Germany: Hamburg

View of Hamburg and its mixed of historic and modern

I spent a week in Hamburg this month on business. I had about a day and a half to enjoy the city itself. I took a small pocket camera with me, so the photos in this post are not the greatest, but since they are mostly tourist shots anyway, I suppose it does not matter.

A view of the North Atlantic after 6 hours of flying. I took a bunch of pictures of England and Scotland from 38,000 ft, but with my small camera, none of them were worth posting. It was fun to see though. Lots of farm lands and few trees.

We took the subway from the airport into the city. This platform was in "the burbs" and surrounded by beautiful trees just starting to turn.

In my wanderings about the city, I must have been stopped at least 4 times by people asking for directions... Woe ist.... I can not believe I looked that German and normally don't like to look approachable in crowded urban settings. The first two times I was suspicious that it was a distraction and that my euros were under threat. After a while I got used to it. I quickly learned to say Ich sprecht nicht Deutsche!

My hotel was right next to the trade center and the iconic radio tower of Hamburg. It was impossible to get lost as long as it was in view.

My hotel also boarded the expansive botanical gardens. Many of my colleagues chose to run through them for exercise.

Hamburg is very modern looking and does not have the historic allure of other European cities. The reason is simple. The charm, history, and most of the people of Hamburg were wiped-out by the Royal Air Force in WWII during a fire bombing raid in July of 1943. Hamburg had always been an important commercial port and in WWII its harbor, oil refineries, and U-boat docks were continually targeted. The July raid was different though. For 8 days, 3,000 aircraft dropped 9,000 tons of bombs, including incendiaries. A hot dry spell that month aggravated the conditions. A tornadic firestorm swept the city. The operation caused at least 50,000 deaths, mostly civilians, and left over a million other German civilians homeless. I overheard some Brits on an English-speaking tour talking about this with some measure of pride. It is hard for me to comprehend how this level of enmity can remain after all these years. I did not live through the bombing of London, however, nor the landings at Normandy. I have no memories of the Vietnam war, which seems like ancient history although it is not. Wars have existed throughout history, and allegiances come and go. Such is the transient nature of human relationships. It seems wasteful to focus on old enemies and old wounds when the hot breath and malevolent gaze of our current enemies is directly ahead in the dim shadows of the future yet to be.

Views of Hamburg from a top St. Michaels

Looking east towards all the churches. St. Michaels is the farthest west.

When you are in down between the buildings, it is hard to know a harbor even exists.

I do not want to put in writing the number of pounds I gained on this trip. You would think walking for 7 hours would drop pounds, but I love German food and did not hesitate to enjoy myself. German breakfasts are the best in the world. Hearty dark bread, stinky cheeses, salamis of various sorts and dried or stewed fruits. It was difficult not to over indulge. Our hotel also had wonderful loose leaf teas, so I did not have to go without my morning Green Tea either. I tried at least 7 different German beers on this trip which has undoubtedly added to my waistline, but confess I did not like any of them. I am more of a wine drinker anyway and the beer all had a bitter aftertaste. After a while I switched to Riesling, at which the Germans excel. I had some average dinners of Schnitzel and pasta and some exceptional dinners of local fish or pork. The former came from one of the fish places harbor and the latter from a place right next to the St. Michaels. Regional food was hard to come by. We were staying near the university and most of the restaurants were Italian, Indian, or Middle Eastern.

Shots of various older buildings

Music Hall

St. Jacobs

Very modern Hamburg with the ruins of St. Nicholas in the background

The King Tut exhibit happened to be in town while I was there and I was able to get a ticket after work one day. What an unexpected treat! I thought at first the pieces were all reproductions because there was no glass or visible protection between the antiquities and the people. The were real though. The artistry is like nothing in our modern era and the interlocking shrines are a marvel to behold. This exhibition is traveling around the world. I missed its US tour and am fortunate indeed to have been in Hamburg during its 30-day run.

The ruins of St. Nickolas

Now a war memorial, the burned out shell of Hamburg's cathedral is raw, jagged, and grim. Too often we tear down or paint over such damage. This place was solemn. A moment of quiet solitude and you could hear the stones begin to weep.

One solitary chunk of wall

Old cobblestones

I did wander through Hamburg's world famous red light district, St. Pauli. Frankly, I found it rather tame compared to other places in the world (e.g. the Philippines and Thailand). The zone is quite large, however, and the various sex shops, peep shows, and other more sedate entertainment venues are quite numerous. All the prostitutes dressed the same. They all had long bleached blond hair and white leather boots with white accouterments. You can tell they are playing upon the German stereotype.

Area around the Rathaus

The Rathaus, Hamburg's parliamentary building

Canal

Modern street with old building in the distance

Flags at the Binnenalster pier

Looking across the Binnenalster. There are ferry boats that travel up and down the lake.

