Altes Land in Hamburg part 3

The houses of the Altes Land are beautiful

Must of the houses have written something on the Facade.

Some houses of the Altes Land are hotels, restaurants or small shops selling the produce of the region

I am going to be honest with you. After visiting several cities in Germany, I did not expect I was going to find old houses like the ones I saw in the Altes Land. I have been in the major cities in Germany and I had alredy given up my unconscious expectation to find old buildings typical of Germany, like in Ireland, Portugal, France or Spain. But I was surprised some months ago in the areas around Stutgartt, and this weekend I could not come out of my astonishment with all the beautiful houses in the area of Jork and the Altes Land.

Is that kind of feeling you have when you see something totally new, that you have never seen in your life and, the best of all, you were not expecting. And you just don't care looking up, and the rest of the people (locals) notice: That's a tourist! That look in your face of amazement.

The rooftops of some of the houses in the Altes Land are made of an special material. Don't ask me what, but to me looks like it is not warm enough for the winter. But what do I know. I am sure I am wrong.

Most of them, have the dates when they were built and/or rebuilt if that was the case. Don't forget the total devastation of the Hamburg area caused by the heavy bombing during the Second World War. It is evident here when you see the dates when some of the houses were rebuilt: at the end of 1940 or during 1950.

Besides the dates, the houses of the Altes Land, have often something written on the facade. I am going to be honest, I did not even try to read what was written on them. Half of these houses are hotels (Gasthauses), restaurant or businesses of some sort. You see often rooms for short stays offered or apartments for short stays as well (Zeitwohnung).

Something that called my attention as well, but did not surprise me, was how many Fire Stations are in the Altes Land area. I saw at least 8 fire stations. It is not a surprise, looking at the material used to build the houses: wood and this special material for the rooftops, and how close sometimes this houses are next to each other. Not to mention the crops, trees and plants all over the Altes Land. Aware of the story of Hamburg and the fires that have devastated the city, including the fires during the bombing in the 40's, is obvious the firemen are always important for the area.

Last but not least, most of these houses in the Altes Land, have two big sticks crossing at the top, with an special symbol. Some were very elaborated, some were simple. But I still can't figure out the meaning. Here is a photo: