Hamburg

I was in Hamburg for two days 17-18 March 2006. I was actually looking to travel to Venice or may be somewhere in Greece. But the flights were extremely expensive (upwards of GBP80 return, i got Hamburg for GBP30 return!). I was traveling my Ryan Air and when the flight started its descent we could see the ground and it was all covered in snow. Immediately I started cursing myself - experience at Glasgow was fresh. However, some of the co-passengers told me that the snow was old and since Hamburg is used to snow (it hardly snows in Glasgow and so the city was caught off-guard) and thus roads etc should be clear. Next was immigration.

I have been to 3 different countries over past few weeks (aside of UK) over successive weekends and immigration would inevitably take a 'closer' look at me. All the things that would flag suspicion would be present - adult male traveling alone with a backpack just for a weekend, mustache, from India, not looking very 'rich'. Hamburg was no exception and in addition my Visa was set to expire next day (when i was returning). So after taking the hostel address where I was staying, taking my passport and return ticket photocopy I was allowed to enter!

Next up was finding my way to the hostel. Fortunately the hostel had given directions of how to reach from the airport and so I was hoping it would be pretty straightforward. However as it turned out, I had landed at Lubeck airport which is way outside the city (Since I was travelling by Ryan Air - a low cost airline). The directions were from the main city airport which was much closer. Anyways, I manage to find my way to the hostel.

This is my third hostel and this was the best (A&O City Hotel & Hostels). Very clean, very friendly staff and not too expensive - around Euro 20 a day with bfast. I had a 6 bed room however, there was no one else, so I had the room for myself!

After getting refreshed, I head out...



First snap in Hamburg, just outside the hostel. The hostel was located near the tube station - Hammer Kirsche. Was surprised to learn that Hamburg is actually the second largest city in Germany (after Berlin). Would I thought that that honor would go to either Munich or Frankfurt etc.



The Hamburg port. Hamburg is the second largest port in Europe (after Rotterdam). Hamburg is very cold and although it is in Germany and germany is to the south of UK (or so I felt), Hamburg is actually to the north of London. So I had actually traveling East but slightly north!



A light house, again a few hundred years old!



What you see in front is a floating dock. It completely submerges under water, goes under a ship (or a ship comes over it) and it resurfaces along with the ship. The ship can then be subjected to repairs etc.





I had taken a boat ride through the harbor. As it turned out there was a restaurant down and everyone was having food and beer. Maybe they were local people, but I was more interested in seeing around, so I went up onto the deck (in the open, and yeah the chill wind on the port was hurting but then the thrill of this experience compensated!).

A sense of how large the port really is. You see these huge cranes over and over again, and all of them are automated. No people around!



This part (along with the one just around the Hamburg lake) is one of the most expensive places in the city. What a view the guys staying here get...



Another view of the port and its cranes. Interestingly, I did not see a single 'Indian' ship in the port - either here or at Dover (when I was going to France) or at Harwich (when I was going to Amsterdam) - but I saw plenty of Chinese and Korean ships.



This is the main Hamburg bus stop. Again what strikes is that there are no people, there are no inquiry counters. Every deck has an electronic screen which shows the timing and place of the next bus. In the main building there is a touch screen kiosk where you can get all the information you need.



This is the famous hamburg lake in the city center. Just to illustrate how cold it was, parts of the lake were actually frozen. there were ducks walking over it!



The road alongside, no this is not evening - this is afternoon, but the sky was dull.



Another view of the lake.



This is on day 2 and this is the museum ship 'Rickmers' It is more than 100yrs old and has seen pretty much everything. Its well maintained and is good time spent.







The tall bulding in the distance (with the cross) is the American church. Do not remember exactly, but I think this is the oldest American church in Germany(!?)




The Hamburg railway station - covered with snow.



Railway station from inside, finally some glimpse of chaos (mumbai ishtyle!)






India is going global and Bollywood has already. A Zee dealer in Hamburg and John Abraham poster in Hamburg. My guess is this is the 'Asian' part of the city as I saw quite a few asians around here and some Asian shops also.



A nice fountain on the streets. Now I am just roaming around here and there...



The famous German 'bullet trains' which travel a few times the speed of Indian trains. Actually these are not the exact bullet trains, these are just normal trains which run pretty much on similar tracks, but the engines are powerful and the number of coaches is half what we have on our trains.



A highway but very orderly traffic.



The U Bahn - backbone of local transportation (metro if you are an indian, tube if you are a British). Translated into English U Bahn means 'underground railway'

That's it. I return from here go to the hostel, collect my bag, head to lubeck and take off to London Gatwick.

One quick point, I was taking Ryan Air again and the flight was supposed to take off at 8pm or so. Ryan air being a low cost airline relies on faster turnaround of its planes, so the plane comes to lubeck at around 7.30, people descend, it gets cleaned, people board at around 8 and the plane takes off at around 8.15. Phew... No wonder while all airlines world over are making losses, Ryan Air (along with Southwest Airlines in the US) continues to grow @ 20% plus ever year.

Edinburgh - II

Welcome to Edinburgh castle...!
As I went through the castle, two things were very apparent to me. Firstly the amount of care these guys have taken to preserve this and make it more 'relatable' from a tourist perspective. So you have boards at all the places that state what this particular place is all about, you have guided tours, you have audio equipment etc. Secondly, the amount of pride the Scott's take in this.
Wish we could inculcate even part of that - and stop giving the crap about being a poor nation. Its more about mindset/attitude



View of the city from the castle - notice the greenery, the lack of tall buildings and north sea in the distance.

