Note: Click any picture to see it in a larger size.

I started the day at Hafn City (the harbor part of Hamburg). Here are pictures of the harbor, a fire boat, and the police station at the harbor. I just liked the architecture; nothing else particularly special about the building that I recall.

The rest of the area is either under construction for great new attractions or just a bunch of uninteresting brown brick buildings.

Of course, you can go to Spicy’s Spice Museum if you want to see something interesting for 3 euros. (No, I was not interested in seeing a historical display of spices.) There is also an Afghan museum, and the “World of Miniatures” with a very complex and realistic train set. I did not see that one either, nor the collection of toys from bygone days (the “Attic Gang” shown in the second picture.

I did not even want to go into the Hamburg Dungeon, which is an interactive ride with real live actors in portrayals of such things as:

• The Geat Fire of Hamburg
• The Library of Dark History
• The Labyrinth of the Lost
• Ghost: Klabautermann the Ship’s Ghost
• Störtebecker and his Execution
• The Plague Hospital
• The Torture Chamber

and, get ready for this one:

• The Inquisition

Sweet creeping zombie Jesus, WTF were they thinking?

This statue of St. Ansgar just caught my attention on my way to lunch.

I had a salami sandwich with mayo, cheese, lettuce, and cucumber from one of the ubiquitous sandwich joints at the light rail stations. It was pretty decent, though they went very heavy on the mayo. I then saw these interesting sculptures on a building:

The river is so busy at times that they have traffic lights for the boats.

Here’s something clever: a multi-way pedestrian overpass that goes over a traffic circle.

There is a famous church called “der Michel,” which I will probably see on Thursday. I kept asking people where the Michel Cathedral was, and I kept getting these weird stares. Then I remembered that Germany is Protestant, not Catholic, so they have churches there instead. WTF was I thinking?

I then wandered into a farmers’ market.

Here are more buildings on my way to the Rathaus, which is the city hall for Hamburg. I do not feel guilty about not wanting to take a guided tour, because the tours were not being given today.

I went through the Schlemmarkt, which is a large food court type place, and bought a fresh pineapple and strawberry cup; quite good. Then I found myself in Europa Passage, a very large mall.

You know how certain cities have identical sculptures that get painted by various artists? Like Washington D.C. had pandas; Venice, Florida had pigs; and Hamburg has two kinds: horseshoes and some guy carrying buckets (who has historical significance, but what that is I got no clue). Well, inside Europa Passage was the most hideously “decorated” horseshoe I have seen. To call it vulgar would be a massive compliment.

Germany is doing well in the European Soccer Championships, and the mania is everywhere. I think this large banner says something like “we have the fever until the finals.”

Here are today’s garbage cans. The first one says “I have dirty fantasies,” and the second one is a play on the phrase Herzlich Willkommmen, which means A warm welcome; Müll is German for garbage.

Finally, some pictures on the way back to the train station. One of them is that guy with the buckets. I have been informed by one of the people I am working with that the person with the buckets is “Hummel,” but I still don’t know why he is historically important. (I found out later; see the German Wikipedia article.) The last picture is a store called Saturn; think of it as a 5-story Best Buy. Of course, I was drawn to it like a moth to a flame.