Hamburg is very different in many aspects: the people are tall, very tall! Ted and I are 11’8” together, that’s an average of 5’10”, which is tall for a typical American. Now here, in Hamburg, almost everybody we see is as tall or even taller as we are! And they seem to be slimmer. No wonder, many people walk or bike (it’s so refreshing seeing so many bikes everywhere!). And then there is the clothing style, particularly the color choices: Hamburg is built around the delta of 2 rivers, the Alster and the Elbe, which flow into the North Sea. So there is lots of water everywhere, the rivers, canals, everywhere you go you see water. So no wonder that blue is their favorite color. It’s in their blood I guess and most people are dressed in blue. Or navy, or light blue, or indigo, or blue with white stripes, etc. And guess what? I love it!

“In Hamburg you can wear any color – as long as it is navy”

Happy 3rd anniversary! And we did celebrate it with style! Hamburg style, which is exploring Blankenese, an area in Hamburg with no traffic, but stairs on end. 5000 of them. It was wonderful, the old buildings overlooking the Elbe River, great views everywhere you look!

Back home we took an anniversary nap, then got ready for our next adventure: the Elbphilharmonie! This awesome building is a piece of art itself, spectacular and breathtaking! We had tickets to see Naji Hakim, a world famous organ player. And seeing him at the Elbphilharmonie was a special treat: the organ there is as spectacular as the building, the sound is moving through your body like sweet vibrations!

We had the perfect seats: second row and from an angle where we could see the organist playing. Just watching his hands and feet do four different movements simultaneously with such perfection was outstanding! I guess he must have lost 5000 calories during this event!