August 2

Today was our sightseeing day around the city of Hamburg, and it was also the day that I thought I was going to die. Simply put, I think Hamburg was trying to kill me. Read and discover.

I opted out of going to the fish market this morning for multiple reasons. One, I had seen the Tsukiji market in Tokyo, the world's largest, so I wasn't really concerned about seeing another market. Two, it gave me more time to sleep in. As I had stayed up far too late last night, I really needed the extra time to sleep in. I even slept so late that I didn't allow myself enough time for breakfast. No worries, though. I ended up being fien throughout the day, so no complaints!

We took the subway to the harbor to look around. Hamburg is a very industrial city, and its harbor is always bustling. We took a 1.5 hour boat tour of the harbor, which was interesting if not a bit smelly (fuel) and rocky (bustling harbor = lots of waves). The narration was all in German, which was a bit frustrating. I eventually quit trying to listen to the guide translate and just looked around me. When the boat was only gently moving back and forth, I think I caught a few winks along the way. After that someone had the bright idea to go down into a tunnel that would take us to a small island out in the harbor.

This is where I think Hamburg was trying to kill me. Just saying.

I wasn't initially afraid of the tunnel. We took the elevator down, and it was very noisy. This tunnel goes under the Elbe River, and is open to traffic on weekdays. On the weekend, it is for pedestrian use only. However, today, for whatever reason, there was a group of motorcycles that were circling the route of the tunnel. Motorcycles equal exhaust fumes. Turns out, the tunnel wasn't that well ventilated.

Would this be a good time to tell you that I am claustrophobic?

I am not sure how long this tunnel was, this Gateway to Hell as I now like to call it. I would give an estimate of six to seven football fields end to end, but I am really not sure. It seemed as if it stretched on forever. About halfway through the tunnel, after breathing in all kinds of exhaust, it occurred to me that there was nothing protecting me in this tunnel from a massive onslaught of water except for the tiled walls that arched over me. I freaked out. I definitely quickened my step to get out of the tunnel, and by the time I reached the end, I was hyperventilating and crying. I definitely lost it. Unfortunately for me, there was no way to get back from the island except to go back into the tunnel again. There were no taxis (remember, no auto service on weekends), no busses, no ferries...no nothing. The only way I could get back to civilization was to go through that tunnel all over again. Claustrophobia, my friends, is no laughing matter. Generally when I get in an enclosed area, I am okay, but for whatever reason today I couldn't handle it. Wood, Britta, and Nicola tried to find a way to get me back, but something in me told me to run for it. I told them to call off the search, that I had made a decision to run through the tunnel. As we all know that mine is not a body built for speed, this was going to be quite a feat. I estimate that I made it a good distance before I lost it again, becoming a hysterical mess. I have never been so happy to make it to the end of something. Thus far, that tunnel has been the worst moment of this trip for me, and I am hoping that nothing else will pop up that could rival it in any way, shape , or form. After this (and after I had the chance to calm down), we had the chance to look around the harbor a bit and grab some lunch. I have to admit that the area bothered me some, but it could be that my impressions are colored by the tunnel incident. I thought it was a little touristy. But, overall the weather was nice and I had the chance to get lunch (a cold fish sandwich, which is much better than what you think), so I'll take it.

Here's where the unfortunate part of Sunday kicks in. The hotels that we were scheduled to visit weren't open, so we literally walked around for almost six hours. We saw a couple of churches including another Nikolaikirche, which was just the bombed out remains of a church destroyed during World War II. We were able to go up into the remaining steeple and get a view of Hamburg. It was very windy and chilly up there, but nice nonetheless. I also got to see the Alster, the big lake in the middle of Hamburg. I think overall though I was a little frustrated with today. It just seemed that we walked and walked and walked, and really didn't see much. Again, I could just be saying that because of the tunnel. Not sure.

Dinner tonight was at a Pakistani restaurant, which is essentially very much like Indian food. Here's the fun part though - translating it from Pakistani to German to English. Ordering took FOREVER, but once the food showed up, it was worth the wait! I had a samosa and chicken tikka masala, and some apfelschörlen. After the group finished eating, some of the members decided to go tour the Red Light District. I just wasn't interested. Morally the idea of gawking at people who make a living of selling themselves just gets to me, and I just felt bad about making these women my spectacle for the night. I wasn't alone. More power to the ones who went out and viewed it, and I know they had fun, but I had a great time going out for drinks with Michael, Siggi, and Karen. In fact, that has been one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip for me to this point. Sleep came VERY easy Sunday night! I had abused my body with too much food and some running - I needed rest!