Hamburg Surprised Us – A Birthday Weekend by the Water

Four nights, a birthday, rooftop drinks, plenty of sightseeing—and a forgotten makeup bag.

Hamburg had been on my wish list for years. I’m originally from Romania and have lived in Germany for many years, but somehow I had never properly explored Hamburg. Bernhard had visited with his family as a child, so for my birthday weekend in August, we decided it was finally time.

We flew from Munich, which took only about an hour. And Hamburg gave us its first surprise immediately: 18°C.

We had left around 35°C behind in Munich.

We stayed at Premier Inn Hamburg City Hammerbrook—a comfortable, no-fuss base for a few days of exploring.

And then I unpacked.

The Makeup Bag Disaster

If you’ve read our other stories, you probably already know that I love preparing for trips. Lists, outfits, documents—I genuinely enjoy it.

This time I had been particularly organised. I prepared my entire makeup essentials bag in advance and put it safely in the closet.

Perhaps a little too safely.

The plan was to take it out on the morning we left.

I didn’t.

I discovered this while unpacking at the hotel.

Zero makeup. On my birthday weekend.

For a moment, I almost had a meltdown.

Luckily, there was a Budni drugstore right next to our hotel. We had never heard of Budni before, but I found everything I needed for a full face of makeup—including brushes.

Did I stop there?

Of course not. 😄

We went back the next day and I bought myself a face serum from an organic brand and a collagen serum for my mother. Bernhard enjoyed looking around too.

So my carefully prepared makeup bag spent the weekend at home in Munich, while we discovered a shop we probably never would have entered otherwise.

Not exactly according to plan, but problem solved.

Tiny Worlds & Speicherstadt

Our first major attraction was Miniatur Wunderland.

We had booked our tickets online in advance, and I would definitely recommend doing that. Miniatur Wunderland itself recommends advance booking because spontaneous visitors can face considerable waiting times.

Once inside, we quickly understood why this place is so popular.

The amount of detail is incredible. You feel like a giant looking down on tiny parts of the world, with something new to discover everywhere you look.

And no, it’s definitely not only for children. We thoroughly enjoyed it as adults.

Naturally, I looked for Romania.

Not yet!

I mentioned to one of the staff members that Bran Castle would make a fantastic addition, and they agreed.

So, Miniatur Wunderland, if you’re reading this…

Bran Castle is waiting. 😉

After around two hours, though, our brains had reached their miniature-detail limit.

From there we walked through Speicherstadt for the first time.

And I immediately loved it.

The red-brick warehouses, canals and bridges make this part of Hamburg feel completely different from Munich. I could have walked around taking photos for hours.

Spoiler: we came back. More than once.

We used Hamburg’s public transport throughout our sightseeing days. For current fares and ticket options, I’d recommend checking the official HVV ticket information before travelling.

Birthday Drinks Above Hamburg

Our second day started at Hamburg’s impressive Rathaus.

Living in Munich, we naturally compared it with our Neues Rathaus. Hamburg’s feels different—broader, more colourful and incredibly imposing.

We explored the areas open to visitors and walked into the inner courtyard, where we discovered the beautiful Hygieia Fountain.

After coffee and cake at Isabella Glutenfreie Pâtisserie, we wandered through the city centre, visited St. Petri and later went inside St. Michaelis Church, or “Michel.”

Then it was back to the hotel.

Shower. Change of clothes.

Because that evening I had something special planned.

Birthday drinks at 20up.

We had reserved our table in advance. I ordered the 20up Spritz, which happened to match my pink outfit perfectly, while Bernhard had a gin and tonic.

And the view?

Absolutely worth it.

We took far too many photographs, of course.

The bar is 90 metres above Hamburg and overlooks the harbour and Elbe. Its official website also currently asks guests to follow a smart-casual dress code, so it’s worth checking the details when making a reservation.

Afterwards, we had fish for dinner nearby at Störtebeker and walked through St. Pauli before heading back to the hotel.

It was exactly the kind of birthday evening I had hoped for.

The View Bernhard Loved

My actual birthday started with a small mission of my own: seeing Hotel Atlantic.

One of my favourite German reality TV shows is Shopping Queen, and I had seen the hotel connected with the show. Naturally, I wanted to see it for myself.

Sometimes your sightseeing list doesn’t need a deeper reason than that. 😄

We also passed the Kunsthalle, which immediately went onto our next-time list.

And then?

Back to Speicherstadt.

Yes, again.

I simply couldn’t get enough of it.

This time we also visited the International Maritime Museum Hamburg.

It is enormous, and you could easily spend hours there. We particularly enjoyed the warship models and ship cabins before stopping for coffee and cake.

After a break at the hotel, it was time for what became Bernhard’s favourite experience of the whole trip: the Elbphilharmonie.

We had booked Elbphilharmonie Plaza tickets in advance.

Seeing the building up close is impressive enough. To us, it almost looks like an enormous spaceship sitting above the harbour.

But once we reached the Plaza, it was all about the views.

One tip from us: bring a jacket.

It was surprisingly windy up there.

We walked around, took what felt like hundreds of photographs and enjoyed an Aperol Spritz overlooking Hamburg.

For Bernhard, this was the highlight of the trip.

For me?

Speicherstadt still had my heart.

Hamburg vs. Munich

On our final day, we still had time before our evening flight, so we left our luggage at the hotel and headed into the city one last time.

We returned to the Rathaus and walked along the Alster around Jungfernstieg.

By then, we were already talking about coming back.

Hamburg really surprised us.

We loved how green it was, the architecture and especially the constant presence of water. Some of the canals and bridges occasionally reminded us of Venice, although Hamburg has a character completely of its own.

And then there’s the maritime atmosphere.

You don’t just see that Hamburg is a port city. You feel it.

Living in Munich meant we inevitably compared the two cities throughout the weekend.

Hamburg felt more maritime, more industrial in places and a little rougher around the edges. Munich feels more familiar and orderly to us.

But that difference was exactly what made Hamburg interesting.

We managed to see almost everything we had planned, celebrated my birthday exactly the way I wanted and came home already talking about another visit.

Next time, we’d like to drive from Munich with my parents and brother and make the journey part of the holiday.

And we still have unfinished business.

The Kunsthalle is waiting. So are plenty of other places we didn’t have time for.

Hamburg, we don’t think we’re finished with you yet.

Have you been to Hamburg? Tell us what surprised you most—or what we absolutely shouldn’t miss next time.

Until next time,
Irina & Bernhard

 
Practical note: Opening hours, ticket prices and booking conditions can change. We recommend checking the official websites linked throughout this article before your visit.