Christmas in Germany's Far North: Hamburg, Bremen, Stade

Stade

Our German Wings flight accumulates about 30 minutes of delay. On the other hand, in Hamburg, baggage delivery and the car rental procedures at Budget are very quick. We quickly find ourselves on board our Ford Focus SW and set the navigator towards the town of Stade where we have booked our first overnight stay. As soon as we arrive at our destination, we encounter quite a few difficulties reaching the hotel located in the historic area of the city, due to the many one-way streets, some roadworks in progress and the very narrow streets. When we finally arrive at the Hotel am Fischmarkt we temporarily park the car to unload the luggage and try to figure out where the free affiliated parking is. Unfortunately the hotel, housed in an old building, has no elevator, so we have to carry our heavy suitcases to the upper floor.

Luckily we are on the first floor, otherwise it would have been a real problem. There are 2 rooms (even though we wanted a triple): our daughter's single room is decent, overlooking the pretty little square with the small market. Our double room, on the other hand, has a very ugly view of the dreary courtyard and a ridiculous, impractical bathroom, the size of an airplane one. As soon as we are settled we go out for our first visit to the town. In Fischmarkt there is a pretty canal and old half-timbered houses. Unfortunately, due to some vague roadworks, the view is a bit marred (and so are some of our photos). In the little square, the same one as the hotel, there are some stands of the small market, in particular the typical things to drink and eat.

There are also some nice places, where we enjoy a pleasant lunch with baked goods and, for dinner, we book at a Steak House, also in Fischmarkt. But the real Christmas market is in another square, Pferde Markt, a few hundred meters away. So we reach the square and visit the pretty little houses of the market. We also buy a cone of good little fritters and then we go back to the hotel when it is almost dark and the lights are already on. Typical German dinner based on meat at the Steakhouse Mendoza where we meet a friendly Italian waitress. A Gluhwein and a hot apple juice at the market and then we go back to the hotel and admire the square from the window of our daughter's room.

Bremen

Breakfast at the Stade hotel is more than good, with a great variety of savory foods. Scarcer on the sweet side but, as you know, that's how it is in Germany. The little room on the ground floor is also pretty and sufficiently spacious. We pick up our car at the parking lot and head to Bremen where we will spend the next overnight stay. After about 1 hour and a half we are there. We easily find our Hotel, Radission Blu, with the convenient parking with entrance right beside the hotel entrance. A bit expensive (20 euros a day) but convenience is priceless. This time we find the 4-star hotel up to our expectations: luxurious, with a nice central lobby in a kind of covered inner courtyard where the bar and the restaurant for the next day's breakfast are located. Triple room spacious although the third bed is really an added bed suitable only for children and teenagers up to a certain age.

Decent bathroom, Wi-fi everywhere and all the services and comforts you expect from a 4-star hotel. There is also a pool with a small wellness area which however lacks a whirlpool tub (the only flaw of this hotel). But the greatest asset is the fact that the hotel is located just a few meters (really just a few) from the central square of Bremen, Markt, where the beautiful Christmas market is located. The square itself is a jewel in its own right, surrounded by all the major historic and tourist attractions of Bremen: the old town hall (Rathaus), the Cathedral, a second church, the famous statue of the famous "Bremen Town Musicians" and other period buildings. And the musicians are really there in flesh and blood; they play in the corners of the square giving us a Christmas atmosphere of great quality.

However, the famous statue of the Bremen Town Musicians (Donkey + Dog + Cat + Rooster) I expected it to be bigger and placed in a central location; instead it is modest in size and placed in a little corner. We begin our visit of the city starting from the old Town Hall. Only 2 large halls on the upper floor can be visited, with a long-winded guide who says superfluous and useless things and makes us waste an hour of time. The first hall is interesting, the second decidedly irrelevant. We then visit the Church not far away and the Cathedral, on the other side. Then we focus on the market with its beautiful finely decorated little houses. The market is quite large and varied. We like it very much.

We look for a cafe to rest and right near the square we find the Caffe Classico, a particularly cozy place with a large counter displaying an assortment of cakes of all kinds, with a particularly inviting appearance. Choosing just one slice is particularly difficult with such variety: which one do I choose? The cakes are all at least 10/12 cm tall, as per proper German tradition. We are so enthusiastic about the cafe that, glancing at the menu, we decide to book a table there for dinner too, which will not disappoint us at all. Gluwein as tradition with a souvenir mug from the city's market to collect and then back to the hotel for a bit of rest and a dip in the pool, a bit cold. But then again, the temperatures of Northern European pools are like that. On the other hand, during this weekend, we are very lucky with the weather.

It is not cold at all; perhaps less cold than Varese or Milan and it almost never rains. We then go out for dinner at the Caffe Classico; followed by a brief last tour of the adjacent market and a stop in the hotel Lobby where we find a group of pretty girls dressed as Santa Lucia singing Christmas carols. What an atmosphere!

