getting to know hamburg

As there are now merely three weeks to go before the DH2012 takes place at the University of Hamburg we would like to give you some clues about what awaits you. However, this is not about the conference as such and all the related stuff you already read about on the informative pages of our website. This is more about atmosphere, culture and the art of living in Hamburg.

First thing one has to know is, that Hamburg certainly is the most beautiful city in the world (at least people in Hamburg think so). Well, we know it is raining allmost every day and as Hamburg is a metropole it is big and noisy. We may not have the powerful livelyness of New York City or the romantic charms of Paris, but what we do have is water and plants and we have more bridges than Venice. When I say water, I do not (only) mean the water coming from up above. In the first place I mean the rivers  Elbe and Alster and the cosy little canals spreading all over the city. On asunny day one can meet almost each and every living soul in Hamburg on or by the water. Workers in the port and on the Elbe, sailors on the alster and canoeists, rowers and captains of rubber boats on the canals  and the Stadtpark lake. People who aren’t on the water at the week-end are to find at the shore, which we lovingly call “Waterkant”, literally “the water’s edge”, in the dialect of Hamburg. Here you find vast lawns and parks and even a beach right in the city. I surely don’t have to mention that there a cafés everywhere, as you can see on the picture above. So if you should have some free time during the DH2012, we’ll meet at the Waterkant!