jpvonmehren

Traveling to Hamburg in late November for a one week stay with four children, ages 17 -7.We want to visit Berlin. Would also love to "experience" surrounding countryside. Ideas?

quokka

Look at this thread we had a while ago: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35076523

(Hope the link works)

hsv

I strongly advocate a visit to the city's gorgeous model railway "museum" - a huge landscaped working model railroad world with tremendous attention to detail and different surroundings simulated. Great fun not only for kids.

http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/

The train connection to Berlin is great - approx. 90 min. by ICE (but it does come at a price).

Surroundings:
-Luebeck is great for a medieval town center with typical Hanseatic red brick architecture and lots of preserved buildings once home for the rich traders of the city.

-The ship's welcoming point near Wedel can be interesting, too. Incoming and departing vessels are being greeted by playing the national anthem of their state of registration (lots of Panama, of course).

-A tour of the Hamburg port is a must.

-Schwerin is quite nice, too. Its Old Town has been nicely restored and the Palace looks nice, but is not accessible as it serves as the parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It can be combined with a visit to Ludwigslust, which features a nice palace in some nice park, but is less attractive in November.

gradyghost

Hello jp:

We visited Hamburg for 5 days last month. I look forward to returning one day. A must see for your children (and you) is:

Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg
Kehrwieder 2-4,
Block D 20457 Hamburg – Speicherstadt

This is a model railway exhibit that goes on from room to room, and is easily one of the most fascinating things I have ever seen. I wish I had devoted at least half a day. You can find the German web site at:

http://www.miniatur-wunderland.de/

with some English translation.

We were three adults (seniors) travelling so our interests probably vary from those of a family with teenage children. I can offer that we stayed at the Madison Hotel and loved both the accommodations and the location (near the waterfront).

I also can vouch for HSV's recommendations for brat stands: Mö Grills opposite one another next to the C&A department store.

One other suggestion for the kids, again courtesy HSV: The Elbe 76 restaurant; see www.elbe76.de. A 10 minute cab ride from the Madison. Reputed to be the best pizza in Hamburg and we found it to be great. Rucola/Parma ham is the most popular. With kids, I suggest the restaurant in the back. The bar in front is lively.

BTW, I had to travel all the way to Hamburg to learn the origin (or at least what I suspect to be the origin) of HSV's screen name. I feel certain that the veteran Fodorites have long known. HSV is the acronym for the German football club based in Hamburg --Hamburg Sport-Verein. I wonder if our friend HSV is a fan or something more. Their game with Dortmund, I think, was on the TV in the bar of Elbe 76.

Good luck on your visit to a great city. Gradyghost

bilboburgler

Luebeck very pretty get into the town hall.

The sunday flower market down on the docks starts at 4am and finishes about 7. book into a restaurant for plaice with bacon. Very much a hamburg experience

Rundfahrt of the docks including the masive floating docks. Trip to the Kiel Kanal.

Have you read the books of the guy who wrote the 39 steps. Well one "The riddle of the sands" talks about the strange island off Hamburg which used to be british. until 193?. Might be worth a trip.

And you can sail on the lake in the centre of the city or take boat trips on it

hsv

It's neat to see that some of my recommendations indeed seem to catch on (cheers to you, gradyghost).

Regarding the Elbe76 restaurant:
The only caveat on the restaurant section of Elbe 76 is that the Rucola Parma Pizza (my favourite) is usually only on the bar menu and they are quite strict about keeping the two menus separate (for whatever reason).

Regarding the miniature trains (at least indirectly):
Opposite the street from the Miniatur Wunderland, there is the "Kesselhaus", which features a city model of the Speicherstadt (a former warehouse district, which is currently one of the biggest urbanisation projects in Europe). If you are interested in architecture, a short visit to that exhibition followed by a short stroll outside might be worth it as quite a few new buildings have been erected already - and some of them are really nice. One day in a not too distant future, this should become a really nice part of town that changes the city considerably.


