An off day

With no matches to cover and no stories assigned, I took the day off and explored Hamburg predominantly on foot. Unfortunately, I picked the only day it's rained in this city since my arrival.

I walked along the left bank of the Aussenalster, the larger of the Alster lakes, and had an Alsterwasser -- which is not water from the Alster, but beer with lemonade in it. Sort of like a Mimosa, but with a militaristic-sounding name. Much of the lakefront property is consulates, including two that are heavily protected by barricades and armed Polizei, belonging to ... you guessed it, the U.S. and Britain. I was going to take a picture of the U.S. consulate, but thought the Polizei might object.

I then took the subway to Blankenese, which is billed as the Amalfi Coast of Germany. Granted, it's a town built on a steep mountainside on a waterway, and it is picturesque, but I wouldn't say it's Tuscany North. Of course, the rain began falling when I got there, so I hightailed it out of there pretty quickly.

For dinner, I trudged through the rain to a German restaurant that billed itself as dated back to the 1600s. Nice place, decent food, and the traditional music ... of Bob Dylan and Tracy Chapman.

Anyway, we're going out for Guinness and to watch Spain crush Tunisia like a bug.