway and tells of his home, travel, changes in shipping and his return to the bridge after work in travel.  Also Bremerhaven is a beautiful city with excellent Seaman's Club and easy to visit from our expected berth. We are keen to see more of Hamburg. We are amazed how well received we are, by this new officer complement. And so we are rugged up, backpack is empty except for my handbag and we head down to leave for shore. As we approach the office I notice my hat has gone. It must have dropped. Nenad comes out of lift and he found it. He put it where I could find it, upstairs. He sends Gary up to collect it and he returns by the stairs. It is a silly but easy mistake especially after I have been reminding Roy about his gloves. He puts his gloves in the backpack. The port shuttle bus is waiting for us when we get down to the wharf. :::: 

Our ship, CMA CGM Thalassa at berth in Hamburg.

We are dropped just past the gate and we see the bridge with the City ferry sign. We climb up, across and over the railway. It is all quite dismal being a functional truck and container port, seeing the back end. We cross under the freeway overpass. This is a rubbish filled corner of bare trees and washed up human detritus. I spot a row of the Duckdalben posts after which the Seaman's Club is named. It means dolphin and it is actually the tying up posts for boats in the harbour. They are three posts leaning against each other driven into the river bottom. There are metal connections for emergency attachments. As we stroll I spot and pick up a piece of beautiful, worn and weathered driftwood; a snapped off part of a ship's decking but worn smooth and soft by exposure to the river. The long grain is clear and the end grain is pretty. Roy declares we are not taking this but I want it for our caravan. It is an authentic find from our Hamburg port. We continued along the road with parked container trailers and find the gateway to the river bank path. A very short walk finds us at the Waltershof floating dock. It is like a bus stop for the water craft. 

Just under the bridge to the city Hamburg.

We have no idea of the timetable. It is already 11:20am. We watch as all different watercraft pass us by. I look in the shelter and there's a map and timetable but it looks as if the next ferry isn't until after 1pm. Roy says as a boat person on the Thames he would have flagged down any passing boat for a ride. A man comes on the wharf and we presume the boat coming along side is a public ferry. He is being collected privately but he points to the ferry which is just coming. It is a number 62 so not 61 as we expected. 

Like catching a bus, on the water.

We are grateful for the warmth inside. The entry gang plank is not attached, a floating dock, but it is a safe and easy step onboard. We try to work out the 9am day ticket system. We press for two but it won't accept the second €5 note. It is only €5.80 each. A fellow German traveler helps us as the ferry continues on its way. Even the ferry driver comes to see, what's the problem. We finally get one ticket at a time and we have already crossed the river made two stops, back to Waltershof and headed towards the Elbe. It is so very comfortable onboard with tables, chairs, wide views and space for many.  We are going to the Fischmarket. The man who helped us said it was an unusual pickup point for tourists and asked how we found it. As usual, when we explain our freighter travel it causes incredible interest and conversation. We have found it a great ice breaker. We get off at the amazing Fischmarket wharf and there are sights all around us.  U-boat on the water, a museum, a monstrous dry dock with a container ship inside. We look inside the market building and it is very lovely. One can see the market barrows, from yesterday. It would have been a great place but it wasn't to be for us. There is a huge wedge of ice like a ski slope. We go round and enter but the workmen say there is no entry allowed. They explain the icy slope was used for entertainment at the Sunday market. We cross the road to a cafe for coffee. Again it is warm inside. I rest here. A very loud, vocal street man is shouting at passersby, he sounds so angry. He is unkempt, with a long beard and yet he spends the whole time picking up rubbish and placing it into the bin. He bends repeatedly and misses nothing all the while berating people. He is tolerated. I expect the locals know him well. Some of these poor souls might have been sufferers from conflicts unknown. Yesterday in Altona we saw a similar vocal lady with large bags on each arm, calling loudly and it is distressing to see. Also I now recall, the poor lady in her flimsy, voluminous nightdress and her walker stroller rushing up and down the street. One concerned passerby tried to help her but she rushed away muttering. She must have been freezing with so little on. We hoped somebody can get her home. We decide to stroll as far as we can and then take a ferry further. We are looking in all directions with interest. It is such a beautiful walk though so cold. Under one bridge is a street dweller but his bedroom has been decorated with flowers, his personal items all neatly on display, with warm sheepskin bedding and he is entertaining friends. It is a very tidy cameo but all outside, under a bridge, in mid winter. We find a bench and I lie down to rest. It is a welcome relief especially for my legs and feet. We recover and go down onto the landing bridge. There is constant traffic of people traveling by river as well as tourist runs, even in the middle of this freezing winter's day. We actually make it to the same S-bahn station as yesterday. Roy would like to take a bus and we try one but it is a tourist rundfarht which is not the normal public travel pass. We decide to travel to Altona again and to go to the Mercado. Here we find a display of crickets and grasshoppers for public interest. The hall is full of activity and food stalls as well as conventional shopper stores. But much busier. We just love everything. We go to buy some sweets for our crew to share, also some mini amarretti biscuits. Roy bought 1 kg of peanuts. We stop at an Italian food stall. It is lunchtime and the frenzy is amazing. Roy orders a pizza then while he waits I go to WC. It is upstairs and it costs 30 cents. I don't have any money and lady says, 'Bitte' please. It is an honour system. I am grateful it isn't a slot. I will remember never to leave Roy without money. I return and it is comfortable watching pizzas, pasta, etc. being prepared. Such a small cooking space, there are six servers, two cooks and amazing food. It is clean, spotless,  there is constant wiping. It is an impressive performance. We are chatted to by cooks, waitress, a man next to us and welcomed as visitors. We always have friendly responses and conversations about travel. Roy is happy to share. I remember a kilo store somewhere but cannot find it. I suggest we go to Hamburg Centre to check out the Ratthaus, law court's. It should be the center of tourist viewing. We are managing well. Roy wants to take a bus but we know the train. We walk to where people are standing waiting for buses but no-one speaks English. We go down to train metro instead and I check the map. We get out one stop short to see. It is near water and we are disappointed as it is not impressive, just Apple store and huge departments. Then we walk a little way towards a massive church tower and the whole city opens into the most beautiful old architecture, across the water, the Ratthaus is inviting but we head towards the church steeple. 