Swans in the Alsterfleet canal

Fountain in the inner courtyard of the Rathaus

Fountain detail

Before the trip, I had checked out the forecast and perused some web cams to see what the locals were wearing. Everyone had a coat on, which made me bring mine and a scarf. I also brought turtlenecks and long sleeved shirts. I would have been better off with short sleeved shirts and a rain coat. The humidity blowing in from the North Sea was high and five minutes of walking had me breaking out into a sweat. All the locals were bundled up, however, in dark jackets and ubiquitous scarves. It just amazed me. I guess our climate here is colder than we think. Fifty percent of the women were wearing boots and all the shoe stores sold them in droves. I love boots but that is something else you don't see people wearing in the states.

Church of St. Michael. 5 euros gets you a tour of the crypt, a peek at the ongoing interior renovations, and a trip up the tower for 360° views of the city.

Two different pipe organs

The interior. The renovations looked close to completion.

The low ceiling of the crypt. Early church goers found burial in a church crypt to be less malodorous than burials in the church floor itself. The crypt contained displays on copper and how copper roofs are manufactured. Most of the churches in the city were having their roofs replaced.

A stone relief in the crypt

Bronze statue of St. Michael, the church's namesake. The statue is quite large. You can gaze on the backside of it from the window behind.

The steeple from a nearby church with interesting bronze statues

After a particularly hefty meal one night I did get up and go running the next day. I ran from my hotel down and around the Aussenlaster, a large man-made lake. The lake is lined with beautiful homes, sailing docks, Weeping Willows, and flower gardens. My route was 6 miles long and had I known that I was going to spend half the night walking, I would not have run as far. By the end of that day I was quite foot sore and there was not a spa in sight!

Another statue from the church mentioned above

How did they find out?

Wandering around Hamburg is easy with a map and I must have crisscrossed the old part of town a dozen times. I spent one afternoon shopping. I bought a nice dressy winter coat and a scarf. I have a drawer of these that I never seem to wear here in the states. I was surprised at how quickly I was learning German. This was a good thing for outside of the clerks in our hotel, I did not run into many English speakers. This was contrary to what others had told me, but I found even clerks in museums did not speak much English.

A bread/sandwich shop I passed while out walking. I never did find it again even though my stomach grumbled for it.

The door knocker on the door to church of St. Peter.

Travel across the Atlantic from Denver is brutal and exhausting. I am not sure Hamburg would be my first choice for a European destination but as a business excursion it was ideal. Our hosts were gracious, our hotel well situated, and the city entertaining. It highlights were the perfect size for my limited free time. Another half day and I might have seen it all.

Vive la carnivores!

I was sitting in the hot tub yesterday enjoying the cold 20° day and trying to get over my jet lag when I looked up into our Honey Locust tree to see this Accipiter enjoying dinner. I gracefully slunk from the tub, raced into the house and grabbed a 500m lens I have been trying out. It does not have image stabilization and even propping it up on deck railing only produced one shot that was in focus. About the time I took this shot, another bird was crying woefully from the tree, disturbing the hawk who quickly flew off.

More posts on this species: Cooper's Hawk

Dream Lake

Distance: 2.2 miles round trip
Elevation:9,470 ft - 9,900 ft
Elevation Gain: 430 ft

Dream Lake on a less than stellar day. What you don't see in this picture is the 20 or so people standing about taking pictures. Most looked very uncomfortable in the deteriorating weather conditions.

On 20 September, I took our Turkish graduate student Ufuk and his wife Malda on a short hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. Our actual destination was Emerald Lake, which lies 0.6 miles beyond Dream Lake, but an unforecasted series of storms turned us around at Dream Lake. They did not have rain gear and the temperature was in the 50s. A perfect recipe for hypothermia.

Two shots of pretty Nymph Lake and its Lilly Pads.

Longs Peak and Glacier Gorge from the Dream Lake Trail

Looking down on Nymph Lake from one of the many lookouts on the trail

The trail to Dream lake is meant to be handicapped accessible, but the pavement is so eroded, I would hesitate to take anything with wheels on it. The trail starts to climb a series of steps after Nymph Lake (0.5 miles), so from that point on it is able bodies only.

I love taking pictures of the Krummholz trees at Dream Lake. They are so twisted, no pun intended...well maybe.

Another shot from a lookout. This one had nice fall color.

I don't know what it is about Rocky Mountain National Park, but it always seems to be windy there and this trip was no exception. As soon as we crested the lip of the lake, our jackets and pant legs puffed up. This is not true for other areas in Colorado, so don't judge the state by this area alone.

Waves of rain hitting Longs Peak. This was not a good day to climb the mountain. It does not look bad in this shot. Most of the day, you could not see the summit at all.

