The Hostel in Hamburg

May 30th

Excited to see asphalt again!

I woke up to the sounds of artillery shelling and was told by the campground host that nearby sits the largest artillery range in Europe.  I lounged around, did some laundry, and got a nice late start.  As I rode toward Hamburg, I took more "little yellow roads" and even opted for some even smaller roads that appear white on my maps.  That idea almost backfired on me as the beautiful narrow asphalt road gave way to a sandy double track.  Hating to backtrack, I kept pushing it and finally came out on the yellow road I was trying to get to.  (Note to self, no more little white roads unless I'm on a mountain bike.)  I rode past the artillery range and saw lots of signs telling tanks to stay off certain roads (I guess they leave tracks).

Directions from Fred!

Winding though more picturesque villages, I slowly but surely started to get into the more densely populated area south of Hamburg.  As the traffic increases, so does my speed.  I experienced this a few other times riding into Paris and Frankfurt.  (Like there's an urban bike messenger in me, and he wants his turn to ride!)  It makes the kilometers just fly by.  I get to what seems the middle of the city, totally disoriented, and start asking for directions.  I met a guy named Fred that said I should really take the ferry into Hamburg; that it's a great introduction to Hamburg (as Hamburg is all about water).  So, I followed Fred for a bit and he instructed me which way to go.  He said that there's a youth hostel right where the ferry would drop me off (above the train station) and that I should stay there.

From the ferry

I took the ferry ride and as I got off some folks helped me with my trailer.  They asked if I had a place to stay and if I knew where I was going and I said no.  They also recommended the youth hostel and said that if it was full, I could stay at their house!  The youth hostel is surrounded by stairs, so I rode around and found my way up.  My party of Hamburg greeters took the stairs and were waiting for me.  I got into an overflow room and the folks that helped me gave me their contact info in case I needed anything.  Turns out they leave in a few weeks to tour the Czech Republic by bike!

My Hamburg guardians drop me off at the hostel!

I got settled into the hostel (pretty swanky place!) and went into town for a drink.  I ended up at the bar two doors down from the Star Club (where the Beetles played before they really made it big).  The Beetles didn't live far away either and I met an older gentleman named Dieter that filled me in on all the local lore.  He started with, "Do you know where you are?"  He got pretty excited about sharing and walked me out of the bar and down to the Star Club memorial stone.  It was nice to connect with a local and learn about a place I knew nothing about.

The next morning (May 31st) I just enjoyed a relaxing walk around Hamburg.  Along the floating docks, coffee at the Speicherstadt Coffee Roasters, over countless bridges, and back to the hostel to get off my aching legs.

The floating docks and the controversially and increasingly
expensive concert hall (The Elbphilharmonie) in Hamburg

I ended up saddling up and leaving that evening after a nice dinner.  The rain was coming and so was rush hour.  I was instructed by one of the hostel workers to take the train instead of rolling the dice with the weather and the traffic.  So, I rode to a station with an elevator and took the train north.  (So, I cheated my way out of about 12 kilometers of pedaling.  But I felt like I'd been cheating death with all of the riding in traffic.  With the added hazard of rain, it was kind of a no-brainer.)  I still ended up riding through plenty of traffic and plenty of rain that even, trying to put in some distance (there are no photos because it was completely miserable.)  I found a small motel along the way, got a room, and cranked the heat.  By morning, all my stuff was dry and the sun was shining again!