When you ask a Hamburg local, what’s so special about the historical warehouse district, the Speicherstadt, they’ll often say “the light”. That sounds a bit peculiar until you’ve actually immersed yourself in this unique world - and at best at night when the sun is setting. For it bathes the brick buildings in a golden light and breaks on the water of the canals that traverse this quarter creating a most extraordinary atmosphere. But it isn’t only your eyes that are in for a treat: the squawking seagulls serve up a portion of wanderlust and the old walls imbued with the scent of spices and cocoa sweep you away to the days of trading with remote, exotic countries.

Initially in 1883, for the Speicherstadt to grow and thrive many people had to leave their homes. Nearly 20,000 dockworkers and their families were reallocated to make way for the warehouses, which can still be admired here today. The reason: Hamburg had been integrated into the so-called “Reich’s Customs Free Territory” and in order to be able to store wares until they could be sold further, the city needed space. Row for row the warehouses were practically built overnight, many of which were lovingly adorned with bay windows, little towers and pinnacles. The goods were transported along the narrow waterways to the buildings and then hoisted inside through the hatches: coffee and tea, rubber and tobacco, carpets from the Orient and many other treasures could be found there. Today the Speicherstadt is protected as a historical monument and belongs to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage.