View of Hamburg Harbour across the River Elbe

Yesterday evening I finally escaped from the tiny corner of Berlin where I had been confined for about 48 hours. Now, we're staying with some friends in Hamburg for a couple of days, and we had a fascinating tour of the city today, with a very knowledgeable guide. The weather left something to be desired, but we still saw a great deal, including several memorials to the Jewish community, a snippet of the Reeperbahn including the Star Club where the Beatles starred, and some views of the Alster which - unusually - had white horses in the stormy weather. My preferred photo was a view across the Elbe river to the flourishing Hamburg port, where more goods now come in from China than they do into Rotterdam. Or so we learnt from our guide, a local with a passion for history and facts. We feel like good Hamburg patriots now.

Now we're off to the Opera, followed by a tour of the Christmas markets.