Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany (Berlin is the largest) with about 1.7 million people and the second largest port in Europe (after Rotterdam). It is 70 miles up the Elba River in Northern Germany. The city dates back to early 9th century when the Emperor Charlemagne built a castle there. Because of its location on both the Elbe River and the Alster and Bille Rivers, it has always been a trading center and is a major port and commercial center. The city has two lakes and many canals, making it resemble Venice or Amsterdam. As you can see from my photos, most of the older buildings were built of red brick (some of sandstone.) I apologize for the quality of the photos - most of them were taken from inside the bus and I was on the wrong side of the bus for the good shots. The highlight of the tour was a visit to the Lutheren Church of St Michael. Also built of red brick, it is large enough to seat 2500 people and we were there in time to hear an organ recital - loved it!
The ship sailed from Hamburg at 6:30 pm and made it's way back down the Elba and out into the North Sea again and we are now on our way to Edinburgh, Scotland, scheduled to arrive there tomorrow (19 Jul) at about 6:00 am. The weather has been great, so far. Just a slight haze of clouds and calm seas - temperatures in the 70's. I'd better enjoy it, because it will get cooler as we turn north in a couple of days.