7. day - Havelberg (a day of rest)

Trip: n.a.
Average speed: n.a.
Max. speed: n.a.
Overal time: n.a.

We took a resting day in Havelberg. Happily there had been many things to see and do in Havelberg, because there had been a festival today. We listened to the open ceremony of the mayor. The festival itself had not been that big. It mainly consisted of some shops, local clubs and exhibitors. We enjoyed watching a show of some kind of children celebrity "Theo Tintenklecks", who is some kind of puppet representing a cartoon figure for children. Most of the kids sang together with Theo Tintenklecks. They kids even had their own performance. The were singing in a quier and had a ballet performance. We enjoyed watching the kids performances and observed the life in the town. The impression that we got was that of a peaceful small town in which people enjoy to live.

Later on I took part in a wine game. My tasks was to blind taste four different wines and find out which of the wines are white and which are red. Three samples had been pretty easy, but one was a bit more diffcult. However, I managed to identify all of them and as reward I won a small bottle of liquore.

Mette and I played lotto today. There were 17 million Euros in the jackpot. Unfortunately we did not win anything.

In the afternoon, we watched a fashion show of a local boutique. It was obvious that all models had been amateurs and they took great pride of participating to the show. However, I can not deny that the combination of dresses, colours and themes was pretty stylish. It was also interesting to watch the local older ladies who carefully watched the show.

In the evening we went to an Italian restaurant where we had some pizza. It was a good idea to take a day rest. We could recover from the previous days. Now we are looking forward for tomorrow's trip to Tangermünde.

6. day - Cumlosen - Havelberg

Trip: 46,5 km
Average speed: 20,0 km/h
Max. speed: 30,8 km/h
Overal time: 15:30 h

We left Cumlosen at ten o'clock in the morning. Before that, I tried to repair Mette's suspension seat post. For some reason's it started to make some noise. It had been annoying us already yesterday and today I thought I would do something about it. I put some grease on it and at least it helped for a little while.

Today was a very windy day. Happily the wind had been blowing from the back which helped to increase our average speed again. In addition, I feel that my condition became a bit better. My legs somehow feel a bit stronger, or at least they got used to biking.

We passed Rühstädt on our way. It is a small village, famous for its many storks. I have never seen so may storks before. The whole village was full of them. Almost every third house had one or even more stork nests on its roof. It was very interesting and fascinating. Mette and I climbed up on an observation platform form which we could observe the gracious white birds even better. If it is true that storks bring babys then this small village does not need to worry about the ever so much discussed demographic change.

After Rühstädt we followed the dyke along the river Havel. Again the road conditions had been excellent and marked with clear sign posts.

I have recognized that there are biker friendly and biker unfriendly villages and towns. Those biker friendly villages have good roads for cyclists. The have managed to adjust the traffic infrastructure to bikers needs. As an example for this could be mentioned a bike stands on which the complete bike including the frame and wheels can be locked on. As another example I could menion special sign posts for bikers with clear directions and distances.

In the afternoon we arrived in Havelberg. Unlike Wittenberge, which we did not like that much because of its many empty houses and sad looking people, Havelberg is a beautiful and lively little town. We will take day rest tomorrow and stay here. A young man had been welcoming us at our arrival at our bed&breakfast hotel. He did not mind that we arrrived hours before our estimated arrival time and he showed us directly to our room. The appartment is surprisingly big and with its location, in the city centre, very suitable for a day of rest.

The people here seem to be friendly. I had a little chat with some old people standing on the street. We started to talk while I was shooting photo's of Havelberg's old town. Mette and I took a walk around the town after had left our bikes in our room. The lower part of the city with the historic old town are located on an island in the Havel river. It is not very big. One can walk from one side to another within five minutes. Actually we are lucky, as there will be some kind of festival tomorrow.

5. day - Dömitz - Cumlosen

Trip: 71,5 km
Average speed: 18,5 km/h
Max. speed: 42,1 km/h
Overal time: 13:10 h

While having breakfast at "Radlerpension" in Dömitz we had a little talk with our host who, for some reason spoke Hungarian. Our conversation focused pretty much on comparing Finnish and Hungarian language. We discovered that besides being rooted in the same language family the two languages have rather little similarities.

We left Dömitz at around ten in the morning. The weather conditions had been excellent. We had strong back wind today, so we could increase our average speed. Our today's trip took us first to Gorleben. It is a small village, which at least many Germans know. Gorleben had been in the news many times, because a storage centre for nuclear waste is located in this village.

Shortly after Gorleben it started to rain heavily and we had to seek shelter. A cafeteria nearby protected us from rain. We continued our trip after a little while. The road conditions had been really perfect. We biked most of the time on the dyke, with nice views to the left and right. The landscape is getting broader. We see more and more meadows and every now and then some storks.

We took a break in Schnackenburg. Mette and I had been waiting for this visit to Lower-Saxony's smallest town. When planning this bike trip we came across this town. We thought that the name "Schnackenburg" is funny and we have been talking about this town many times.

After Schnackenburg we passed the river by ferry and continued the trip on the other side. Cumlosen, our today's destination, was just a couple of kilometres away. Once we arrived our host had been welcoming us at "Landgasthof Schmidt". We went to our room, left our bags and took our bikes for an afternoon ride to Wittenberge. We went to eat to a Chinese restaurant.

Now we are in our hotel and watch TV. The weather forecast promised more sunshine during the weekend...

