Officially a Hamburger

I landed in Hamburg at 7:20 am local time, and the bright morning caught me off guard since it was only a little past midnight in Louisiana. This was my first transatlantic flight, and therefore my first time dealing with the extreme time change. Despite the combination of jet lag, little sleep, and hot weather I thoroughly enjoyed my first day exploring Hamburg. Mrs. Paige made sure to keep us busy to prevent us from napping, and although it was hard to accept at first, I know we will all thank her for it tomorrow. The highlights of our adventure around the city were definitely the Miniatur Wunderland and the Old Elbe Tunnel. Miniatur Wunderland is a model railway exhibit and the largest of its kind, spanning two stories. It was surprisingly overwhelming, with thousands of miniature people and scenes spanning from a NASA space shuttle launch to the Trevi Fountain. The attention paid to detail in every landscape and person was exceptional. It was a great introduction to Hamburg’s unique character once we noticed small details in the sculptures such as a unicorn, the Ghostbusters van, and a crime scene. After leaving Miniatur Wunderland, we headed to the Old Elbe Tunnel. The tunnel took us under the Elbe River and gave us a beautiful view of the city. The honorable mention highlight goes to the eccentric Polish woman who tried to talk to our group for a good ten minutes during our coffee break, even though no one knows a lick of Polish. Even with sleep deprivation, walking around Hamburg was wonderful and made me so much more comfortable with the city. After experiencing a mix of both tourist attractions and local living, I can’t wait to see what else Hamburg has to offer.