Hamburg

I  cannot  begin to tell you how many frustrating moments I've had trying to post here. Suffice it to say that I will appreciate my laptop at home with the wireless keyboard.

But on to Hamburg-- a picturesque, sophisticated city of 3 million. 80% of th population does not have children. That fact astounded all on our tour. There are lots of green areas, even in the city center where our hotel is located.

We are in the Radisson Blu,  27 floor very contemporary hotel.  There is a wonderful breakfast buffet included with the room price. It's difficult to restrain myself but I've tried.This part of the trip  is a pre-trip and only 22 people with us. We move on to Berlin on Monday where we meet up with the othe 70 for the main tour.

Ysterday, we had a 3 hour tour of the city by bus with an excellent guide. Therr were 3 stops      , one at the Rathaus, meaning Town Hall--an architectural masterpiece. Another place we visited on the tour was St. Michael's Cathedral, unique in that it was Lutheran rather than the more common Catholic catheral. It had a magnificent altar area. I noticed that the kneelers  had no padding--a bit hard on bad knees like mine.

After the city tour, we had lunch at the docks area of the Elbe River--a tasty fish sandwich from a little shack that offered picnic tables for eating. Next, we had a 90 minute boat ride on the river which is a large port for ships of all kinds, which then head north to the North Sea