Tag: #hamburg

Holiday destinations: Hamburg, Germany

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As it was a Bank Holiday weekend last week, we travelled to Hamburg in Germany. I’ve never there before so I was looking forward to discovering this second largest German city with the largest port. Hamburg has became one of the major centres for international trade due to its location and it continues to be one of the wealthiest cities build on maritime stories. Locals have mastered how to live well and if (like me) you like to indulge in diverse cuisine then you would enjoy your stay here as there are a plenty of great restaurants, bars and breweries to visit.

If you like sightseeing then you can take one of the sightseeing walking tours showing you the city’s highlights or grab a map and discover the major sites by yourself.

Here is a short list of my suggestions of places worth visiting:

  • Speicherstadt – the largest warehouse district in the world located in the port of Hamburg with some signature red-brick warehouses, canals & museums.

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  • Elbphilharmonie Hamburg – a newly constructed concert hall in the HafenCity on the Grasbrook peninsula of the Elbe River. It is one of the largest and acoustically most advanced concert halls in the world which cost 8 times more to build than the Sydney Opera House.
  • Townhall and Alster – the seat of local government which is one of Germany’s 16 state parliaments. Located next to Hamburg’s most popular river – Alster leading to many shopping malls and boutiques.
  • Planten un Blomen – a large city park with a size of 47 hectares featuring themed gardens, a lake & Japanese tea house

How to get there?

If you live in the UK then you can easily get to Hamburg from most of major cities. We’ve flown from London Stanstead and it took us slightly over 1 hour to get there. Perfect for a short weekend break.

Other tips:

Hamburg has a very good transport network and you should definitely get a Hamburg Card when you visit – it will cover all your travel in addition to some discounts i.e. to some of the top attractions, restaurants, river cruises etc.

I hope you enjoyed reading this review.

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Pauline

Dinner at Cantinetta Ristorante & Bar in Hamburg, Germany

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If you are adventurous then there are a lot of traditional dishes worth trying when in Hamburg including fish sandwich with pickled herring, labskaus served with fried egg and herring or kale served with fried potatoes and sausages. Don’t judge me but I love Italian food so on the second day of our mini-break, we decided to visit Cantinetta Ristorante & Bar and I really enjoyed it so I would like to share our experience with you all.

Location:

Cantinetta Ristorante & Bar is located in Ameron hotel in Hamburg’s Speicherstadt which in the heart of the port city. It is only a short walk away from one of the city’s main attraction – Elbphilharmonie Hamburg a modern concert hall in the HafenCity quarter of Hamburg built atop old warehouse.

Atmosphere:

We booked our table for 6:00 p.m. We were greeted by a friendly waitress who made us feel welcomed took us to our table.

The restaurant has a modern and stylish décor which keeps the tradition of Speicherstadt. It features mid-century style stools and a library with a fireplace whilst the tables have a minimalist look with some fresh flowers featured. There was some soft Italian music playing in the background.

The menu:

Cantinetta Ristorante & Bar offers its diners famous Italian specialities with a twist which are creatively and perfectly prepared by chef Christopher Gieritz and his team. During the lunch, you can order from ‘Pranzo con espresso’ menu which changes daily in whilst it’s dinner à la carte selection of dishes changes seasonally.

We commenced our evening with a refreshing aperitiv. Our waitress also brought us some complimentary bread and olive oil.

To start with, I fancied some beef tartare with avocado cream, guacamole, fried garlic bread & herb salad.

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My husband had some Vegetarian soup with fresh vegetables, Grana Padano & chili.
Both dishes were tasty and nicely seasoned.

Secondly, I had some fried halibut fillet with creamy truffle risotto & fresh truffle
which was mouth-watering. My husband decided to have fillet of beef, truffle jus, Mediterranean leaf spinach & gorgonzola gratin. It was exceptional.

Lastly, it was time for some dessert. My favourite Italian dessert is tiramisu so surprise, surprise – I ordered TIRAMISÙ ALLA CANTINETTA which was served with white coffee ice cream. Delicious!

My husband ordered arachide – a peanut brownie served with peanut ice cream, marshmallow & peanuts. It was scrumptious.

Overall experience:

We really enjoyed our meal at Cantinetta Ristorante & Bar. All dishes were tasty, nicely presented and the service was faultless. I would definitely recommend this restaurant if you are a fan of Italian food with a modern twist.

Address:

Speicherstadt
Am Sandtorkai 4
20457 Hamburg

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline