Mainly St Michaels

After overindulging in another big breakfast we set off walking to St Micheals , the main Lutheran church in Hamburg. On the way we stopped at a coffee shop that was one of a list of good coffee shops  that a discerning coffee drinking friend had given me. He was right. It was good coffee ( Breakfast coffee is drinkable but weak and comes out of a push-a-button machine) We were sitting on a bench outside enjoying the sun after yesterday's grey cold and a guy came to talk to us . Turns out he had been to lithgow high school on exchange 20 years ago. We pottered along looking   at buildings and shops and bridges over canals. Another older gentleman approached us. He saw me looking at my phone for directions.  He was very chatty, mostly in German. Sometimes we got the gist of what he was saying, mostly not. He walked with us a little way. He showed us a building where Felix and Fanny Mendelson grew up. 

St Michaels Church,  apparently just called Michael by  locals  is large, brick outside, white and light and airy inside, Baroque in style.  We timed our visit so we could go to the weekly 3/4 hour organ recital. The church has at least 3 organs. We heard 2 with  quite distinct sounds. We went up the tower and really enjoyed getting a 360 degree view over Hamburg. We also looked at an extensive crypt.

After lunch  we pottered back, through an interesting local area, but not too fancy,  with lots of outdoor seating areas and cafes . Yesterday the weather was quite unpleasant, today has been lovely. There were many people out enjoying it. As we got closer to one of the lakes, the clientele became richer and the shops and cafes reflected this. Along the lake there were heaps of people just sitting on some stone benches, like an amphitheatre.  We have just had dinner in the restaurant here. Very nice.

We were told that yesterday a train got stuck under a bridge in the main train station and the station was chaotic. Apparently the work on freeing the train was expected to go on until Monday. Tomorrow  we get a train from this station to Amsterdam but we change trains half way, so hopefully we will get away OK.