Hamburg (Day 1)

It's time for Hamburg and we're excited to be catching up with Ole (a German guy we met when traveling on the Navimag cargo barge through the Chilean Fjords). Ole was kinda enough to let us stay with him at his family home. Ole picks us up late at night from the train station in his Dad's cool BMW work car and takes us for a tour of the harbour (3rd biggest in Europe which is currently lit up with blue lights to celebrate a festival). Back at his house we meet his girlfriend Claudia again and catch up from when we met them last.

It's Friday morning and Ole has to work (Ole is a recently graduated pilot for Lufthansa and is currently working at a huge Airbus factory) but he's given us a good guide of things to do in the city. First stop is the Miniature Wonderland Museum. We originally thought this is for little kids but it blew our minds. Basically it's a massive multiple level exhibition of different European cities with miniature trains, buses, roads, buildings, cable cars and even a Airport with a flight tracking board! The attention to detail is impressive even right down to the lights on the little cars turning on when the ambient lighting fades to embrace the nighttime setting. Truly a remarkable exhibition! Outside we wonder the city streets and walk along the massive festival 'Cruisedays' which has booths setup for the rich nomads looking to book their next cruise. We catch up with Ole at of the ferry stops and have a beer whilst meeting his Grandfather. Opa (German title for Grandad) is 92 years young and looks extremely healthy for his age. Him and Ole catch up atleast once a week for a beer to watch the large ships pass through the harbour.

Ole mates call and invite us to a BBQ at their place so it's time to swing by the supermarket to pick up some fancy meat and plenty of beer. We finish the night off at a local bar with some killer mule cocktails and try not to suffocate with the plumes of smoke flowing through the premise!Read more