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Age is just a number

Today we headed for Hamburg, cycling towards major cities is never the most fun (cycling out is never great either) but we planned to sneak up on it via some well placed cycle paths, which was mostly successful.


Finding peaceful roads we progressed steadily, only occasional turning around as when I'd missed the path needed or as is frequent in Germany, the cycle path had switched sides of the road or suddenly appeared or ended. If we'd come straight from the UK I would have thought the paths pretty good but coming after the Netherlands it is a downgrade in standards maybe 3 stars, dropping to 2 when it’s cobbled.


One place we went through had so many cobbles we had to divert or I feared me or the bike just wouldn't make it. I'd simply shatter from one impact to many.


We went round a large airbus venue that may or may not have been a public airport there was a runway though it and some nice smooth cycling. It did sadly start to rain but only with a sort of non-committal drizzle. Like rain that is doing it because it was asked but its heart really isn't in it.


As it was raining we decided on the ferry option across the Elbe into Hamburg. I thought this would be a car ferry but it turned out to be a passenger and bike ferry. It didn't matter we only had bikes but I don't know where the car ferry I’d looked up the website is. There was no sign of it... mysterious.


.The sailing was quite bumpy and the ship was done out in colours and graphic advertising of the Hamburg dungeon experience which was a little ominous but all was well.


The sailing also caused us to need masks again after a few days of blissfully not thinking about Covid, I was proud to have a mask to hand though! I had unfortunately let it get soaked in rain but it was at least to hand!


Once we'd crossed the Elbe we had a early dinner/late lunch opposite Hamburg docks, Germany’s busiest and the 3rd busiest in Europe (After Rotterdam and Antwerp) It is massive. You watch a massive ship for a bit and then a bigger ship rocks up and dwarfs it. There are more cranes and loaders than seem conceivable to need but they were all busy loading or unloading...I guess our consumer society needs fuel!



The food was great and the waiter seemed impressed with our trip comparing it to a holy man he knew who'd walked to India for a meeting. Personally I hope it's a lot easy than walking to India. Also, I think he meant a spiritual gathering not a work discussion or homeowner meeting but who knows, maybe he was super committed to get his complaint about doormats heard.

After feeling fuelled, we took on cycling through Hamburg, this went reasonably well we cycled past tourist attractions we weren't visiting, famous architure we failed to appreciate and generally did Hamburg no justice at all. I did though negotiate the warren of streets, cycle paths and ambiguous grey areas in between that is the makeup of any big city.



We were almost at the magic red dot that is the end of any Garmin route and I was quite proud of myself that we'd not crashed into each other, anyone else and had skilfully avoided any street furniture. Then I realised my mistake... the dot wasn't on where we were staying just some random point vaguely near it...woops, time to crack out Google.


We did manage to make it to the hostel without incident. No camping for us tonight actual beds, plugs and Wi-Fi!


Although a hostel we had our own room, a little but not a lot bigger than the tent on floor space but some very high ceiling so by cubic meters a big upgrade!


Getting into the hostel had some challenges; there were steps, I can lift my bike just, at the top of the steps was a door, it opened outwards, tricky but we made it in! With only internal swearing. We then dropped our bikes in a secure store room, which was good but then we had to take the panniers to our room without the bike. This is doable, I can pick up all the stuff but not then move far or easily or without bashing into every wall I pass. Think, staggering drunk person with only a rough ability to maintain the vertical, mostly by lurching from one side of it to the other as aggressive course corrections are issued by a frantic brain. But we made it into the room.

The last problem was I felt about 200 yrs old! The last time I was in a hostel was probably 12 yrs ago and even then I was probably on the older end of the guests. Everyone staying here seemed so young, fresh and loud. I felt so very old and out of place. Once hidden in our room, I put my personal crisis about when I'd become a haggard crone to the back of my mind. We got on with showering, charging and generally sorting everything out. Once we were clean etc. we ventured out to do some practical things and see a little of Hamburg.

We had some amazing waffles...



In this more refreshed state I was more able to face the youth of the hostel and realise that out on the streets of Hamburg I was not in fact the oldest person alive, for a start Hannah is older than me.


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