While this trail is short, there are so many lookouts with stupendous views that it takes much longer than one would think. For anyone visiting the park for the first time, you need to do this trail at least once. It can be a warm up for longer adventures or the climax of a less strenuous trip. Just be prepared for wind, weather, and whacked out tourists jumping up and down with each new view.

Mayflower Gulch Hike: Fall

Fall has arrived to the high country!

Looking down Mayflower Gulch on a beautiful fall day

On 19 September I went with a friend to spread the ashes of her dog in Mayflower Gulch near Copper Mountain, his favorite place to get lost in the Willows. Mayflower is one of my favorite places to hike too. I have snowshoed it many times and ogled at its summer wildflowers, but I have never been in the fall. True to form, it turns out to be gorgeous then too. Below are a series of photos from the trip.

Off to Hamburg Germany

By the time you read this, I will have arrived in Hamburg, Germany. I will be speaking at a conference there Oct 6-8. I have Monday to play tourist. I found this shot on several different web sites, so it must be one of the premier tourist locations. I will be staying nearby and hope to go running around the lake.

I am prepared for the journey across the pond with several movies and TV shows on my iTouch, noise canceling headphones, and my German phrase book. The latter will be particularly helpful. I was pursuing it yesterday, particularly the part about the "I am a (insert profession)" icebreaker. I trust these Lonely Planet phrase books implicitly to give me clues to the culture I will be exploring. This case is no different. The phrase book gave me two helpful examples. I am a farmer and I am a drag queen. I now know the two most important professions in Germany. Thank you Lonley Planet!

I will be taking a small camera with me so you'll have to suffer through a few posts on my experiences. In the meantime I have set my blog up to post several things automatically.

Bring on the German food and beer!

Betasso Preserve: Canyon Loop Trail

Distance: 3.2 miles
Elevation: 6,516 ft
Elevation Gain: 460 ft with some ups and downs
Dogs: Leash Only

There are many views of Front Range hills from the Canyon Loop Trail.

Betasso preserve is a Boulder County open space a short distance up the canyon to Nederland. It is a pleasant shoulder season walk across hills covered in Ponderosa Pine. Taking the loop counter clockwise is easier and is recommended on the days when mountain bikers are allowed on the trail. The bikers much take the trail counter-clockwise and are NOT allowed on the trail on Wednesdays and Saturdays. If you can, hike on these days, your experience will be much more pleasant. While technically bikes are supposed to yield to pedestrians, this never happens.

The parking and picnic area are near a wide-open meadow. There are bathrooms.

The trail is packed dirt with fewer rocks than other trails in Colorado.

I really do appreciate all of the open space that Boulder City and Boulder County have set aside for our use. I am frustrated that all of Boulder County open space requires dogs to be on leash. I own a German Short-haired Pointer who can out run the best Marathoner and still beg for more. Even a 10-mile walk on leash is not doing my dog any good.

The trail weaves in and out of stands of Ponderosa Pine.

When we decided to go to Betasso, I looked on the web site and it said that dogs were allowed. It made no mention of leash laws. It was not until we drove out there that we discovered our mistake. We might have broken the rules had a Ranger not shown up to hike the trail just as we were setting out. That is how I learned the general rule about dogs in Boulder County. I did mention that the web site needed correcting, but I just checked and it has not been updated.

If you take the loop clockwise, the route will be down most of the way.

If you have small dogs, no dogs, and want a close in walk that is in the trees, then Betasso Preserve might just be ideal. It is very pleasant, would be a great but short trail run, and is one of the few options available in the depths of winter.

Another typical trail segment. On the clockwise route, it is only towards the end that one regains lost elevation. For a more strenusous walk travel the opposite direction. Don't do this on days that bikers are present however. You won't see what hit you!

Stanley Mountain

Distance: 6.5 miles
Elevation: 11,307 ft to 12,521 ft
Elevation Gain: 1,214 ft
Date Hiked : 9 August, 2009

The view looking south from the summit of Stanley Mountain

Stanley Mountain is a lovely tundra walk on the west side of Berthoud Pass. It is not as topographically varied as Mt. Flora on the east side of the pass, but it is lovely none-the-less, and a great place to let the dogs run.

The initial trail goes in and out of groups of trees

Views of mountains and meadows periodically grace the lower portion of the trail

The route gets rockier as the trail approaches the plateau. The trail eventually ascends the hill in the distance.

The trail starts out winding up through coniferous trees with occasional openings into cascading meadows with views of nearby peaks. The initial destination of this portion of the trail is a flat, rocky plateau. For those looking for an al fresco lunch spot, this would be sufficient in and of itself. 180° views of verdant peaks combined with interesting geology make this more interesting that your average picnic ground. It is a bit of a lung buster to get to this point though so leave the candelabra in the car.

Looking southeast from the plateau

On the plateau, heading towards the ridge

Looking up at the wall. It looks harder than it is.

