QM2 Southampton to Hamburg

Our 2012 adventure started with a trip to Southampton via the “Trusty Servant” in the Middle of the New Forest for some lunch with Sue and Martin prior to getting on board Queen Mary 2 for a cruise to Norway.

In Southampton we were lucky to board at a unique time when all three Queens were in port at the same time. Queen Elizabeth was upstream …. 

while Queen Victoria was just behind a couple of "RORO" ships (roll on roll off car carriers).

Queen Elizabeth left first followed by Queen Victoria. They are very much sister vessels...

Indeed it would be more appropriate to describe them as twins. 

By comparison QM2 is the larger sister and definitely has more sensual curves. 

There was an enourmous racket as the ships passed one another with horns blaring, three cheers being called and numerous yells and whistles. A magic experience.

Cousin Pamela and Robin joined us on the cruise. Pam was delighted to see a female officer on the bridge and got the binoculars out to ascertain her rank. The joy however was short lived when the single strip that adorned her uniform was found to mean captains secretary!

So back to the main event - here is a rare picture - all three Queens sailing out of the Solent together. 

Once outside the Solent and into the English channel the pilots disembarked. Although the sea was of no significance to QM2 the pilot boat found the conditions lively....

Ready, steady (ish), now...

Jump....  

and away he went.

Queen Victoria went West (probably to warmer climes like the Mediterranean) whereas Elizabeth and QM2 both headed East. The following day, while Robin and I were enjoying a pint and some lunch, QM2 decided Elizabeth was just too slow and spent an hour or so passing her. This allowed us to enter the Elbe first for the six hour trip up river to Hamburg.

Not that navigation was our concern when there were cocktails and jazz awaiting us prior to dinner.

The following day we awoke to the centre of Hamburg. I had no idea of the maze of rivers/canals which is the centre of Hamburg. There are over 2000 bridges. Much of the city is relatively new having been a focus of bombing in the second world war due to its enormous port facilities. Most buildings are limited to 6 or 7 floors so that church spires continue to dominate the skyline. 

There is much to see and do in Hamburg but Robin and I managed to cajole the girls into a trip to the “Miniatur Wunderland”. This is the largest miniature display in the world with currently 8 rooms (themes) and plans for a further 4. Although model railways are key the scenes depicted were diverse. Lady Ga Ga looked and sounded impressive (although not quite to the live standard Helen and I witnessed when we saw her in Sydney last month. I admit that we did bring up the average age of the audience from 14 to 15 but enjoyed it immensely!)

What also appealed was little spectacles when you looked at scenes closely. Here is quite an accident, however, the couple in the top right were certainly not distracted.

The engineer in me had to include this TBM (tunnel boring machine). 

One area that was fixating was the airport. Planes landed and took off while engines roared and then proceeded to sedately taxi to a gate. Atlantis even landed with a suitable escort.

Here is an Emirates Boeing 767 landing.

The gates were quite full and included a Thai Airbus 380.

All flights operated to a schedule.

Elsewhere “Le Tour” was experiencing a few falls.

Two or more hours later we headed for some lunch in the town square which is boarded by one of the few original unscathed buildings. This is the Rathaus or town hall. (I rather think the former is more appropriate given it houses politicians.)

Hamburg has an enormous lake (Binnenalster) near the centre. In the foregraound is a bronze statue called "Bride of the Wind" (1968) and past the water jet are the three spires of Monke Bergestr, St Petri church and the Rasthaus.

Hamburg has really taken to QM2. We had a very tight 180° turn before heading downstream. Although we started manoeuvres at 00:30 on a Sunday night the banks were lined with people yelling good wishes and whistling. On two occasions as we moved downstream someone onshore played very loud versions of “Rule Britannia” and “God Save the Queen”. Reports assessed the crowds for the day at 250,000 quite staggering.

Robin and I went below close to 02:00. It was rather quiet (many just cannot hack the pace on this vessel) and an empty corridor certainly helps to underscore how long QM2 is (1.9 laps of her deck equates to 1 km). Mind you a restful day at sea while we make our way to Bergen has appeal.