Elbe!#
Hamburg stands on the Elbe, or, more precisely, where the Alster meets the Elbe. Both rivers matter to me: it was on the Alster that I learnt to sail dinghies and gained my first experience. Then the Elbe drew me onwards, with its greater sense of space and the sandy beaches of its islands. On many a grey autumn day, I walked through the drizzle from St. Pauli to the banks of the Elbe, down the harbour steps and aboard a ferry heading downriver. Or I would walk through the old Elbe tunnel and look back at the city from Steinwerder. It was a refuge where I could breathe freely, gain some distance and let my thoughts wander. The lyrics of the song “Elbe” by S.H.O.K. speak of similar experiences and moved me deeply.
Schellfisch Tunnel#
For a long time, the old Schellfisch Tunnel between Altona station and Altona fishing harbour, through which the Altona harbour railway ran until 1992, was another refuge of mine. I was often there alone, walking down towards the Elbe through the disused tunnel. In the darkness there was a dry smell of dust and urine; only the rails offered any sense of direction, until at last the light at the end of the tunnel appeared, more or less bright.
Blankenese#
In “Die Hundeblume”, Wolfgang Borchert writes of his view across the Elbe from Blankenese.
