Day 4: Sport and Culture

Today's program started with a tour of Hamburg's biggest stadium. We visited many different locations of the stadium including the VIP rooms and the press areas. After seeing the changing rooms, we walked into the stadium through the tunnel just like real soccer players do! After the guided tour, we learned about the history of the stadium and also about the history of soccer in Germany.

Chan Hyuk and Adrian - Press conference in the stadium 

Cecilia and Shiraz

Crystal, Amanda, Eva and Aloe

In the afternoon we visited Hamburg's Picasso exhibition "Window to the World". The exhibition focused on the window motif in Picasso's entire body of work. We had a wonderful discussion about windows, perspectives, and art. We talked about how windows open up spaces, communicate between inside and outside worlds, symbolize human relationships, and how they can bring home the world.

In the evening we watched the musical "The Miracle of Bern", which is a moving father-son story against the background of the 1954 Football World Cup when Germany played against Hungary in the finals. It's about a family that finds itself, a team that grows beyond itself, and a little boy with big dreams.

You can see a two-minute film about the background story of the musical in English. The musical had some amazing vertical football scenes with incredible aerial performers. It was the perfect closure of our trip.

The Miracle of Bern - Vertical soccer choreography and the cast

Shiraz at the Stage Theater

On the way to Hamburg's Stage Theater - The Musical Ferry

Stage Theater

Day 3: Market, Technology, Hamburg at Night

We had a long Sunday! We visited Hamburg's famous fish market. It's a must-see place for all visitors as it is Hamburg's most traditional market. From porcelain mugs to all kinds of fish, one can find just about anything in the shadow of the 100-year old fish auction hall. Bananas fly through the air, plastic bags of fish are sold for a low price at the end of the day. The sellers are loud - it's definitely a unique experience. After the fish market, we explored a city park by bike. Miniatur Wunderland, the largest model railway in the world, and one of the most successful permanent exhibitions in Northern Germany, was our next destination. After dinner, we ended the day on the viewing platform of Hamburg's main Lutheran church, St. Michael's Church, better known locally as the "Michel". After enjoying the 360-degree panorama view of Hamburg by night, we listened to organ music and had some hot chocolate in the tower. Enjoy today's pictures as well as the official video of Miniatur Wunderland (the children's favorite attraction today)!

Fish sellers and AISB

Fish market

Palm trees in Hamburg...

Cecilia and Shiraz

Hamburg Port

Dylan and Frau Kill

Miniatur Wunderland - A Swiss scene

A night visit to Hamburg's most famous church - St. Michaelis 

The 360-degree viewing platform of the "Michel"

Hamburg at night

Day 2: History and Architecture

Our first day in Hamburg went really well. We started with breakfast in our hostel, and then continued with a guided tour in the Hamburg Dungeon. The Hamburg Dungeon taught us about the city's murky past in a scarily fun way. We learned about interrogations in medieval and early modern Europe, had to find our way  through the terrible Great Fire of Hamburg, which devastated the city in 1842 as well as learned about a Plague-ravaged Hamburg street. The students participated in the activities, and had a great time with the actors of the interactive tour.

Before the scary adventures - Group photo at the Hamburg Dungeon

Getting ready for the Hamburg Dungeon

After the Hamburg Dungeon we explored the city's port by boat and tried the famous Hamburg speciality, the fish sandwich (Fischbrötchen)!

Here we are waiting for our boat!

Cecilia, our Hamburgerin!

Shiraz waiting for the boat

Adam waiting for the boat 

The Hamburg port does not only have the traditional storage houses but also a new architecturally exciting neighborhood, the Hafen City. Our students especially enjoyed the Elbphilharmonie (see below), a concert hall, which is still under construction. It sits on the top of an old warehouse building. When completed it will be tallest inhabited building of Hamburg!

We took one of these boats 

Hamburg's busy port and our Boat!

Boat trip itinerary 

Amanda and Crystal also tried the fish sandwich

Adrian's authentic Hamburg lunch in a beautiful setting 

Shiraz and Cecilia enjoy their fish sandwiches

Yida on the boat

Elbphilharmonie - Hamburg's new concert hall

And the day is not over yet... We are waiting for our dinner at the Youth Hostel, and then will finish the day with a German movie in a nearby cinema. Tomorrow morning we will be heading to the Fish Market... to be continued!

Itinerary and our Youth Hostel information

We are confirmed to depart from Budapest Terminal 2B on Lufthansa flight (LH1679) at 16:25 on Friday, 11 March. We will arrive in Hamburg at 21:25 and proceed directly to the youth hostel in the city center via public transport. Here is a picture taken right before we left AISB:

Our Itinerary

We will be staying at the following youth hostel in Hamburg:

Jugendherberge Hamburg: Horner Rennbahn

Address: Rennbahnstraße 100, 22111 Hamburg, GermanyPhone:+49 40 5701590
Website:  http://hamburg-horn.jugendherberge.de/de-DE/Portraet

Our Youth Hostel

We will arrive back in Budapest on Lufthansa Flight LH 1678 at 15:40 on Tuesday, March 15. We made Sargent Bus arrangements so that your child will be driven home from the airport.