Day trip to Stade, Germany
It's a lazy brunch time, the evening is closer than before due to the winter, and a desire to go out at the brightest time of the day is incredibly high.
Usually, there are plenty of options, but the main one is whether to hustle within the city we live in (Hamburg) or visit nearby towns. We chose the last one since it's more about exploring and less attached to the things we already know.
The destination is Stade, a small town 25km from Hamburg.
Stade has plenty of great local bakeries, so we grabbed a takeaway coffee from the one that has a nice view, in my opinion.
Architecture is probably the first that comes to my eyes while exploring new places, and gladly, Stade has a lot to surprise the curious eyes of tourists. The Church in gothic style is not the only architectural beauty in a town, but the one you keep seeing while walking in a city and what is there, and it's beautiful from all angles.
Walking in an Old Town, almost every building looks so lovely that it is hard to believe that it exists mainly for living purposes like any other building we live in. But to be fair, a solid portion of them also serve as a hotel, as it seems tourism generates one of the main revenue streams for the locals.
The buildings below are in my lovely Fachwerk (Half-timbered) style.
Stade has a small port on Schwinge, a left tributary of the Elbe river. Nowadays, the port is more like the center of tourist attractions, surrounded by beautiful buildings with ground floors serving as restaurants, bars, and coffee places.
Consider the location we reached, and after an hour or two of walking in the cold outside, a proper time to look for a local place has arrived. The choice fell on Fuerkiek, a 40-year-old bar on the ship's left side from the picture above.
Although I wasn't into the beer mode, my desire to try local beers was stronger. While paying the check, I noticed that inside the pub was as beautiful as outside; the interior, natural fireplace, wooden tables, and chairs make it cozy.
As in any other northern city in Germany, the menu includes fish and bread, which we successfully utilized so quickly that I forgot to take a picture of it. But you can rely on me — that was tasty.
