Oberhafen

We had a really long day, cycling 90 km to get into Hamburg. It was really cool cycling into the city because you could see how the scenery slowly changed from the countryside to the suburbs and finally to the city. We even got to travel through a very old underground passage in a vintage elevator. When we arrived at our accommodation, we were so exhausted that we were basically like zombies. We stayed in these mini rooms that were just beds, sharing toilets and showers, but everything was super modern and luxurious—it was great!

The next day, we woke up super early by accident because we'd gone to bed so early, but it worked out because we got the last ticket slot to visit the Hamburg Miniature Museum, which was the whole reason we chose Hamburg. We spent four glorious hours there, marveling at all the details. In the afternoon, we explored the city and picked up some more camping gear. In the evening, we had dinner on the rooftop terrace and then watched a movie.

The next day, we left our comfy accommodation and headed back on the trail to Lübeck, which took us on some great paths that used to be railroads.

After Lübeck, our route took us along the coast and through the "Hamptons of Germany." The weather was glorious, the people were fancy, and the paths were busy. After being turned away from our first campsite—probably for not looking fancy enough—our second choice let us stay on the patch of grass behind the reception office.

After so much sun and coastline, we headed more inland with overcast weather. 

Before arriving at our final campsite, we had to cross a huge motorway bridge, which, due to construction, had no cycle paths. Since there were no boats or other bridges to cross, we gritted our teeth and cycled over it. It was windy, and the traffic was busy. One person shouted something in German that ended with "Scheiße," so I don't think people were happy with us being there, but we had no other choice. After getting off the bridge, we had to continue cycling for 5 km just to get off the motorway. We found out later that there are strict fines for cycling on the motorway, so we were lucky to get away unscathed.

We finally made it to the very edge of Germany, right next to the port where we’d catch the ferry to Denmark the next day.

That evening, we met an Australian man who was an ex-pilot, retired at 40, newly divorced, and cycling from Stockholm to Paris. He was fun to chat with but perhaps was struggling with some loneliness.

Germany, you had your ups and downs and somewhat of an odd vibe for cyclists, but good nonetheless.Read more