Look Elsewhere for How to Live - Like Hamburg

     In America, historically-industrial cities like Pittsburg, Manhattan, and Detroit (birthplaces to capitalism) are now the "armpits" of the nation.  Exploited and then uncaringly neglected, they represent the American Way of doing capitalist business.

     In Germany, the city of Hamburg has been traditionally-industrial, yet it has been maintained and revitalized to continue serving/contributing to the nation.  Even more heartening is that the city was destroyed by American air-raid bombs during WWII, yet it has been rebuilt and beautified.  That puts us to shame, when considering our aforementioned cities, which were never harmed during any wars (yet are in worse condition).

     Here is what Hamburg looked like in 1945, after WWII.

     When it came time to rebuild, they included vast improvements, yet they deliberately chose to rebuild much of the historic architecture--just as it had been.  That would never happen in America: they would only build skyscrapers.

     Additionally, Hamburg (and its seven boroughs) remains a birthplace for technology: the notion of hiding expressways under "greenways".  Germany leads the world in expressway construction, maintenance, and traffic efficiency.  Creating more parkland and noise-reduction simultaneously is genius.  The Germans aren't afraid to invest in it.  (Germany had self-driving convoys of trucks, a decade before lazy American car makers provided self-parking vehicles).

     Roads that blemish the countryside will soon look like pre-Industrial Era horse trails (like below).

     One of Europe's greenest cities, it's famous for its multiplicity of public parks, sports fields, gardens, lakes, and canals (seen above and below).

     Speaking of canals, much of the city's harbor still exists.

     In respect for the city landscape--and in a desire for architectural harmony--warehouses and loading docks along the canals were constructed of red brick.  They have purely decorative towers and turrets.  Seen below, they resemble Santa's Village in the film "Polar Express", right?

Reclaimed, the buildings are now loft apartments, trendy shops, and eateries.

    More than London and Venice combined, Hamburg maintains 2,400 bridges--all in tip-top shape (just like Amsterdam, and unlike NYC).

     Similar to the Netherlands, the city also invested in anti-storm walls for the harbor.  That is something that Manhattan lacks.  (Then again, it allows corrupt NYC agencies to blame Nature for damage, rather than admit that neglected infrastructure is collapsing).  
     Unlike NYC--but similar to many European and South American cities, Hamburg doesn't have overpowering skyscrapers.  It maintains it's skyline of low-rise buildings, allowing lots of sunlight and a harmonious vista.

     The newest addition is the world-acclaimed Concert Hall, with a roof that resembles ocean waves.

     Its international airport is modern and is connected by subway (something NYC never bothered doing, during the last 70 years).  

     Apparently, American government thinks, "We're so great, and if you want to come here, you'll deal with our slovenly outdated inconveniences."

     Certainly, Hamburg's train stations are in better condition/efficiency than NYC's Penn Station (have you seen the news recently: old tracks falling apart, two derailments, sewage leaking from the ceiling of the concourse, an expected 2-year repair plan).  

     Evidently, the city government is not a bunch of thieves like ours, and they really care about their citizens' quality of life.  They are productive, profitable, and yet well-balanced and harmonious.
     Maybe their strong sense of civic pride comes from a medieval history as a "free imperial city" of the Holy Roman Empire.  They have a lot to be proud of.
     Europe's largest publisher is there.  As a port city, it's a global hub of commerce.  It's the seat of Germany's oldest stock exchange, and home to the world's second-oldest bank.  As recently as this year, Hamburg Summits have assisted with world trade, international law, and diplomatic policies.  With several universities, it's a smart city.  In 2012, they finished building an entirely new subway line.  Europe's largest urban development since 2008 happened there.  
     They are getting rid of their nuclear and coal-burning power plants, in favor of solar, biomass, wind, and hydro power stations.  On May 8, 2016, Germany had so much renewable energy that power prices actually went negative for several hours!  The public buses are fueled by hydrogen.  MetroBuses run 24-hours a day, coming every 2-minutes in busy times and 30-minutes in quiet times.  They were the first in the world to create a unified public transportation system of bus, rail, and boat--all accessible with one ticket.  Germany has universal Healthcare.  The city is ranked 18th in terms of livability in the world.  
     If you want to see how to live, don't look at American cities; look at theirs.

To see our trip to Germany, please use this link:

https://halfwindsorfullthrottle.blogspot.com/2022/11/our-trip-to-berlin-germany-part-1-of-6.html