Churches are our destination of rest.

We can rest, lie down, recover and discover. We love churches and cathedrals for their beauty, their peace and the pews. We sit/lie still for almost an hour. I image the ceiling and it is so beautiful and I am so comfortable. Roy mediates. 

Peace, pews and recovery space.

I do take a stroll around but then when I return Roy is outside. We walk slowly to the Law Court. It is unbelievable and I take so many pictures of features, close ups. 

Ratthaus, Hamburg.

Delightful and imposing.

Now it is getting very, very cold and the wind picks up. We must return, at least to Duckdalben. We follow a group of English schoolchildren down into the underground. We find the correct station for Landungsbrücken and will wait for the 61 ferry to Waltershof. It is very cold and yet we are fascinated by all the commuters using the waterway. We board a 62 because this was what we boarded before but it bothers me. Roy asks the driver in his wheelhouse and he says, 'on the way back'. We are unconvinced and decide to step off. Just behind us we see the required 61 and, so unlucky, we just watch as it pulls away. What bad luck! Why didn't the driver mention it was behind us. Maybe that's what he meant! It is getting colder and colder and it is probably another hour before another ferry comes. The timetable showed it was infrequent. At first we are interested in the traffic, then we become frozen solid and finally we are despairing. Maybe there isn't another. A ferry pulls up but it's out-of-service. We sit at a table, wrap ourselves in a blanket and wait. We ask a lady who delivers a parcel to the out-of-service driver and she says very soon. Just then that ferry puts up the 61 electronic sign and we gratefully get aboard. It is warm and we are very, very ready to leave. If only we had known the exact time we could have sat inside somewhere. We arrive at Waltershof and alight. 

We watch our 61 ferry head away from Waltershof.

There are other commuters waiting. We walk slowly and carefully to the Duckdalben Seaman club. It is farther than we remember and it is so cold. I put my scarf over my head, around my ears, top with hat and raise my coat collar. This is much better. We walk slowly and are so very, very grateful when we arrive at the Club. Roy orders wurst and a full bottle of red wine. It is an excellent German red in a full litre bottle; it seems huge. Our fellow table mates are on a ship heading to Argentina where there is also excellent wine. It is easy to make conversation when traveling. Roy drinks but I am just happy to lie down and take off my boots. The front of my shins are tight with stress. Have had no walking for three weeks and now two full days, with occasional lying down but it is muscular agony. It is quickly settled. The new Captain comes in with the Chief Engineer. We are invited to join them, but we're waiting for a sausage.  Roy buys two of our Thalassa crew a beer each. They seem surprised and very pleased. We relax totally and I compose an email to our children. I thought I had connected to the Duckdalben WiFi. It is just a quick lighthearted bit of news and I copy it to family. I send it and then Roy suggests we join the Captain at the pool tables. We exchange names with our new Chief Engineer, Bojan. We did meet the previous night but names are important. We sit down and we have brought our wine and water. We have a very diverse and complex range of subjects, travel, life, sailors lot, engines, motorbikes, politics and where ever the conversation meanders to. We have also had a varied travel experience and this is as unusual. I manage to sit through it. Bojan has two small children, 4yo and 7 months old. A sailor misses so much as they change so rapidly. We tell of our gold prospecting, Roy's antiques, my Nuclear Medicine. It is easy to talk when we draw on our past, also the studying of our children; a good start to life. At last I have to signal to Roy my need to go. Luckily he agrees and doesn't make a fuss. Captain and Bojan are ready too. Ship sails at 8am and arrives in Bremerhaven at 2200. So we have a full day on board. We get a mini bus ride to the port and a shuttle to the ship's side. 

Coming home feels good!

We let the men go ahead as I am slow up the gang stairs. We catch them up at the lift. Joey is on office duty. We go straight up and say goodnight. We both groan in agony and remove shoes, clothes, and just want to lie down. As we check out outside our porthole it is snowing. We have been so lucky and now safely tucked inside we can see the snow. It is wonderful and it was so very cold today. No wonder our feet were chilled. We watch as it drifts past our window. Roy opens his bag of nuts and I try some of the mini Amaretti biscuits; they look like peppernootjes for Sinta Klaas. Soon we are tucked in bed and we fall asleep. 

Video of all Hamburg's two days sightseeing in previous post. Link here Hamburg sightseeing

We depart Hamburg at daybreak.