A short walk across the plateau leads to a wall about 200 ft high. Tight switch backs ascend this wall in short but steep segments. This is the hardest portion of the hike. On top of this wall is the ridge and from here, it is just a tundra walk to the summit of Stanley Mountain.

Looking north from part way up the wall

Looking southeast and down onto highway 40

On this trip, the temperatures were warm, but the wind was blowing at least 20 mph. We had to wear our rain coats the whole way, and since I had forgotten to put my newly washed gloves back into my pack, my hands were freezing. I walked with them shoved into the pockets of my pants, making for an awkward gait. This is one more reminder that even in early August, conditions in the high country can be unpredictable.

On top of the wall, the trail extends across the tundra

A little ways along the ridge, a hidden lake comes into view

You can not see the summit of Stanley Mountain until you are within a 100 yards or so of it. The trail undulates across the tundra in a series of false bumps. That is in essence what Stanley Mountain looks like from the trail, a small pile of talus, a bump on the tundra. It is not until you scramble to the top of this pile that you realize you are on a mountain. The sides to the south and west drop off precipitously. The wind was blowing so hard and cold that we did not linger on top, but eased down part way to hide in the rocks and wolf down our sandwiches.

Even though this was the first weekend in August, the tundra flowers had all turned brown.

Vasquez Peak is off to the right and in the distance. Notice Elaine's rain jacket. It is filled with wind.

Those looking for a longer challenge can bushwhack across the tundra to the west and the summit of Vasquez Peak. There is no designated trail to this peak and the route descends quite a bit before heading straight up Vasquez, so plan accordingly.

The summit of Stanley Mountain comes briefly into view. It is the bump at the far end of the ridge.

The summit viewed from below

We did meet two hikers on the summit who were doing a shuttle hike down into the tree filled gulch visible from the ridge. The far end of the gulch is accessible from the Granby area.

Vasquez Peak from the summit. Here the pile looks like a bump.

The view looking south from the summit. From this angle the rock pile feels more summit-like.

While I think that Mt. Florais more scenic than Mt. Stanley, this trip is worth doing particularly at the height of the tundra wildflower season. Consider it an altitude training hike for loftier, and more difficult pursuits.

Nova Scotia: Wrap Up

The famous Bluenose schooner sailing in Lunenburg Bay. This historic reproduction sails much of the year from either Halifax or Lunenburg. We were lucky to get tickets early on. Seeing a real tall ship in action was a treat.

This ends my series on my vacation of Nova Scotia. I would recommend that anyone interested in nature, relaxation, and seafood visit this Canadian province.

Unless you have several weeks, choose either Cape Breton, the Fundy Coast, or the South Shore as your base and try to spend as much time there. It takes longer to get around than you think and there is more to explore than the guide books make evident.

For my next trip, I would like to return in the fall when the leaves have turned.

I mentioned seafood above....I went on a fall color vacation to Massachusetts a couple of years ago and was hoping for seafood. We hardly found any. Not so in Nova Scotia. If you love the fruit de la mer, you will love Nova Scotia. Mussels were everywhere. I could have eaten them for breakfast, lunch and dinner! We ate lobster twice and I even ate pickled herring one night since it is a local favorite.

Our base as you know was Lunenburg. There are many restaurants in this town to choose from, which is another reason to make it a base. Most of the places close to the wharf are touristy but are relatively cheap. We ate at the Grand Banker, the Dockside Cafe, and Magnolia's. Only the latter would I recommend. One street up is the Trattoria Bella Donna and the Fluer de Sel. Both are outstanding but pricey. My lamb at the Bella Donna was $30 and my butter poached lobster at the Fleur de Sel was $42. The Fleur de Sel won Nova Scotia's best restaurant award in 2008. Some locals sitting next to us kept raving about it. Had it not been for Hurricane Bill, we would have missed out on that treat.

Only one restaurant, the Bella Donna, carried any of the renowned ice wines of the area. It was sold in the liquor store, but I wanted to taste it before buying a bottle. Sweet wine goes a long way. I was also anticipating more of a selection of other Canadian ice wines, but no joy there. I am just going to have to order through an on line retailer and have some shipped to me.

Finally, I need to shout out a big thank you to Ethan and Nancy Evans who allowed us to stay gratis in their home, who allowed us to rummage through their drawers for shorts and t-shirts, and whose beautiful home was the highlight of the trip. A true catharsis.

I also want to thank the neighbors whom we got to know quite well and who regaled us with all sorts of stories about life in Nova Scotia, including their health care system. They enriched our trip immeasurably.

Sometimes I think we lazy Americans forget that Canada even exists. It is there, it is significantly less expensive than Europe, and is culturally and geographically diverse. All I can say is go...enjoy!

The author getting ready to set sail on the Bluenose.