The Thedens Go To Europe 2016

Did You Know? - Teufelsbrück (Devil's Bridge) is the name of the area around the mouth of Flottbek stream into River Elbe in Hamburg, Germany. It is located in the local subdistrict of Klein Flottbek and today belongs partly to the quarters of Othmarschen and Nienstedten. Initially, Teufelsbrück was the name of the bridge of the street of Elbchaussee over the Flottbek stream, later it was used for the area itself including nearby ferry pier and marina. The area lies south of the Jenisch park.

Did You Know? - Until the 1990s, the historic hotel has several swift changes of ownership. It isn't until 1993 that new owners the Rahe family restore the business to a stable footing.

In just three years the family turns the old Jacob into a contemporary luxury hotel. With an abundance of flair and sensitivity they refurbish, restore and extend the premises. With the historic edifices on the other side of the road, the result is a harmonious style of buildings that enjoy cultural heritage protection. Then they make a discovery. During the restoration process builders uncover an ancient ice cellar. In the past the brick vault served as a fridge, but today special events take place there.

In 1996 the hotel was ceremoniously reopened. As its director, since 1997 Jost Deitmar has given the historic hotel a new lease of life. The 5-star hotel in Hamburg has garnered a number of prestigious awards. Across the globe, it's also becoming one of the premier hotels. Chef de cuisine, award-winning Thomas Martin, has also played a pivotal role in the hotel's stellar success.

Did You Know? - Rickmer Rickmers was built in 1896 by the Rickmers shipyard in Bremerhaven, and was first used on the Hong Kong route carrying rice and bamboo. In 1912 she was bought by Carl Christian Krabbenhöft, renamed Max, and transferred to the Hamburg - Chile route.

In World War I Max was captured by the Government of Portugal, in Horta (Azores) harbour and loaned to the United Kingdom as a war aid. For the remainder of the war the ship sailed under the Union Jack, as Flores. After World War I she was returned to the Portuguese Government, becoming a Portuguese Navy training ship and was once more renamed, as NRP Sagres (the second of that name). In 1958, she won the Tall Ships' Race.

In the early 1960s Sagres (II) was retired from school ship service when the Portuguese Navy purchased, from Brazil, the school ship Guanabara (originally launched in Germany in 1937 as Albert Leo Schlageter). In 1962, the former Guanabara was commissioned as school ship with the name Sagres (III). At the same time Sagres (II) was renamed Santo André and reclassified as depot ship. The NRP Santo André remained moored at the Lisbon Naval Base, being decommissioned in 1975.

She was purchased in 1983 by an organisation named "Windjammer für Hamburg e.V.", renamed for the last time, back to Rickmer Rickmers, and turned into a floating museum ship.

Did You Know? - Rickmer Rickmers is a sailing ship permanently moored as a museum ship in Hamburg, near the Cap San Diego. Rickmer Clasen Rickmers, was a Bremerhaven shipbuilder and Willi Rickmer Rickmers, led a Soviet-German expedition to the Pamirs in 1928.

Did You Know? - The Port of Hamburg (German mostly: Hamburger Hafen, in official usage also Hafen Hamburg) is a German sea port, located on the river Elbe in Hamburg, some 110 kilometres from the mouth of the Elbe into the North Sea.

It is Germany's largest port and is named the country's "Gateway to the World" (Tor zur Welt). In terms of TEU throughput, Port of Hamburg is the second-busiest port in Europe (after the port of Rotterdam) and 15th-largest worldwide. In 2014, 9.73 million TEUs (20-foot standard container equivalents) were handled in Hamburg.

The harbour covers an area of 73.99 km² (64.80 km² usable), of which 43.31 km² (34.12 km²) are land areas. The location is naturally advantaged by a branching Elbe, creating an ideal place for a port complex with warehousing and transshipment facilities.

Did You Know? - The first record of Ottensen dates from 1310. In 1390, it became the seat of the bailiff of the county of Holstein-Pinneberg. The settlement was mostly composed of farmers and craftsmen. During the 1640s, it surpassed nearby Altona in size. It was annexed to Prussia in 1867, and the population rose rapidly: from 2,411 in 1840 to 37,738 in 1900.

It was later annexed to the city Altona, which in turn was due to the Greater Hamburg Act annexed to Hamburg in 1937.

Did You Know? - The Köhlbrand Bridge (German: Köhlbrandbrücke) is a cable-stayed bridge in Hamburg, Germany, which connects the harbor area on the island of Wilhelmsburg between the Norderelbe and Süderelbe anabranches of the Elbe river with motorway 7 (exit Waltershof). It bridges the Süderelbe, here called Köhlbrand, before it unites with the Norderelbe again. The bridge was opened on 9 September 1974.

Did You Know? - Blohm + Voss (also shown historically as Blohm & Voss and Blohm und Voss), is a German shipbuilding and engineering works. It is a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. ThyssenKrupp announced in December 2011 that it had agreed the sale of Blohm + Voss' civil shipbuilding division to British investment company STAR Capital Partners, pending regulatory approval. The company also oversees maintenance and repair of large cruise ships such as RMS Queen Mary 2 and the MS Queen Victoria.

The company built aircraft before and during World War II, initially through its Hamburger Flugzeugbau subsidiary, and then under its own corporate name shortly after the war's outbreak.

On September 28, 2016, it was announced that Lürssen will acquire Blohm + Voss in a long-term partnership.

Did You Know? - The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (Czech Republic), then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km (68 mi) northwest of Hamburg

.Its total length is 1,094 kilometres (680 mi).

Did You Know? - St. Peter's Church (German: Hauptkirche St. Petri, German coll.: Petrikirche) in Hamburg stands on the site of many former cathedrals. Built by order of Pope Leo X, it has been a Protestant cathedral since the Reformation and its congregation forms part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany.