Hamburg, Germany

So I spent a few days in Hamburg staying at Alexandre's who I had met at the Geesthacht youth hostel. She had invited me to stay but I ended up staying a little longer than either of us had expected because I needed to get the bike serviced and it took from Monday to the following Wednesday to find a day on which it could get serviced. I went to place called the Bike Factory. Had I gone to BMW, the waiting list was 12 weeks! Ali very kindly let me stay all this time.

Sun 6 April
This was the day I rode to Hamburg. Took a diversion to Sonderberg to see the castle. I found the castle a little disappointing. We definitely have better in the UK and I’m sure there are better ones to come in Germany. Set the satnav to arrive in Hamburg to avoid motorways. This made the ride more scenic but I did find Denmark a little bland for riding. Arrived in Hamburg at 17.30 with an invitation to stay at Alex’s in Hamburg. Alex and her daughter Freya were there! Lovely to see them both again.

Mon 8th April
Needed to sort a couple of things out. Alex was out all day. I spent the morning on a trip to the post office and exploring the local area. In the afternoon I tried to find somewhere to get Drogon serviced. I found somewhere but they couldn't get it done till the following Wednesday. So it looks like I have a week in Hamburg

Tue 9th April
Did some writing in the morning. Went out with Alex to the Hamburg version of the Cat Cafe in the afternoon. This one was much bigger than the one in Iceland. Took a while but in the end we did see some cats (they were well hidden). In addition the Cat Cafe was as woke as possible. It was entirely vegetarian. I had a "Beyond Meat" burger. It tasted as good as any meat burger I have had and better than most - certainly McDonalds/Burger King. No heavy stomach feeling afterwards.

In the evening Alex had some members of her church round to her place. She had invited them to watch The Chosen which is a tv serial biography of Jesus, which, based on episode 1 goes into the background of the apostles in some detail. There were maybe 8 or 9 who came in total. Met another Alex, this one from Brazil, and Inna from Uzbekistan of all places! After I'd told everyone I was going to the 'Stans cos no one came from there! Both were very friendly and I suppose potentially they might be able to hook me up with things to do / people to stay with when and if I reach Uzbekistan and Brazil.

Wed 10th April
So this was a full day out and about in Hamburg with Alex. First we went to her church to take delivery of water bottles in anticipation of this Sunday's service. Then a metro into central Hamburg. Onto the ferry with a trip to Blankenese which is a very wealthy suburb of Hamburg. We had a very English tea and scones at an English hotel there. There we came back and did the walking tunnel both ways across and under the Elbe. Thence to the Hamburg fair, which reminded me very much of Hull fair. I wasn’t in the mood for any crazy stuff but we both managed the ferris wheel. Then back to Alex’s to watch House. Evenings were either spent watching House or playing card / dice games.

Friday 12th April
Went to the zoo and the aquarium. See separate entry.

Sun 14th April
Went to the Church service with Ali. Despite not understanding a great deal, I very much enjoyed it. It had a lot more energy than church services I remember. Had a long chat with Inna from Uzbekistan afterwards. She is very well travelled and might be going to Nepal at some point. Wonder if I'll bump into her there? Would be fun. Went for a walk later and did a full circuit of the Alster. Took more or less exactly 100 minutes. Not sure how that is relevant.

Tue 16th April
Had second round of the TV watching of The Chosen. Jesus again only appears at the end. Cameo role!

Wed 17th April
Took bike to be serviced. I think the chap had forgotten my booking as he seemed surprised to see me but he's doing the service and will be getting it back tomorrow.Baca lagi