The Altonaer Balkon is a small park on the northern bank of the Elbe with an unobstructed view of the opposite side. It almost feels like approaching a steep to the coast while stepping onto the balkony, in the abyss the Elbe sparkles in the sunshine - not the open seas. On the other shore the skyline of the harbour hustle towers - the cranes of the container harbour Waltershof and the sewage treatment plant Köhlbranddeich that seems slightly supernatural.