June 22, 2024

The Alster River Canals - Hamburg

In medieval times, a dam turned the Alster River into a water reservoir to power all the mills operating on it's banks. This shaped the face of central Hamburg, as it is now, made up of two lakes called the AuBenalster (outer) and Binnenalster (inner). The river is feed from a spring outside of Hamburg and flows into the Elbe river just south of city center. We took a two hour cruise on the lakes and the many canals that the Alster runs through.

  • Which city in the world has the most bridges?

    Chongqing China is #1 with 10,000 bridges.


    Hamburg is #2 with 2,496 - more than the combined bridges from Venice, London and Amsterdam.


    Berlin is #3 with 1700 bridges.

  • Which city in world has most canals?

    Hamburg wins! with more canals than Venice and Amsterdam combined.

Above is Hamburg's most exclusive Hotel Atlantic Hamburg - the globe that sits on top of its marque has been transformed into a soccer ball in honor of the UEFA 2024.

Rondeelteich is the most exclusive neighborhood in Hamburg and the only way you can get one of these mansions is to marry in or inherit it. There were lots of kayaks, dragon boats, canoes and paddle boarders throughout the lake - almost all are wind or paddle operated. The only motorized vehicle's were our ferries and a few small boats for supervising the sail boat lessons.

By Patricia Patrick June 6, 2025
HONOLULU, on O'AHU ISLAND, HAWAII - Our first port in the USA!!
By Patricia Patrick May 31, 2025
8 SEA DAY CROSSING TO HAWAII - 5/24 to 6/1/25
By Patricia Patrick May 31, 2025
Cabo is known as a party town - I was here years ago with the girls iand remember the lively bar & restaurant scene in and around the marina. There appears to be even more, from what I recall! This was a tender port for us and we only had about 6 hours in Port. It was a gorgeous sunny day and I had planned to Uber out to the colonial, artsy town of San Jose del Cabo with a friend, but she was feeling very under the weather. So after a quick jaunt along the marina - she went back to the ship and I walked some more looking for a plan B. I ran into another friend and we decided the best way to say farewell to Mexico and use up our pesos was to drink Margaritas! So off we went and found a nice second floor deck, to oversee the marina and enjoy the scenery.