Travel Diary, Hamburg, DE

19 Jul, 2026

Hamburg, DE, 1750

We are in Hamburg, Germany! We are staying in a quaint hotel that is trying very hard to prove that Germans really do know how to have fun, despite everything you might have heard. Kind of an old-timey seafront vibe combined with hipster coolness. If that makes sense. I'd show you some pictures but I didn't take any.

I am my mother's son in that regard. My dear mother has many strengths but photography is not among their number. I think one day in 1968 she decided she had enough pictures of those two kids and just stopped taking pictures of us. In all honesty she had better things to do.

The highlight this morning was locating Franzbrötchen. A kind of pastry Hamburg is famous for. It turns out to be kind of a cinnamon croissant. Quite delicious.  

Our waitress last night was very patient with my minimal German skills. Her English was impeccable but at some point I just asked her, "May I practice my German  with you?" She was delighted to indulge me asking simple questions, most of which involved where to find Franzbrötchen and which places had the best Franzbrötchen.  It turns out that you can get them pretty much anywhere, which kind of took the sense of accomplishment away from finding them this morning. 

We will be in Hamburg less than 24 hours which is a shame because we are staying in the 25-Hour Hotel, meaning we paid for an hour we won't even be using. Fiscal responsibility be damned! We get on the Queen Mary 2 this afternoon. The ship was supposed to be the final part of a grand European trip with our family to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary, but health reasons put the kibosh on most of those plans leaving the transatlantic cruise as the part that is manageable.

I know you hang on every infrequent word from this blog, so I'll keep posted!