Daytrip to Hamburg

Daytrip to Hamburg

So, happily enough my experiments are moving slowly but steadily. I'm looking forward to getting some cool results.
This weekend I did practical stuff that had to be done, like getting a bike for a full €15 (e,oxi!)
go to the flea market, learn some German, discover the artificial golden sand beach of Göttingen which is still under construction but people are already enjoying - I think it's part of a lake...- and go to the bar on time for the happy hours. In the midst of all these important things, I had to arrange my equally important daytrip to Hamburg.

Hamburg is the secong largest harbor in Europe and has a humongous fishmarket. No, no, I mean really big. The Hamburgians seem to be very proud of being something like a city-state in Germany. We (a French, a Singaporian and me) visited the mayor's hall (Rathaus, no, not the house of the rats) which is also the governor's hall, and I have to admit that it was very lavish for a state building. I believe I have only seen equivalent glory only in palaces: special treatment to the felt-covered walls, so that felt doesn't feel soft but hard as stone, and entire rooms covered with leather. The room covered with carved wood that 80 orphan children worked on for some years actually bothered me. After all, in rich Hamburg they could afford an expert. Of course, the guide said it was an honor for them to carve it for the state, but it sounds a little weird to me; more like child labor rather than the unique opportunity offered to up and coming artists...
In any case, if you ever visit Hamburg, you should go up St.Nikolai's tower. 77m, 1.6m/s in a glass elevator. Actually, the tower is the only thing remaing from this church, which was bombed in WWII. The interesting thing: it was so big, that it served as a reference point for bombarding planes. Hamburg was completely destroyed.
After visiting three German cities (Frankfurt, Munich,Hamburg) , it is evident: they are all reconstructed. Nothing is more than 60 years old. Except Hamburg's and Munich's Rathaus. Extreme care has been taken in these cities to reconstruct everything. It is quite amazing if you think about it. Was it pride that drove it?
The other thing that you shouln't miss is the statue of Otto von Bismarck (unification of German states, Franco-Prussian war etc). So, we had read that the statue is somewhere close to Michaelkirche and we set to find it. And we were looking around like one would be looking for a statue, a bust, a obelisk. And suddenly we came across a 33 m (110ft) tall solid granite statue!!
We were totally stunned! What was that! I have to show you pictures with the French guy standing next to it; it is impressive, given it is a statue, not a building! I have to admit that the goal of surprise and awe was very well achieved...

Pictures from Hamburg to follow. I have to go learn some German now...