A Visit to Iceland and the Scandinavian North | Page 9

I had read concerning them that, viewed from the
exterior, they look like common houses; but that they constitute
separate communities, and contain alleys and streets, serving as the
domicile of innumerable families. I visited several of these places, and
can assure the reader that I saw nothing extraordinary in them. Houses
with two large wings, forming an alley of from eighty to a hundred
paces in length, are to be met with in every large town; and that a
number of families should inhabit such a house is not remarkable,
considering that they are all poor, and that each only possesses a single
small apartment.

The favourite walk in the town is the "Jungfernstieg" (Maiden's Walk),
a broad alley, extending round a spacious and beautiful basin of the
Alster. On one side are splendid hotels, with which Hamburgh is richly
provided; on the other, a number of private residences of equal
pretensions. Other walks are, the "Wall," surrounding the town, and the
"Botanical Garden," which resembles a fine park. The noblest building,
distinguished alike as regards luxury, skill, tastefulness of design, and
stability, is the Bazaar. It is truly a gigantic undertaking, and the more
to be admired from the fact that it is not built upon shares, but at the
expense of a single individual, Herr Carl Sillem; the architect's name is
Overdick. The building itself is constructed entirely of stone, and the
walls of the great room and of the hall are inlaid with marble. A lofty
cupola and an immense glazed dome cover both the great room and the
hall; the upper staircases are ornamented with beautiful statues. When
in the evening it is brilliantly lighted with gas, and further ornamented
by a tasteful display of the richest wares, the spectator can almost fancy
himself transported to a fairy palace.
Altogether the shops in Hamburgh are very luxurious. The wares lie
displayed in the most tasteful manner behind huge windows of
plate-glass, which are often from five to six feet broad, and eight or ten
feet high; a single sheet frequently costs 600 florins. This plate-glass
luxury is not confined to shops, but extends to windows generally, not
only in Hamburgh, but also in Altona, and is also seen in the
handsomest country-houses of the Hamburghers. Many a pane costs
eight or ten florins; and the glass is insured in case of breakage, like
houses in case of fire.
This display of glass is equalled by the costliness of the furniture,
which is almost universally of mahogany; a wood which is here in such
common use, that in some of the most elegant houses the very
stair-banisters are constructed of it. Even the pilots have often
mahogany furniture.
The handsomest and most frequented street is the "Neue Wall" (New
Wall). I was particularly struck with the number of shops and dwellings
underground, to which one descends by a flight of six or eight stairs; an

iron railing is generally placed before the entrance, to prevent the
passers-by from falling down.
A very practical institution is the great slaughterhouse, in which all
cattle are killed on certain days of the week.
Concerning the town of Altona, I have only to observe that it appeared
to me a continuation of Hamburgh; from which town, indeed, it is only
separated by a wooden door. A very broad, handsome street, or, more
properly speaking, an elongated square, planted with a double row of
large trees, is the most remarkable thing about Altona, which belongs
to the Danish Government, and is considered, after Copenhagen, the
most important place in the kingdom.
It is a delicious ride to the village of Blankenese, distant nine miles
from Hamburgh; the road lies among beautiful country-houses and
large park-like gardens. Blankenese itself consists of cottages, grouped
in a picturesque manner round the Sulberg, a hill from which the
traveller enjoys a very extended view over the great plain, in which it is
the only elevated point. The course of the Elbe, as it winds at moderate
speed towards the sea, is here to be traced almost to its embouchure at
Cuxhaven.
The breadth of the Elbe at Blankenese exceeds two miles.
Another interesting excursion is to the "New Mills," a little village on
the Elbe, not more than half a mile from Altona, and inhabited only by
fishermen and pilots. Whoever wishes to form an idea of Dutch
prettiness and cleanliness should come here.
The houses are mostly one story high, neatly and tastefully built; the
brightest of brass handles adorn the street-doors; the windows are kept
scrupulously clean, and furnished with white curtains.
In Saxony I had found many dwellings of the peasantry tidy and neat
enough, displaying at any rate more opulence than we are accustomed
to find with this class of people; but I