Distance from base: 600 km

Hamburg – important port city!

The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is after Bremen the second smallest of the 16 federal states of Germany. It is also the most populous city in Germany after Berlin and has one of the largest and busiest ports in Europe. Hamburg and Bremen are, in fact, the only German city-states that still keep something of their medieval independence. The city has dealings with a large number of nations, and it has more consulates than any other city in the world, except New York City.
During our city bus tour we will visit the Speicherstadt, The Reeperbahn, the Fischmarkt and more interesting places of Hamburg. When Hamburg finally joined the German customs zone in 1888, work began on a new warehouse district for its free port.Now protected as a World Heritage Site, the Speicherstadt or City of Warehouses has an atmosphere all its own, and it’s enough just to walk through these red-brick canyons, crossing the canals and admiring the glazed decoration on the gabled facades. Some of the warehouses have recently been turned into apartments, others are visitor attractions, while a few still fill their original purpose, storing spices, tea, coffee and electronics.
No visit to Hamburg, Germany, is complete without hitting up the Reeperbahn, Hamburg's legendary nightlife mile. Located within the district of rebellious St. Pauli, it is home to one of Europe's biggest red-light districts and is a theme park of neon. But you may never have more fun on a night out around this street, whatever your taste in music, and St Pauli’s rebellious and creative ambience makes it a great place to live if you’re young.
For those brave partygoers who have the stamina, a Hamburg tradition requires you to stagger down from the Reeperbahn to the fish market on the harbour to continue the party into Sunday morning. It opens from March to November at 05:00 and the 19th-century Fischauktionhalle has live bands and djs. There’s a strange mix of early-risers and people who haven’t even been to bed hovering around the stalls, which sell flowers, fruit and fresh fish (the fish traders are pretty entertaining). You can also soak up some of that alcohol with a Fischbrötchen, a roll stuffed with mackerel, herring, pollock, salmon or shrimp, fresh from the North Sea.

The Pietzmoor bog is located on the southern border of the Lüneburg Heath Nature Reserve and now covers an areas of approx. 2.5km2. If we assume that the peat moss (sphagnum) grows approximately 1mm every year, the Pietzmoor bog is now nearly 8000 years old.
The heath is ever changing with the seasons. During spring (March-April) you may see blue frogs because it is mating season of the "moor frogs". During March-May the migratiory birds like the storks return from the south and it is breeding season of the cranes. You can also marvel at the blooming chess flower and cotton grass flower.