A look toward the stunning baroque Rathaus of Hamburg. There are 647 rooms here.

Isabelle and Allie playing in the Rathaus courtyard fountain.

St. Nikolai Kirche is now a memorial as it was destroyed in WWII.


Walking along the Elbe River,

We traveled to Hamburg and arrived on Friday and spent the weekend there. Jamie had a neurosurgery course and Isabelle, Allie and I ventured out into the big city (2nd largest in Europe with 1.8 million people). It FELT like a big city too...lots of traffic, walking and a very unaccessible U-Bahn (subway) system with a stroller. Thankfully there were people willing to help a struggling mom out with bringing the stroller up and down stairs. I have to say that I missed the half-timbered houses, cobblestone streets, and rolling hills of southern Germany...I guess that I am a small town girl at heart. Hamburg has one of the biggest ports in Europe and this is St. Pauli harbor. The city has many canals and bridges, and also has 3 rivers that run through it.