Walking on water with Hamburgers

When it comes to bracing, Skegness has nothing on Hamburg on a February morning. But it was worth the cold to have a chance to walk on the Außenalster.

Some people I talked to said the ice must be about 15 cms thick because "otherwise we wouldn't be allowed on", and that it froze around one year in three.

It seemed reassuringly solid through there was a line of tape to stop people wandering under the bridge at the end of the lake.

 

I knew the guidebook my friend had kindly lent me was going to be useful, even though it was in German: it shows the place as it usually is: 

I didn't get a chance to see much else, but there are plenty of elegant buildings on the way to the airport, and a general air of prosperity about the place.