Red Baron's Blog: Hamburg Splinters

My latest organized visit to Hamburg began with a train from Freiburg Hauptbahnhof on December 12 at 9:48 AM. During the trip, the ICE 76 was diverted due to the deployment of an emergency doctor on the tracks (euphemism for someone who threw himself in front of a train) and finally stopped longer at the small-town station in Riedstadt-Goddelau.

Remember to click the photos to enlarge them.

Looking out the window, I thought visiting the Büchnerhaus, his birthplace, would have been possible if our train had stopped longer.

Wikipedia knows about the giant of the German language:

The Büchnerhaus in Riedstadt-Goddelau is the birthplace of the playwright Georg Büchner. Today, the house is a cultural center with a literature museum.

Büchner was born here on October 17, 1813, in the small room on the second floor that the young family had rented. His father was a country doctor at the time and thus was also responsible for the physical illnesses of the inmates of the Philippshospital, one of the first psychiatric hospitals in the world. However, at the time, as a "madhouse," it was more of an asylum.

Here, young George must have gotten the insight for his drama Wozzeck.

We arrived at Hamburg Central Station only 45 minutes late, so the total travel time was 6 hours 35 minutes.

©warrel040/Wikipedia

Our venerable Reichshof hotel was located directly opposite the central station.

The lobby is styled in the Art Deco style.

The hotel is a cultural monument in Hamburg's St.Georg district.

Freizeit von 13.00 -16.30

This time, the trip organized by the Badische Zeitung was characterized by lots of free time at our disposal (Zeit zur freien Verfügung). This makes group travel fluffier for the participants and cheaper for the organizer.

Stadtrundfahrt

As in the past, the obligatory bus tour sightseeing tour rounded the Außenalster (Outer Alster), traveled along the Reeperbahn to Altona, and up the Elbe River along the Landungsbrücken back to the city center.

Red Baron learned two new details.

On Feenteichbrücke.
To the right is Hamburg's Senate (government) guest house.
President Trump stayed there in 2017 during the G7 summit.

It is customary to kiss someone when you cross the Feenteichbrücke (Fairy Pond Bridge) at the Outer Alster. Nobody was at hand, and nobody on the bus kissed Red Baron.

The Altona Town Hall was originally the Altona-Kiel Railway Company station building. In 1844, Altona was a Danish port city on the Elbe River. Subsequently, the station was opened on the king's birthday, September 18, 1844, for the Christian VIII Østersø Jernbane (King Christian VIII Baltic Railway).

The bus tour ended at Gänsemarkt, the gateway to Hamburg's Christmas markets. The former goose market (Germans adopted turkey only after the war) is a fitting seasonal spot.

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing with a birdie on Gänsemarkt

Lessing, a precursor of the German classic (Goethe, Schiller), was the first serious dramaturg at Abel Seyler's Hamburg National Theatre. With his Hamburg Dramaturgy, Lessing decisively shaped German theater culture.

Maximilian II, Duke of Bavaria

Birdies on statues are standard. I took the above example in Munich in 2006.

Hamburg Rathaus and Christmas Market.
Note the Wichern Advent wreath with its 24 candles.

From Gänsemarkt, we walked along Jungfernstieg past Christmas stalls to the Rathausmarkt. At Christmas markets, the drink of choice is mulled wine. Visitors may choose finger food in sweet, sour, or salty flavors.

©Bucerius Art Forum

While most of my fellow travelers sought the ultimate Christmas kick, Red Baron uncoupled and visited the exhibition New Images in the Age of Augustus at the Bucerius Art Forum.

Elphi

Our group listened to Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in D major, op. 123, at the Elbphilharmonie in the evening.

The Orchestre des Champs-Élysées and the Collegium Vocale Gent are seated,
waiting for the conductor.

Greeting the audience:
The ensemble is standing, and Conductor Philippe Herreweghe is bowing.

Hafencity

The morning zur freien Verfügung

In the early morning hours, Red Baron visited his former high school GOA, where he was interviewed by two students: "Grandpa, tell us about the schooling before 1954." The students will produce a video while I provide a few blurred B&W photos.

In the afternoon, our group visited the new Hamburg quarter Hafencity built on the premises and free plots of the former Speicherstadt (warehouse district).