Week 5- 13/2/12-19/2/12

Cultural Blog

To our delight, we had no classes this week due to the ‘Winter Holiday’. We decided to make the most of our week off and go travelling. We chose to travel to Hamburg in Germany as it’s very easily accessed from Vordingborg, just 3 hours and 30 minutes on the ICE (Inter-City-Express) Train which stops at the train station just over the fence from where we live! Kerri, Trisha and I have never visited Germany before and we were curious about the country and the culture.

Our train journey began as expected, however we were taken by surprise when our train began boarding a ferry! It seems logical that we would have to cross the water but we assumed it would be via a bridge as a train boarding a ferry wouldn’t be something commonly seen, especially in Northern Ireland. It was definitely an unusual experience!

Kerri and I outside the train on the ferry

On the ferry

Hamburg is a beautiful city. The first thing that struck me about it was how lively it was. The central train station (Hauptbahnhof) is an attraction in itself; I was amazed at how vast and crowded it was. There is something about the buzz of the station that I have never experienced before. It’s even equipped with its own shopping centre and police station!

There are many interesting things to do and see in Hamburg so we took a hop on hop off bus which allowed us to see all the important sites. The Building that stood out for me in Hamburg was The City Hall (Rathaus). Hamburg’s City Hall is their ‘Palace’. We took a guided tour around the City Hall and the interior and decor of the building is spectacular. It is well worth taking the tour as it also allowed us to gain knowledge of the politics of Hamburg and aspects of its history, which is important for developing my understanding of Germany as a country and of the German culture.

Me outside the City Hall in the evening.

While in Hamburg, we were lucky enough to see the Elbe Lake frozen over with an Ice cap of 20cm, which we were informed hasn’t happened in 15 years. This was an interesting cultural experience as we witnessed people of all ages skating, sleighing, walking, running and walking prams and dogs on the lake. We were able to walk on the lake for ourselves; needless to say we didn’t attempt a run!

Kerri, Trisha and I on the Frozen Lake.

A must see place I would recommend everyone to visit, is Hamburg’s ‘Miniatur Wunderland’ which is an amazing model sized world including railways, roads, an airport and every possible aspect of real-life you could think of in miniature size, the creators have thought of everything!  It’s incredible. You have to see it to believe it!

Minature model of Hamburg

I have found that similar to the Danes, the German people were very friendly and approachable.  My first impressions of Germany when looking out the window on the train, was that the landscape was very beautiful and a lot more populated than Denmark. I immediately noticed also that the German flag was not as widely seen as the Danish flag is in Denmark.  I have had a valuable insight into the German Culture and Country, however I would like to find out a lot more. Our trip to Hamburg has inspired us to travel further into Germany and we hope to travel to Berlin soon to gain an insight into the rich history there.

This was a very busy and exciting week in Germany. It’s time now to get back into the relaxed Danish way of life!

Indtil naeste gang, (Until next time)

Fionnuala