The train from Freiburg to Hamburg sped on through a predominantly flat landscape, very green and cultivated for k after k. It was a direct route for us and we rolled into Hamburg Hauptbanhof, after five hours, at 5.50pm, to a grey, drizzly evening and hordes of after-workers heading in and out of the vast station. The big city stations are works of art. Think, Gare de Lyon, Gare de Nord, Cologne, Hamburg, Victoria and so on. I find them magnificent structures and always end up with more pictures of them than I need. Anyway, to our hotel, the SIDE Hotel. A sharp-edged, modernist place with snappy design but not always with a practical eye for use, e.g. The handbasin, the "long drop" loo. But it was pretty cool and very comfortable. Another Hotwire online booking.
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