This blog post describes the content of the video, which you can see below:
In this video, we drive over the border from Denmark to Germany to visit Hamburg for Natalie’s 40th birthday. How do we do that with the motorhome? And what do we think of the city? You can see it all in our vlog or read it in this blog.
Parking the motorhome near Hamburg
We drive into Germany to a restaurant where you can park your motorhome if you eat there. It’s in a cute spot near a forest, not too far from Hamburg. And the restaurant also has a petting zoo and offers horseback riding lessons. We asked the owner if we could keep our camper there for two nights, one of which we would spend in a hotel in Hamburg.
We get a cab to drive us from the restaurant to Hamburg. It’s about a 40-minute drive and therefore not cheap, but the easiest way to get to the centre of Hamburg, especially with Isa.
Scandic Hotel Hamburg
We arrive at Scandic Hotel Hamburg, which is in a really nice spot in the city centre. The room is great; they allow pets in the hotel room and even offer cushions and a water bowl so that we don’t have to take anything for Isa with us. We leave Isa in the room for a bit as we explore the city.
Exploring Hamburg
Hamburg is a fabulous city to walk through. There are old gorgeous buildings, statues, monuments, and so much else to see while you walk. And at the same time, it is a busy city with shops, cafés and people.
One of the things Natalie requested for her birthday was ‘Kaffee und Kuchen’, coffee with cake, as the Germans make amazing cakes! We got a few recommendations for addresses from the hotel staff where they kept in mind we weren’t looking for big, touristy places and this little shop came highly recommended by them.
And these cakes were homemade every day, meaning once they were out, they were out. It also meant that things might differ from day to day. We picked two different cakes, and they definitely did not disappoint!
Planten un Blomen
One of the things we really loved was the fact that there was a big park in the middle of the city: Planten un Blomen. This park has several areas like the Japanese garden, the botanical garden and the rose garden. There are seats all throughout the park, and people were sitting reading and chatting and soaking up the last rays of the sun for this summer.
The city of Hamburg
We loved all the different quarters in the city, with their distinct separation like the Portugiesenviertel. But at the same time, the city is filled with old and new buildings combined, and somehow it just works perfectly together.
It is lovely strolling through the city but it is so big that after a whole day of walking around, we felt like we only had seen a small part – and we had.
Birthday Dinner & A View of the City
Of course, we had to go out to dinner for Natalie’s birthday, and we found a very cute tapas place in the Portugiesenviertel. The restaurant had a line but had a table free for two, so we were in luck. The dinner was delicious, and afterwards, we walked to the Alter Elbtunnel, a tunnel that goes underneath the Elbe. And on the other side of the tunnel, you have an amazing view of the city.
Touring Hamburg by Bus
The next day, knowing there was so much we hadn’t seen yet, we decided to take a hop-on, hop-off bus to see more of the city. It is a very touristy way to see the city, but it helped us see all the highlights in a short amount of time, and we could see ourselves spending a lot more days here.
By the end of the second day, we go back to the camper and drive out of the city to Luneberger Heide, where we have some adventures next week.
