Insta vs. Reality? A look at Hamburg, Germany

DW (English)

Instagram photos raise great expectations, but does Hamburg live up to the expectation? We get a reality check.

Transcript

00:00Hamburg on social media, a romantic harbour with big city flair.

00:04But is the Hanseatic city as attractive in real life as it looks on social media?

00:09We're checking out three places.

00:11Our first hotspot, Hamburg City Hall.

00:15The sandstone building looks impressive on social media, but does it look as good in

00:20real life?

00:21The town hall was built in the North German neo-Renaissance style.

00:25It represents the wealth that Hamburg once had through the Hanseatic League, a medieval

00:30merchant association.

00:31It made the city into an international economic centre.

00:36It's one of the largest administrative buildings in Germany.

00:41So how many rooms does it have?

00:43One thousand rooms because this is very big, like a castle.

00:50I don't know, like 120?

00:52540?

00:53It has 647.

00:54Oh, that's a lot.

00:55This is unbelievable.

00:56I have visited inside and never thought it had so many rooms, but it has beautiful rooms

01:06inside.

01:07Tour guide Benjamin Gorissen knows every nook and cranny here.

01:12Welcome to the city hall of Hamburg.

01:16The showpiece of the town hall is the large ballroom.

01:19It's used for receptions, state visits and other festive occasions.

01:23Its magnificent furnishings with stucco decorations, murals and crystal chandeliers makes it one

01:28of the most beautiful in the city.

01:30The chandeliers weigh 1.5 tons each and each chandelier has 287 light bulbs installed, representing

01:39the number of working days for a worker in the 19th century.

01:44So what's our conclusion?

01:45Hamburg City Hall is as beautiful in reality as it is on social media.

01:51Now it's time for our next reality check, the famous St. Pauli piers.

01:55Pictures on social media show the unique view of the harbour and the Elbphilharmonie concert

02:00hall.

02:01Does it really look that great?

02:03The piers were built in 1839 as a landing area for steamships.

02:07Today they are a 700 metre long floating jetty that's still an important traffic junction.

02:13The striking building with the green domes was built in 1907 as a steamship terminal.

02:19This is where ferries depart from and where boats set off on tours of the harbour.

02:23And that's exactly what we are doing now.

02:26The Elbe river is lined with remarkable architecture, such as the Elbphilharmonie concert hall.

02:32It opened in 2017, more than six years later than planned, and 11 times more expensive.

02:40The Elbphilharmonie was heavily criticised.

02:42But it has since become a landmark and is known all over the world.

02:47Personally I think it's beautiful.

02:49It also fits in here, you can't imagine life without it.

02:55Our conclusion?

02:56Well, we didn't find as much harbour romance as in pictures on social media, but we did

03:01find plenty of industrial charm and hustle and bustle that's fitting for Germany's largest

03:06port.

03:12Hotspot number three, Hamburg's Speicherstadt warehouse district.

03:21With its waterways and brick buildings, it looks incredible on social media, but is it really

03:26that special?

03:29The Speicherstadt was built between 1883 and 1927.

03:34It's the largest historic warehouse complex in the world, and is a UNESCO World Heritage

03:39site.

03:40It's a beautiful place, and I think it's one of the best places in Hamburg you should visit.

03:57The striking buildings stand on a foundation made of thousands of oak logs.

04:02Coffee, tea and spices were once stored here.

04:04Today the old warehouses are home to offices, restaurants and museums.

04:09Be sure to stop by the charming moated castle.

04:11It's one of the most photographed places in the city.

04:16Wherever you point your camera, the Speicherstadt looks great, even better than in photos.

04:22So what's our conclusion?

04:24Hamburg definitely has many romantic sites like the Speicherstadt or the magnificent town hall.

04:30The harbour also shows the industrial and rough charm of the cosmopolitan city.

04:35There's no need for filters here.

04:37There's no need for the land.

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