We had a very early start to catch our 4.55am Flixbus to Hamburg. The bus stop was just down the road from our hotel so it was easy to drag our luggage there.

While driving through Denmark we noticed that there was a section of the Baltic Sea that we had to cross. And a nice surprise for this trip was that the bus had to cross this sea on a ferry!

After brekki we took a walk around the boat and stopped out on the portside just in time to see the sun rise up over the water.

Such an unexpected but spectacular addition to our trip. To think that our entire bus/ferry trip only cost €17 each!

When we arrived on the ferry the driver announced that we have a 40 minute break. Wow! We walked up a couple of flights of stairs and had our pick of places to get coffee and food from. We chose the front of the boat, which was a little pricier but we got first class views of crossing the waters at dawn looking into Germany, whilst enjoying coffee and a buffet breakfast.

Our hotel in Hamburg seemed to be in the busy, seedier part of town, but it was very central and a quick walk from the main bus station and Central train station (where we will catch a train back to Frankfurt from tomorrow). We hauled our bags up a long flight of stairs to reception only to be told that our room is on the 4th floor, and sorry, the lift is broken. Lucky this place is only $65 a night and only for one night!

We felt sorry for the poor housekeeping staff as we passed them, as no lift would mean lugging all of their cleaning products, linen and rubbish up and down all day.

We took the front office staff member’s advice and walked to a street around the corner to find a restaurant for lunch. We found what looked like a little pub and ordered currywurst and a large beer each. The friendly ladies behind the bar giggled at our delight and need to take a photo when we got our food.

Hamburg is quite a large port and we set off to find the water. Michele’s google maps hadn’t saved offline properly so we found a little cafe on the Alster lake to connect to the wifi (the pub had no wifi), ordered a cocktail each and reloaded the map. While we here we noticed a boat cruising along the lake and looked up buying tickets on the internet. We found that we were able to purchase 2 tickets for the 2:30pm cruise online. Perfect!

The boat was quite full when we got on so we didn’t get a window seat, but it was still very easy to see. Refreshments and snacks were available for purchase on board and we also found that we could connect our phones via wifi to the audio information for an explanation of the sights we were going past in English.

The cruise was an hour long and took us past some of the most expensive real estate in Hamburg. Including a house that Diana and Charles stayed in almost exactly 9 months before William was born. So the Hamburgers joke that William is ‘made in Germany’.

After our cruise we alighted and walked up a little way to admire the Rathause (local town hall). This building is quite magnificent and very ornate, the photos don’t really do it justice.

Darkness was descending and we decided to navigate our way back towards our hotel and find a place for dinner.

There was a busy restaurant on the same street where we had lunch and we were lucky to get a table for 2. Germany can be a little backward when it comes to using credit cards. Some places accept Visa, others only accept credit cards that are specific to Germany. This restaurant informed us that they take cash only. So interesting to think that we had just come from Sweden, a country where many restaurants are now cash-free. We never had to withdraw any cash in Denmark or Sweden, we were able to use our everyday VISA debit card no matter where we went. No extra fees apply when you pay this way.

We both ordered Weiner schnitzel with horseradish sauce with potatoes and salad. They were delicious and washed down with dark beer and vodka!

Before heading home we stopped at the extremely busy Central station to work out exactly where we need to be tomorrow morning. We worked out that the escalators at the side of the stairwells sensed which way you wanted to go (up or down) and changed accordingly, how cool!

Now it was time to go back to the hotel room and rest up, ready for our fast train ride to Frankfurt (and Scott!) tomorrow. Gute nacht!