We went to Germany for the first week of the World Cup. There wasn't an England game on in Hamburg (it was all booked long before the draw came out) but it was a great laugh anyway.

Strange street art that was everywhere. Each statue was painted differently:

Hamburg town hall (I think):

We visited the remains of a church where only the tower had been left standing. (I presume because, ahem, we bombed the rest at some point):

The spire was still complete and you could take a lift to the top of the stone structure:

The view from the top was quite impressive:

The other tall building that was open to visitors, St Michel. The outside was more impressive than the inside, but the surrounding area was a great place for rubbish souvenirs:

Inside the lower levels of the tower of St Michel:

The view from the top of St Michel:

Another view from the top of St Michel:

Some nearby modern architecture:

Darren, in front of St Michel:

More whacky sculptures, this time some giant chairs that we couldn't resist trying out (this is Darren):

My go in a chair:

A huge statue in one of the parks around Hamburg, apparently of Bismarck:

Me standing in front of Bismarck, which gives an idea of just how big it is.

This was about as close as I dared get to the edge:

Darren, in front of Bismarck:

At the big screen on the edge of the town centre there were stalls for every country in the World Cup, plus a few others:

There were plenty of places to sit before the match started:

A few hours before Germany were set to play Costa Rica in the opening game, and the 'entertainers' on the stage were making a valiant effort at keeping the half a dozen people who were wandering around 'entertained':

By kick-off, the place was pretty full:

Germany beat Costa Rica by four goals to two, and the crowd goes wild:

A sea of Germans on their way home:

Someone so excited by the victory they crashed their car (or it could have been a coincidence):

Balloons that were generally floating above Hamburg:

A view across the lake back to the centre of town:

Another odd piece of street art, distinctly remiscent of The Muppets in my eyes:

Darren got into the spirit of things:

I hadn't realised what a big sea port Hamburg was (not surprising since before I went I didn't particularly know where in Germany it was):

This is the entrance to the Elbtunnel which runs under the main river through Hamburg. Cars used to drive up to these entrances and go one at a time into a lift:

From their they're taken down and then drive out at the bottom:

Then through the tunnel and into another lift to get out the other side. It's only open to cyclists and pedestrians now, and is nice and cool on a hot day:

There isn't much at the other end of the Elbtunnel, unfortunately, except the view back:

We went canoeing, and this is the 'up all night' crowd briefly before capsizing:

And this is them after capsizing, looking none the worse for it it has to be said:

Capsizing didn't put them off. Note the wake that the boat is leaving indicating a distinctly backwards direction of travel:

Our canoe was more civilised as we had Ray fending off crocodiles and the like:

One of those 'try and take a photo of yourself' shots. Could be worse:

Another church I came across:

One of the canalside warehouse type buildings:

This hook was hanging down about six stories, which seems very uncharacteristically careless for the Germans:

What happens when connected buildings are half-demolished:

My last beer in Hamburg (with Joe in the background):

At Hamburg airport, on the way back home:

Darren Beale's photos from the same Hamburg trip