2019 Rotary Convention - Drop anchor in Germany’s gateway to the world, where it’s easy to feel like a local
By Jenny Llakmani Photos by Samuel Zuder
Walking through Hamburg’s main train station on our first day in the city, my husband, Anton, spots a man sitting in a tiny bar enjoying a beer and a smoke. His peculiar garb – black corduroy jacket, vest, and bell-bottom pants, along with a battered top hat – gives him away. He’s one of Germany’s Wandergesellen, a journeyman carpenter who, in a tradition that dates to the Middle Ages, travels the world for two or three years carrying only a change of clothes, a few euros, and his skills.
Like us, he’s just another visitor to Hamburg. A real person in a real city – a city, as we come to realize, that’s the coolest place we never knew we wanted to visit.
The wavy roofline of Hamburg’s newest landmark, the Elbphilharmonie, breaks above the historic brick warehouses of the Speicherstadt district.
In an age when every destination seems to be making itself over to please tourists, Hamburg steadfastly chooses to please itself. Undeniably authentic, the city greets visitors with a friendly ahoy! and then goes about its business – and business is the business of Hamburg – leaving you to enjoy its many charms.
