It was raining when we awoke this morning, but this was forecast so we have a plan. We liked the look of the docks area of the city when we saw it from our bus trip yesterday, so today we’ll go and see it properly. A ride on the underground keeps us out of the rain, and before long we arrive at the Philharminic Hall, or Elbphilharmonie.

This wonderful building was completed in 2016. It was extremely controversial owing to the cost – in excess of 860 million euros. It houses 3 concert halls, a hotel, and residential apartments. It is freely accessible to the public, without charge. We went up for a look.

The views of the busy port are impressive.

We went for a walk along the quay. This old cargo ship offers day trips.

And this tall ship is now a museum.

We caught the underground back into the city centre and popped into the town hall. The courtyard has a lovely gothic fountain.

Shopping in Germany is a great pleasure, as prices are so much lower here. We spent a few hours picking up whatever bargains we could find, and ended up with as many carrier bags as we could manage. The rain finally stopped around 4pm, by which time we were back at our hotel.