The beginning of the end

After a rest day in Hamburg the northern part of the NST finally begins.
I took the train back to the Elbtunnel and followed the promenade along the Elbe river. The old warehouse district is separated by water channels attracting many tourists every year with the Elbphilharmonie as one of Hamburg's most unique buildings. I stopped at my favourite restaurant called "Erdapfel" which is a synonym for a potato. They serve large cooked potatoes filled with all kinds of ingredients.
I kept following streets and small parks until I had another long break. In the dark I continued through fields and alongside a small lake, where someone was swimming at that time. I came to a small wooden shelter where I wanted to stay for the night. A woman with a flashlight walked past the shelter but didn't see me. When I started preparing my sleeping place and searched for my power bank, I realized I left it at my friend's place. With the last bit I figured out how to get to his work place and arrived there an hour later surprising him without any notice beforehand.

I stayed one more night at his place and took the bus back to where I left the trail the following morning. Still low on energy I stopped at the next bench after a few minutes. I couldn't find motivation so I relaxed for a while and distracted me with videos. The only thing that forced me to walk was hunger. After a few miles I stopped at a playground where I spent the rest of the day a short walk away from the next supermarket.

I finally found motivation and that day I started at 7 am. Listening to a podcast I made good progress and barely had any breaks. A light rain shower poured down on me, which kept me walking as well. At 5 pm I arrived at the trail angel's place. A lovely couple with two children, who both live somewhere else in Germany. They often have guests and support refugees. The dinner was great and afterwards I pitched my tent for the first time on this trail. I was even allowed to sleep on the couch, if the weather gets worse again.

In the morning my host made me marinated giant bovist slices, which was so delicious. It kept raining for a while but I decided to start the day of walking. The weather stayed wet until midday when I arrived at the next town. Beautiful lakes besides farmland and forest forming the landscape. After a short lunch break I listened to podcasts and rushed to the next town. Long forest paths with a little elevation until I got to the next lake exposing the town on the other side. I thought about swimming but I passed the best spot close to the main road with no water access on the following part. I ended up on a pier for a short break but it seemed to be a private one where they forgot to close the gate. I didn't disturb anyone as far as I know. Leaving the lake I continued through fields until I came to a village at the Elbe-Lübeck water channel. The last hour I followed the channel until I found a shelter with a short and small bench next to a water lock.Читать далее