A Girls’ Weekend in Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

Do you ever wish you could spend more time with your girlfriends? It turns out that lots of us do. One of the latest travel trends is the rise of the friendmoon, the holiday that you spend with a close friend. I recently jumped at the chance to have a weekend in Hamburg with one of mine.

The idea of the friendmoon is that it gives you the time to reconnect with some of the most important people in your life. We all know that friendships are valuable but our busy lifestyles - especially when you have a family - mean that we rarely have quality time with some of our closest friends. I live a long way from most of my good friends so seeing them is always a treat, but with families around, we rarely get time to talk like we used to.

So Fiona, one of my best friends, and I decided to do something about it and go away for a girls’ weekend together. A weekend in Hamburg visiting the Christmas markets turned out to be the perfect place for some quality time together. We would indulge in girlie treats like spa visits and afternoon tea, do a bit of shopping in the Christmas market and walk and talk everywhere we went.

The city of Hamburg in North Germany has always intrigued me. It’s one of the world’s busiest ports yet has a fascinating musical heritage. It’s the birthplace of both Brahms and Mendelssohn and the place where the Beatles began their international career in 1960. More recently it’s become the home of one of the world’s best concert halls. The Elbphilharmonie opened its doors in 2017. Its contemporary glass design is one of the architectural highlights of the city. An escalator whisks people up to the visitor platform from where you can access the wrap around balcony for panoramic views of the harbour. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).