Over the weekend, Hamburg celebrated its 823rd Harbor Birthday! There was quite a turnout. It seems that more and more people come out each year and I think they hit about 3 million this time around. Over the three-day celebration, there was plenty to see and do.
I downloaded pages and pages of itineraries so that I could find a good time to head over and see what interested me most. I settled on the waterskiing and the Schlepperballett (tug boat ballet). The S-bahn ride over wasn't as crowded as I expected. Perhaps because it was 15:00 and so many people we already there staking out good spots.
As soon as I hit the harbor, I followed my nose to the food area. It was typical fest food and it was really hard not to eat everything. They had Leberkäse (on pretzels!), chocolate-dipped fruit on sticks, Schmalzkuchen (little doughnut-like pastries), a roasting pig, and more. As far as drinks, they had beer, wine, juice, slushies, cocktails, and Jägermeister. I eventually succumbed to gebrannte Mandeln (cinnamon-sugary-roasted almonds) -- the smell gets me every time. And they were still warm!
I then tried to secure a place to watch the water skiiers in front of Landungsbrücken. I thought I had a decent spot, but it was still kind of tough to see. Those poor skiiers must have been freezing. Now might be a nice time to mention that I wore my winter coat yesterday. And I wish I had brought my gloves.
Then I had about over an hour to kill until the Schlepperballett was to start. I just walked around taking in the atmosphere. It was truly amazing to see how many boats and ships were in the harbor. I took a lot of pictures, but they don't really capture what it was like. I did find this nice collection of photos though. Take a look if you have some time and like boats. The Queen Mary 2 was also quite the cruiser to see. I only saw her from afar, but she looked lovely. (Are you still allowed to call boats "she"? Don't report me.)
There was a giant dark cloud hanging over the harbor the entire time, but really the weather was fantastic, as far as being sunny and dry. But, of course, that did not last. A little after 17:00 it started to rain and a majority of the crowd ran for cover. The rain didn't last long, but it did help provide me better access to a close spot for the Ballett. Plus, I also got to watch the BMW sailing team. Naturally.
I stood in my second-row from the railing spot for just over 45 minutes. It was a little bit of a struggle. A boat disembarked in front of us creating an even better view...until a much larger boat docked in front of our view. Thankfully it left right before the show started. I couldn't help but think over and over again, "this better be worth it."
It was.
The little tugboats, famous for carrying the large shipping containers in the harbor, started parading in led by the Fire Department boat that was spraying water.
Next, came the tugboats one by one. There were more than ten in total. Once they all hit their marks, they starting moving and swaying in unison. They turned in circles to the left, circle to the right, and moved side-to-side giving off little splashes. It was wonderful. I've seen Swan Lake in Russia and the Lipizzaner (dancing white horses) in Vienna, but this may have been the best ballet I've witnessed. The most unique at least. I took a few small videos, but they hardly capture what it was like. Perhaps you can try Google or Youtube.
And after a half hour, I was done. The show wasn't done, but I certainly was. I turned around to leave and was shocked to see just how many people came out for the tug boats. I was able to leave my section without any issues, but trying to cross the bridge was ridiculous. No one was moving. Then group mentality kicked in and the pushing started. Finally we were able to get close to the U-bahn/S-bahn station only to see that it was closed because there were too many people.
After more walking, I was finally able to get to the S-bahn. The train was already there, but it was so crowded, the police had to force people to back away and wait for the next one. A bit insane. This is when I decided that I would not return on Sunday and instead just watch live coverage on TV.
Even though it was a very long four hours of standing and walking, it was very worth it. Boats and sailors and cruise ships are fascinating indeed.
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