Bird’s-eye view of Hamburg

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Last weekend, my mum was here to visit. I had given her a helicopter flight over Hamburg and the river Elbe for Christmas, and she was here to redeem her voucher. Of course, I had bought myself a voucher, too. Otherwise she would have been scared and lonely on the flight 😉.

The airstrip was not far from Pinneberg, northwest of the city centre. Getting there was kind of adventurous because we had picked exactly the day of the big Hamburg Marathon. So we had to do a big detour and got stuck in a traffic jam anyway. I thought we might not make it, but eventually, we got there and took off for a great 30 minutes flight up the river Elbe, past the district of Blankenese, the Airbus airfield and the harbour to the city centre. The weather was perfect, so just enjoy the view!

By the way, if you happen to come to Hamburg before mid-May 2013, make sure you visit the Giacometti exhibition. Mum and I were there last Friday, and it is super interesting. The other thing to do that I can really recommend is see John Neumeier’s Hamburg Ballet. We saw Romeo and Juliet on Friday night. It was incredible and just wonderful! Okay. Enough words. Enjoy the pictures.

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Photos

Our helicopter
... on the airstrip in Uetersen-Heist near Hamburg.

Airbus airstrip
Here, in Finkenwerder on the other side of the river Elbe, the big A380s are (partly) built.

The harbour
Containers, channels, cranes, rail tracks...

The river Elbe
On the left: the modern HafenCity; on the right: the harbour.

Hamburg city centre I
St. Michaelis Church (called Michel here) and the old parts of the city.

Binnenalster
The smaller one of the two lakes in the city centre.

Harbour, Michel, Altona
... and in the far backgound Blankenese.

On our way back to the airstrip
View back towards the city.