Hamburg

The Super-Breakfast awaits us in the Lobby of our beautiful hotel. We will not forget it easily: there is every good thing, from sweet to savory. The price is fortunately included in the medium/high room rate; otherwise it would be quite expensive. But it is absolutely worth it; it will be well spent. And then you won't need to eat for the entire day! Before leaving Bremen, following the advice of the guide at the Rathaus, we visit the old Mill located at the city ramparts, along the river banks. It is an old Dutch-style windmill, surrounded by greenery, with a coffee shop inside which however we do not visit, given the feast at breakfast. Then we head towards Hamburg. First stop at the Hard Rock Cafe, located along the river, not far from the port, in the St. Pauli area (red-light district).

It is Sunday morning and there are many tourists participating on the walkways along the river and crowding the overly touristy little shops of the area. I don't know, we don't like that area. It seems particularly sad to us and when I hear the notes of "Heroes" by David Bowie I feel like I am in the movie "We Children from Zoo Station." At one point I even seem to see the real Christiane F. (she looked like her though). In short, we park with a stroke of luck right in front of the Hard Rock. Our daughter buys yet another t-shirt and then we get back in the car in search of our hotel. We find it right in front of the station entrance. Fortunately you can stop with the car in front of the entrance to unload luggage and then, with a map provided by the concierge, we try to figure out where on earth the affiliated parking is.

It would seem not too far but it is not at all like that: the road is complicated, you get confused and waste time. The hotel however is comfortable although nothing exceptional. There is everything you need, without infamy and without praise. The bathroom is also quite spacious and well furnished. Fortunately in front of the hotel there are always taxis waiting, so we have no difficulty taking one to reach the Rathaus square where the central market takes place. Truly the Christmas markets are a bit everywhere. Anyway we think we'll visit the central one: decorated, illuminated but very crowded. It is hard to move between the stalls, perhaps also because it is Sunday. In short, we quickly buy some little houses for our collection, eat the usual good little fritters and then decide to rest at the Starbucks of the nearby Europe Passage shopping center.

Unfortunately, since it is Sunday, here the shops are closed while only the bars and restaurants are open. On the way out, we easily find a taxi, which are plentiful here, and return to the hotel. On the way to the hotel, in front of the station, there are several places to have dinner: we choose one in typical German style and book (you always need to book restaurants in the afternoon, otherwise it is difficult to find a spot without waiting). The dinner based on typical German dishes (sausages, Stinco, grilled meat and the inevitable potatoes cooked in every way) is excellent. At the end you always appreciate a slice of strudel with vanilla and cream. Beer costs less than water and the bill is never too high. Every evening we spend about 60 euros for a dinner for 3 people. We find that the cost of living, here, in this area of Germany, is not at all high.

Many prices are lower than in Italy, especially gasoline. And to think that Germans earn much more than us!

Return

Breakfast at our Hamburg hotel is nothing exceptional: the savory part sufficient; the sweet part practically nonexistent. Oh well...after all it cost little: € 95.00 for a triple room including breakfast. The little room however is decent and sufficiently spacious; there is room for everyone and that's something. My husband and my daughter go to retrieve the car at the hotel's remote parking lot, located who knows where. They will reappear with the car after a good half hour. Before leaving Hamburg however, we stop by yesterday's shopping center, Europe Passage, for purchases at the Harley store which was closed the day before. With one more green t-shirt, we set on the Gps the address of the castle of.... about 30 minutes from Hamburg. The castle is closed at this time of year but we were fully aware of it.

We admire it only from the outside: the white of the walls and the water surrounding it makes it particularly interesting. Too bad we cannot go beyond the gate to admire the moat up close. The nearby town hosts a tiny, but tiny market (only 3 or 4 food stands) and some Cafes, bakers and restaurants. Here we buy some Brezel to take home and we head to the airport where, at 6 pm, our return flight awaits us. We arrive at the car rental in no time. We return the car without difficulty, do the German Wings check in (perhaps it would have been better to do the Check in online because we always and only find seats in the last row) and wait for our flight which will leave right on the minute. At Malpensa they quickly hand us our luggage (strange, very strange) but instead the Parkingo shuttle and the car return make us lose quite a bit of time.

First of all, instead of sending us the usual shuttle, they load us all onto a tour-type bus, as if we were on a pot trip. Obviously we have to wait for the bus to fill up and for the luggage to be loaded. At the parking lot they don't have the car ready for us as usual but they simply give us back the keys inviting us to go retrieve it at an unspecified point in the parking lot. I have a strong feeling that this will be the last time we use Parkingo or we will tear them apart with a bad review that we will spread to the four winds. DANI, MAX AND CLARISSA