Another suggestion:
A stroll through the Treppenviertel in Blankenese below the Suellberg (Hamburg's version of a mountain) is a nice distraction on a Sunday - lots of cozy looking small captains houses lined up along quite hilly terrain and paths often only accessible on foot.


Screen name Vanity:
I am indeed somewhat of a fan - I would describe it as being "HSV-positive". If anyone has read Nick Hornby's brilliant description of a true football (Arsenal, though) fan called "Fever Pitch", they'd get a very good idea of how one gets involved and people become unable to let go of their favourite team for the rest of their lives.
Apart from that I have no professional relation to HSV, however - and unfortunately am not even living in the city anymore (but keep returning enough to keep having a view on what's worth seeing and visiting and what not).

Cheers
hsv

quokka

Off topic: Cheers HSV! Well done this weekend!

hsv

Should anyone plan to go to Luebeck by train (which is normally about a 45 min. trip), please be aware that Deutsche Bahn is doing work on the rail tracks and will be closing the main rail line from 3 Nov until 8 December. Trains will be diverted and the trip will take 20 minutes longer according to a local paper as of today.
Sprinter trains will be cancelled altogether.

Cheers to you, quokka - my share in their wins is extremely low, but things have been looking good this season and I am looking forward to seeing them play at home next weekend.

DAX

I've taken my kids to Hamburg 3 times and they enjoyed the Hamburger Dom when they were in the low teens. It's a large typical german ride fair with all kinds of food stands. My son loved the Thuringer bratwurst inside, though you can get the same on Moenkebergstr as mentioned by Grady.

During our visit last year, my 14 year old enjoyed exploring the Schwannenviertel which reminds me of the Haight Ashbury area in San Francisco and to a lesser degree Melrose street in L.A. I think the street name was Markstrasse, just a block north of the Hamburger Dom. Where will you be staying?

The Hafen tour was also interesting for us however we found the Fischmarkt to be disappointing.

A decent fast food meal suggested by HSV is Vapiano which is an Italian chain fast food serving real pasta dishes freshly made in front of you. My kids loved the concept and I would consider it very good for fast food. It started in Hamburg but has flourished all the way to Washington DC. There is a couple branches in Berlin, one in Potsdamerplatz and the other is at the Concorde hotel behind the Swisshotel right off Ku'dam.

One place to avoid is Burger King even though you are in Hamburg and there is a very attractive BK joint on Moenckebergstr. My kids complained that the BK burger doesn't taste the same as in the US at all, they taste awful to them.

I am always big on taking the Metro train to visit Bremen. Your kids may know the tale of 4 Bremen Musicians. Lots of colorful architecture and it has the maze of touristic alleys in Schnoor district.

Our Hamburg resident HSV provides the best resource for Hamburg and he also has great restaurant recomendations, perhaps he will paste them.

DAX

Just to avoid confusion, the metro train to Bremen that I mentioned is different from the MET (Metropolitan Express Train) which goes to Koeln. I think the Bremen train code is ME instead of MET.

hsv

To clarify:
The train to Bremen is called Metronom (it is operated by a Lower Saxony owned corporation, as far as I know).
The train that, among others, travels to Cologne is the Metropolitan, geared towards business travellers.

While I am (to my deepest regrets) no longer resident in Hamburg, I still travel there often (it's just a short flight from LHR, after all) and still believe to have reasonably good insight into the current restaurant scene (of which there are a few classics that are just reliably good anyway). Should anybody have any preferences, please indicate them and I can make some suggestions.

DAX

hsv, I remember you once recommended a downtown French bistro for lunch to another Fodorite. I can't find that thread and the people I asked in Hamburg had no clue about it. Would you mind giving the name again?

<<While I am (to my deepest regrets) no longer resident in Hamburg..>>>
Sounds like London is not as good as you expected. My British secretary moved from London to the San Francisco Bay Area and I hear a lot about her experience living in London.

