Happy Birthday

This weekend, Hamburg's harbour -- the second largest in Europe and seventh largest in the world -- celebrated it's 818th birthday in style. Dubbed as the biggest port party in the world, the weekend included a tug boat ballet, several stages with musical performances, a promenade of delicacies (think currywurst, pommes, beer) and arts and crafts, fireworks, and more.

Despite looming clouds and intermittent showers, we started the birthday celebration with a boat ride from Teufelsbrueck to the Fischmarkt (the same trip we took, Krystal and Matt) and were greeted with a rainbow.

As twilight neared, the lights on the many boats created a festive atmosphere on the water.

While more than one million people were expected to join in the festivities, the damp weather seemed to have kept many at home. But the devoted crowd toted umbrellas and walked along the promenades.




The celebration was sponsored by Jever and they appropriately displayed several ads on the Captain San Diego.

After the firework display, all the boats tooted their horns for several minutes as the ships shuffled to get back to the docks. It was a great, loud, deep sound that echoed across the water and fit the close of Saturday's harbour celebration perfectly.