At almost all places of interest in Europe (that I have been) you have the option of taking a headset for a small fee which guides you as you go along that site. I never tried that - especially because its expensive. But here its very cold and since we are at a height, the wind is gusting and hence largely to protect myself from the cold I buy that headset - no more the cold air rushes into my ears. It's 3 pounds. Interestingly, the currency notes here are different. They do not have the photo of the queen on it.



As usual, every castle needs guns to protect itself. These are 7 here at base level of the castle, a few more at the top (including a monster of a gun)



This is main structure - housing the church, war memorial, royal residency etc



This is the 1'O clock gun. This gun is shot at 1pm every day and has historically been an indicator to time to local people and ships. Why 1'O clock you ask? Apparently, the Scottish people are stingy so if it was a 12'O clock gun you would need to fire 12 shots every day - which costs a lot more than if you fire 1 shot for 1'O clock. Hmm... I see some similarities between the Scotts and me!



On the right is the governor's residence



This gives a nice view of the castle from one of the taller spots on the castle. What you see immediately in front was a horse stable now converted into a small refreshment center, then you see the 1'O clock gun and to its right (not in the photo) are the seven guns captured in one of the photos above.



Here are the guns, face the city - ready to defend it



This is the oldest part of the castle and as you can see, its undergoing repairs.



A small church. I was told, this is the oldest structure still standing today in Edinburgh!



This is a monster of a gun. It's called 'Mons Meg' and was received as a gift from someone about 600 years back. It's firing range is more than a 2 miles. Look at the canon balls on the left. Phew...



And, somethings you would not find in India - a cemetery for the dogs of the guards.



This is interesting. There's a big story about the honors of the kingdom (Scotland) and how they were lost and re discovered. There's an entire section dedicated to these honors - the Sword, the Sword belt, the Scabbard and the Crown. These are legacy things that kings of Scotland have inherited and have been part of their royal regalia. But they were lost somehow and later on found by the famous poet Walter Scott. The (original) case in which they were found is shown above.



This structure hosts the official Scottish war memorial. Has entries of all Scots who died with date and their regiment etc. No photography allowed inside, but it was serene inside.



Time to head back and route towards the exit. The castle closes at 6pm and the guards literally escort us out.



Final parting shot - Its actually not that big by standards of Indian forts.



See the snow capped peaks in the distance, its that north and yes, its fricking cold



India buildings - though I do not know what this means...



National Library



National museum



Nothing significant of the building except that the lights (in the building together with fading sunlight) created a good color effect.

Notice also, all main structures are made of stone (old and new) - hardly any brick work.



By this time I had completely run out of batteries, the cold weather had taken its toll. But I simply had to take this photo - so i am hectically reversing the batteries, trying different combinations of batteries (i had 4), turning off the LCD display to get this final snap.

This is the head office of the Royal Bank of Scotland - you cannot read the plate but it reads "Incorporated by Royal Charter, AD 1727". Man this is old. Now you get a sense of how deep this place is seeped in history.

Edinburgh - I

It's day 1 of my trip to Scotland and after checking in at my friend's place in Glasgow I head out to Edinburgh.



Edinburgh Waverley, the railway/metro station.



First snap outside the railway station. Its fricking cold and I have no idea what all to see in Edinburgh. I was hoping to cover Glasgow today and do Edinburgh tomorrow. But unfortunately, my friend had some work today and so I landed up here.

Luckily, like in most cities I have been to so far, there is a tourist centre just outside the main transport places where you get all info you need. So with a map in my hand I set out to explore Edinburgh...



What I figured out is that most sites in Edinburgh are on a single road, at one end of which is the Scottish Parliament and the palace at the other end is the castle. The road is called the Royal Mile (but it seemed more than a mile to me...!)



The national gallery... art, art and only art - and so 'NO ENTRY' for me!



All old stone buildings. You see I am standing on the side where I came out from the railway station and the road I referred to is on the other side (you can see the cross over bridge on the left).



The church, one of the older ones. Man all things in this part of the world are old... 200-300 years seems like new!



This is the road (the Royal Mile) I was referring to above. What you quickly realize is how narrow the road is and that is is not concrete or tar but stone.




I am at one end of the road. This is the palace in which queen stays whenever she is in Scotland. It's her official residence in Scotland. The palace is known as 'Palace of Holyroodhouse'



Just opposite to the palace is the Scottish parliament. There were rave reviews about this piece of construction but just a couple of days (or maybe a week) before my visit, something fell from the ceiling and all the parliamentarians had to be evacuated! So much for artistic construction, uh?



Another view of the palace.



There is a small hill just next to the palace and the parliament. One can actually climb it and is a good party spot...



Another view of the Scottish parliament.



This is a small museum. Entry was free so I decided to give it a try. The floor was wooden and made a lot of noise when I was walking. For a moment I was got conscious but then I noticed everyone made the same amount of noise when they walked, so it wasn't me alone. The museum was decent, lots of history of the city and how it was setup etc.



This is an interesting museum and certainly not something I had even heard of before. Museum of childhood and it shows how concept of childhood has changed over the years. So for a given age group it will have toys and how they have evolved over the years. Very fascinating indeed.



Scottish war memorial. A small one. The official one and far bigger one is inside the castle.

Next stop - other end of this road and to the castle. But first, lunch time and thankfully I had the company of Pizza hut here also. You see during my entire stay in London I had pretty much a weekend date with Pizza hut (whenever I was in town over weekends that is). Pizza hut was running a scheme where by you had unlimited buffet pizza for just GBP3.99. So I would go late afternoon (around 3) have a huge helping of pizza and that's it. My lunch and dinner was done - all for GBP3.99! (that's under 350 rupees - cheap even by Indian standards).

So I looted pizza hut in Edinburgh also and headed to the castle, which I was told is the most beautiful thing to see in Edinburgh.