Now that Wes Wessel, a tourist from Texas, has ordered a bratwurst with bread and mustard from the snack bar on pier 3, he feels like he has "really arrived in Hamburg". Between port workers messing around and lively thirty-somethings spending a Saturday afternoon enjoying the sun and the fresh breeze on the banks of the Elbe. And the typical "Elbletten" (local jargon for ladies in full hanseatic regalia, i.e. pearl earrings, Barbour jacket, suit and Golden Retriever on a line). Between two moaning snack bar employees who really couldn't give a damn about service or long queues at the outdoor counter, who slurp up their coffee with relish, entertaining each other with saucy jokes while the sausages sizzle away on the grill and the customers shuffle their feet impatiently. Genuine Hamburg people have a word for that kind of behaviour - "bräsig" -
a combination of stupid, slow and lethargic.

Arriving in Hamburg can be a wonderful experience. When it's the right time of the year, when the sky clears up and there's no sign of any drizzle descending from grey clouds. If you like the rough charm of the "Northen lights". When the cafés and restaurants open their terraces in the summer, the boating houses line up their canoes for hire, the small launches chug through the Alster canals and you can sit in a restaurant along the Elbe tucking into plaice Finkenwerder style, red fruit jelly with vanilla ice cream or strawberry gateau with whipped cream and down a large glass of "Alsterwasser" (beer with a shot of lemonade) while you enjoy views of the huge Blohm + Voss docks and the container ships as they cruise by. Or admire the sailboats on the river Alster as they glide past the white facade of the imposing architectural backdrop dating from the era of rapid industrial expansion.

But Hamburg is also synonymous with wanderlust, departures, emigration and starting over. The Beatles took their first step to fame and fortune at the Star Club on the Reeperbahn. And for five million emigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries, this northern metropolis on the Elbe was a springboard across the Atlantic to North and South America. Four million headed for the USA alone. Many were fleeing hunger or political persecution. This Hanse city recently launched an internet database (www.hamburg.de/
fhh/behoerden/staatsarchiv/link_to_your_roots/
index.htm) with details of emigrants' addresses copied from old passenger lists. A valuable help for those interested in researching their ancestors, a popular hobby amongst elderly people in Germany, and especially in the USA.

The architecture in the Hamburg port district reflects the urge, and often the yearning, to wander the globe. Whether you look at the Gruner + Jahr publishing house or the new glass and steel cubes along the edge of the port, home to a mix of offices and trendy restaurants with water views: Many are reminiscent of giant ocean steamers and container ships docked for a brief instant before setting sail again for Buenos Aires or Valparaiso. Wes Wessel, our American tourist, has also plans to head off - his boat departs from pier 3. He, however, will only be boarding commuter ferry number 62, which will take you past the Blohm + Voss docks, the historic fish market and over to the Port Museum, from where you can stroll out and discover Hamburg's elegant Elbe surburbs on foot. A great excursion in the summer. But once the cold months arrive, you'd be better off with a trip to more southern climes. Wes Wessel will also be jetting back to his home stomping ground in Texas.