OK, brief trip report. Loud group of thuggish looking Liverpool scallies at the airport, on the plane & checking into my hotel. Luckily that was the last I saw of them.
Hotel was Ibis Budget. Spotlessly clean, better bathroom than a Travelodge. Thin, hard mattress & no bottle opener in the room. Adequate buffet breakfast.
Day 1. Out of the hotel & wandered into the city centre & the big square in front of the Rathaus. On to the Binnenalster & a walk around the expensive shops. I've a weakness for posh watches & there were plenty on display. Lots of little streets & shops with lovely window displays, an art form in itself.
Down to the river / docks area through lots of huge red brick warehouses, reminding me of parts of Liverpool, then a walk along the river. It was a bit squally, rainshowers & dramatic cloudscapes. Past the astonishing Elbphilharmonie, I'm a big classical fan, but there was nothing I wanted to hear on this weekend
Lots of historic ships on the river. One restaurant had people queuing down the street, I went to the one next door & had a good meal of Pannfisch.
Away from the river & I ended up on the Reeperbahn, which was full of stag & hen parties. I saw a sign saying "weapons forbidden", which didn't encourage me to stick around. A short distance on there was a phalanx of riot police on standby, so I guess some sportsball might have been happening.
Back to the hotel, out again for Schnitzel with a couple of beers, then back to the hotel for bottle of beer in my room. I suspect my days (nights?) of exploring late night dives are in the past
Day2. The Culture Day. The Hamburger Kunsthalle & the Kunst und Gewerbe museum. Both fantastic, I'd never seen any German impressionist stuff before. Lovely. Gorgeous furniture & the Frankfurt Kitchen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_kitchenFinkenwerder Scholle in one of the many restaurants near the train station.
Day 3. A walk around the entire Alster, in wet & windy conditions, lots of big expensive housing , and the fortified US consulate on the way back. A beer & then a pizza for lunch & I was rather tired, so back to the hotel for a lie down. Evening meal at a Block steakhouse, which was OK if not imaginative.
Day 4. A final few hours walking around before picking up my bag & getting the train to the airport. I got the wrong one & had to double back
Luckily I believe in large safety margins.
Overall impressions. A clean, safe & interesting place for a long weekend. However there are still people sleeping under bridges & in shop doorways. A lot of people begging for money near the station. People seem very obedient, waiting patiently for lights to change at pedestrian crossings even if no traffic is visible. Far more visible police presence than in the UK. Lots of big brick buildings near the docks which reminded me of home. Others closer to the city that reminded me of the place I live in (Myrtle Gardens
https://municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2015/02/10/liverpools-interwar-multi-storey-tenements-building-an-a1-community-in-a-properly-planned-township-of-flats/ )