Underhill

The Hamburg zoo is exceptionally good; you can take different walks depending on the amount of time you have. The botanical gardens are also fun to visit, with ponds of ducks and other water birds.

hsv

DAX, sounds like Cafe Paris.#
Rathausstr.4, just across the street from City Hall.

http://www.cafeparis.net/index.php?lang=en

hausfrau

Funny how threads keep coming up about places I've just visited.

I was in Hamburg last week - our first foray into northern Germany. Loved the city, and the harbor tour was fantastic - an absolute must-see. We took the one-hour tour on the big Louisiana paddleboat, which I agree sounds sort of odd. Some people say they prefer the smaller boats, but we got great views into the container port from the top deck of the paddleboat.

We had a great meal in Hamburg at the restaurant underneath the Rathaus. It has been recently redone - the new name is Parlament.

We also spent a night in Luebeck - kids will get a kick out of the leaning Holstentor and the marzipan shop just across from the Rathaus (Niederegger? I might be spelling that wrong.) If you go to Luebeck you absolutely MUST eat at the Schiffersgesellschaft. It is hands-down the most atmospheric restaurant I have been to in Europe, and the food is excellent.

It could be quite chilly in November but you might consider a drive along the Ostsee coast. We stopped in Ahrenshoop, a small village on a long spit of land jutting into the sea. The thatch-roofed cottages are amazing - they are even building brand-new subdivisions of thatch-roofed cottages, the market and pharmacy have thatched roofs...you get the idea. It's worth seeing this beautiful traditional architecture.

Also wonderful but possibly cold and damp in November is the island of Ruegen, about 3 hours from Hamburg. We enjoyed charming Binz, a real old-fashioned beach resort town, hiked out to the Koenigstuhl, and went up to Kap Arkona to climb the lighthouse.

DAX, they recently opened a Vapiano in Stuttgart - I was there last week. Great pizza and a fun atmosphere. I also noted that they offer organic whole wheat pasta.

gradyghost

Re the French Bisto near the Rathaus. It is Cafe Paris. Just a few steps from the U-Bahn entrance. I had lunch there twice during our stay in Hamburg last month. Terrific food and nice atmosphere, but sometimes tough to get a table.

I can also mention with considerable praise Die FischKüche Restaurant at Kajen 12 (Tele 040/36 36 31). The obvious specialty is seafood and we had dinner there twice; an easy walk from the Madison. We found the staff to be particularly friendly and helpful with the German only menu.
Gradyghost

DAX

Thanks hsv & grady for the Cafe Paris name. It's good to have an alternative beyond German cooking after a few days. Must be very good that you ate there twice. I perused the website, it looks more traditional french rather than the new/creative cooking. We ate at Casse Croute a few times throughout the years just because it's the only french restaurant we knew even though it was traditional french.

hausfrau, I notice the new Vapiano is corner to corner with the Stiftskirche. I really enjoyed Stuttgart during my last visit, it's so easy to manage and enjoy. My wife bought so much marzipan for her mom on our last trip only to find that several kinds/shapes of Niederegger are now available here at Cost Plus stores, much cheaper than at Kaufhof & Karstadt.

gradyghost

DAX:

I should mention that I came upon Cafe Paris by sheer accident. We emerged from the U-Bahn, looking for a place to have lunch and there it was. I recognized the name on the basis of HSV's earlier post that you referred to. I hope HSV can maintain his unbelievable familiarity with the nice spots of Hamburg--a great source. On a par with Ingo in Dresden. BTW, Ingo, I too visited B & B and will report separately. Gradyghost

DAX

Grady, I can't find any trip report from your recent trip. I've never posted any trip reports either but I tried to do restaurant reviews after a trip, so perhaps you can do the same?

jpvonmehren

HSV, thanks to you and others for excellent information and advice. You offered to suggest some restaurants in Hamburg. Please, would you? I've jotted down some mentioned in this thread..cafe paris, elbe 76, Die Fischkuche but I'm looking for some place special to go to on the 22nd (that is Thanksgiving Day in the USA, also a day to remember JFK this year. We don't wish for American food however) Die Weisse Haus is completely booked after recent NYT article. We are staying on ABC Strasse. Thanks very much.