Hamburg pursues sustainability with kayaks, a food hall and a bunker

In Hamburg, sustainability in tourism takes on innovative forms with the opening of two ecologically conscious attractions:In Hamburg, sustainability in tourism takes on innovative forms with the opening of two ecologically conscious attractions: 1. Reverb by Hard Rock Hotel: Housed within a repurposed World War II bunker, the hotel features a rooftop garden, environmental research studies, and a partnership with a local school to utilize its meeting space. 2. Le Big TamTam: A unique food hall showcasing local flavors, TamTam emphasizes plant-based options and collaborates with local restaurants to promote sustainability through locally sourced ingredients. Additionally, Hamburg has implemented the “green kayaks” initiative. Visitors can rent kayaks for free in exchange for collecting trash from the city’s waterways. This initiative encourages environmental stewardship and provides an immersive experience on Hamburg’s canals. These initiatives reflect Hamburg’s commitment to sustainability in tourism. They showcase diverse and creative approaches that include the transformation of historical structures, the promotion of local businesses and products, and the active involvement of visitors in maintaining the city’s green spaces. Hamburg’s sustainability efforts are attracting attention, with positive feedback from visitors who appreciate the city’s commitment to environmental responsibility.

The St. Pauli Bunker, also called the Green Bunker or Grüner Bunker, with the new Reverb hotel and … (+) garden on the roof.

Christopher Elliott

A World War II bunker converted into a hotel. A food hall filled with locally grown produce. And vast, ambitious green spaces that tourists help keep clean.

These might not be the first things that come to mind when you visit a place like Hamburg, a German port city known for its extensive network of canals and tasty cuisine. Fish rollsor fish rolls.

But this summer, just as the European Football Championship was winding down, two new sustainability-focused attractions opened in Hamburg. They complement the city’s already global reputation for parks and green spaces, which the government is now boosting with an unexpected tourism angle. (Hamburg has already laid out far-reaching sustainability goals in its Agenda 2030 plan.)

In summary, these developments speak volumes about Germany’s commitment to sustainability in tourism. They are diverse and creative, perhaps even a little unorthodox. And they have started off promisingly.

A view of the roof garden on top of the bunker with Hamburg’s iconic Heinrich-Hertz-Turm, a … (+) television tower, behind. The roof garden is open to the public.

Christopher Elliott

A new hotel in the Grüner Bunker

One of Hamburg’s newest sustainable attractions, which opened last month, is the Reverb by Hard Rock Hotel, a building built on a World War II bunker in the trendy St. Pauli district.

The bunker has a colourful past. It was built during World War II to protect the people of Hamburg from air raids, but after the war it fell into disrepair and was redeveloped as residential units and then as office space. Eventually, the owners redeveloped the bunker into a multi-functional building, with offices, a new purpose-built hotel and Hamburg’s highest roof garden.

Constanze Döbber, marketing manager for Reverb — or simply the Bunker Hotel, as many here call it — says the hotel is serious about living up to its name.

“We feel responsible for sustainability here,” she says.

The hotel has more to offer than just a rooftop garden, which is open to the public during the day. Researchers from the University of Hamburg are also conducting environmental studies in the bunker — you can see measuring stations in various spots on the roof. Döbber says she hopes they will lead to a better understanding of how plants grow in a densely populated urban environment.

The hotel also has a unique contract with the city that allows the meeting space to be used by a local school during the week, ensuring that the facility is always busy and rarely idle.

The bunker itself has become a transformed space, from an eyesore to a green pyramid that’s one of St. Pauli’s most recognizable landmarks. On a recent summer day, the bunker was virtually unrecognizable from its 20th-century grayness, with trees and shrubs sprouting from the chamber like modern-day Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

But it is not the only place in Hamburg where people pursue sustainability.

Axel Ohm, director of Le Big TamTam, a new food hall in Hamburg with local specialties … (+) restaurants and has a strong focus on sustainability.

Christopher Elliott

A “completely different” food hall in Hamburg

In Hamburg’s vibrant Hanseviertel district, deep in a covered shopping mall, a new kind of food market opened in July, also with an emphasis on sustainability.

“We wanted to do something completely different,” says Axel Ohm, managing director of Le Big TamTam, a new food hall in Hamburg with local restaurants and a strong focus on sustainability. “We opened food stands here, and they are all from local restaurants.”

Of course, being local is part of the sustainability equation. But the six restaurants in TamTam’s rotunda also offer an exceptionally green menu. Not only are the items locally sourced, but there are also plenty of plant-based offerings. For example, ÜberQuell, the food court’s pizza joint, offers several types of vegan pizza, including a tempting “garbage” pizza with beetroot. (That’s an “only in Germany” moment.)

Ohm, who also owns ÜberQuell, says sustainability is a key focus at their flagship location in St. Pauli.

“We have a farm on the property where we grow some of the ingredients for our pizza,” he explains. “We work with local school groups and harvest the vegetables and herbs, which we then use in the restaurant.”

Ohm says that TamTam has focused on sustainability ever since the food market’s five business partners came up with the idea. TamTam wanted to be a cross-cutting idea: where other food markets brought in chain restaurants or standard fare, they wanted to take visitors around the world with a distinctive Hamburg flair.

And thanks to local purchasing initiatives, the whole operation is also more sustainable, says Ohm.

Tobi Hatge, manager at SUP CLUB Hamburg, collects waste along the Isebekkanal.

Christopher Elliott

Hamburg’s ‘green kayaks’ are free, but there’s a catch

It’s one thing to make your business more sustainable by changing your menu or building a rooftop garden. But what if you could make the whole thing more participatory? That’s the idea behind Hamburg’s “green kayaks,” a project funded by the city of Hamburg that allows visitors to explore the city’s waterways for free.

But there’s a catch, explains Tobi Hatge, manager of SUP CLUB Hamburg on the city’s Isebekkanal.

“You can rent the kayak for a period of one and a half to two hours, and it’s free,” he says. “But you do have to pick up some trash and bring it back.”

The program is limited to just two days a week at Hatge’s club, but he says his visitors have already collected more than 300 pounds of trash from nearby rivers and canals since the season began in late May.

“It’s very good for the environment,” he adds.

It’s also good for budget-conscious visitors who want an adventure on Hamburg’s waterways at a bargain price. And Hatge says people don’t mind picking up trash — it gives them a sense of satisfaction that they’ve done something for the planet.

Behind the scenes, Hamburg is working to upgrade its image from a historic port city to a green trendsetter. And there are signs that its renovated bunkers and clean canals are having the desired effect.

“When people come here to visit, they want to move here,” says Julia Bankus, spokeswoman for Hamburg Tourismus, the city’s destination marketing agency.

That is perhaps the greatest accolade for a city and the ultimate confirmation of Hamburg’s sustainability ambitions.

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