But where are all the hamburgers?

Pretty lazy day today, as the rain procludes any real sight-seeing and we're just sort of waiting for our midnight bus to Amsterdam (Whoot Whoot!). So, after locking our luggage up and a nice Große Frühstück (big breakfast), we decided to catch up on some Internettery, the fruits of which you are currently no doubt enjoying.

After a couple of hours of screen-staring, the sky had cleared up somewhat so we headed out a-sightseeing after all.



We happened upon St. Nikolai church, which was all but completely destroyed by the bombings of WWII, but rather than rebuild it the people of Hamburg decided to keep it as is, as a war memorial. Ian and I amused ourselves by pretending to be BBC reporters on NPR. Note: the following should be read with an unplaceable but somewhat British-sounding accent:

The sounds of the children playing in the rubble is all you can hear around this part of Hamburg these days, as the bells of St. Nikolai no longer ring out. Their shrieks of joy and laughter are a far cry from the sufferings of their grandparents. Local resident Henrietta Schmidt remembers: (now you hear a German woman talking for a half a second before another British voice is laid over it) "We had nothing. Nothing. We waited for hours for bread. And fish? You could never get fish!" (back to the reporter) Today, a stone plaque is all that remains of this once-proud community church. Though the children, play on. From Hamburg, Deeta Bangwali, BBC World.

And we'd laugh and laugh.



This is the train station. A fairly impressive structure, considering how long it's been around and the variety and number of shops inside. Speaking of shops, we spent most of the afternoon walking up and down Spitalerstraße, this long promenade full of shops and cafés, which on a Saturday afternoon was all a-bustle with people from all walks of life.

Our train leaves in 90 minutes, and we'll arrive around 6 AM. An attempt to save on another night in a hostel, sure. But also, Ian says that sitting up is the only way I sleep silently.

Next stop, ... uh, what was I talking about again?