4. day - Bleckede (Neu-Wendischthun) - Dömitz

Trip: 27,3 km (plus a couple of km by boat)
Average speed: 17,6 km/h
Max. speed: 34,9 km/h
Overal time: 9:18 h

Today's bike ride was short one because we decided to take part of our trip by boat. We left our accommodation at "Alte Schule" in Neu-Wendischthun at around ten o'clock. Before that our host served as a really delicious breakfast. There was plenty of food and we took some on our way. Actually we had been the only guests and the place we stayed could not have been more on the country side. We slept with the window open and we could hear a cow all night long. The cow had been really loud and I was wondering what was wrong with her something must have really bothered her. I would like to mention that the cow did not bother me at all (nor did she bother Mette), I was just curious to know what her problem was. I decided to ask our host: "If a cow is mooing all night long, what is her problem? Is she hungry, lonely or..." The answer was prompt and simple. The reason for a cow to moo alnight long is that her udder is full and she wants to be melked. I should have known this myself.

After we left Neu-Wendischthun we went back by ferry to Bleckede. On the ferry we could already see our cruise ship "Bleckeder Löwe" which we intended to take to Hitzacker, about 20km north of Dömitz, our today's destination. In front of the ship there was a bus and a bunch of elderly people. I was wondering whether they intented to go on the same cruise and whether we will be ending up on some kind of sales show where we had to buy under group pressure some very expensive (but useless) household devices. Mette told me that these sales shows are known in Finland too. My worries turned out to be unneccessary. The bunch of people were retired colleagues of a German health insurance company, the "Techniker Krankenkasse". Nice people indeed and some of them talked with us. Mainly they were curious where we are from and where we will go. Having them on the cruise might have been useful as we were the only passengers besides this bus load of people. I wonder whether the ship would have departed just for the two of us.

Once we arrived in Hitzacker we went of board first. While mounting our bags on the bikes another biking couple arrived. Without even greeting the woman complained to me that we would be standing in their way. She told me: "You are standing in a stragically stupid position" Mette and me looked at each other and felt sorry for her. It was obvious that the reason for her being upset was not us but her being uncapable of carrying her fully loaded bike over the small landing bridge to the ferry.

We spent a shortwhile in Hitzacker. Its main attraction is a historic old town with timbered houses built on a peninsula. We decided to take off for the 20 km ride to Dömitz after a while. The ride was excellent because we were cycling on a special bike road on the dyke. The road smooth surface, the excellent sign posts and backwind made our ride enjoyable. We passed a farm on our way and I thought that this had been the best view of today. The farm house was really beautifully restored. It was built of red brick stones with white windows and thatched roof. The stables were built in the same style. There was life on this farm. A cow was grazing under an old oak tree, some henns with their chicken and a proud rooster were picking worms in a meadow full of apple trees and some pigs enjoyed wallowing in the mud. It was just like a farm in a children book.

Shortly before Dömitz we passed the river another time. The bike path followed over the bridge a heavy trafficed and rather big overland street. It said on the poles that the bridge had been built in 1992. No wonder, some years earlier the river had been the inner German boarder and there was no need for a bridge.

We arrived at our hotel shortly after four o'clock. It was easy to find the place. Once we arrived we saw the same couple that we already got to know in Hitzacker. It turned out that they will be in the same hostel tonight than we are.

Mette and I very much enjoy this bike ride. We came to the conclusion that traveling by bike has many advantages if compared to other means of transportation. It is fast enough to get somewhere. In the same time it is slow enough to enjoy the scenery. I believe that biking is a much more intensive way of traveling if compared to car or public transportation, because it simply combines more senses. One does not only see, one can also hear and smell. And on a bumpy road you can even feel...

3. day - Geesthacht - Bleckede (Neu-Wendischthun)

Trip: 50,9 km
Average speed: 15,0 km/h
Max. speed: 45,7 km/h
Overal time: 7:45 h

We started our day with a traditional German breakfast, which was just the same "old-school" style as the whole "Hotel zur Post". Delicious indeed, and excellent charming service from our host. There was plenty of food and we were encouraged to even take some with us for the long day. Without even asking our host brought us some paper bags for the two roles that we took along. We sayed good bye to our host and we thanked him for his hospitality. I would certainly recommend this hotel to anyone seeking for a charming accommodation in Geesthacht.

Right after we left Geesthacht we passed the nuclear power plant in Krümmel. It had been in the national news recently because the plant had been shutdown and taken off the electricity network after a fire in the trafo-house. The fire had been caused due to running the plant on over-capacity. This was because another nuclear power plant in Brunsbüttel had some problems too and Vattenfall wanted to compensate electricity supply. A guy in the hotel told me this the previous evening.

Unlike mentioned in the weather forecast there was no rain during the morning and the early afternoon. When we woke up the sun was shining even. However, shortly before Bleckede, our today's destination, it started raining.

Our today's bike ride had been diversified. In the very beginning we cycled through a forest. The track was pretty bumpy and we went up and down and up and down...This might be ok for a mountain bike ride, but with a trekking bike loaded with heavy bags it requires a good balance. There were some very nice views over the Elbe landscape on some of the hills. We passed Lauenburg, with its beautiful little timbered and half-timbered houses. Our ride continued towards Boizenburg along a well built cycle path with a smooth surface. We took a break in Boizenburg on the market place. It was interesting to watch people passing by. The picture I got was that of a nice little small town where everyone seems to know each other by first name. I recogniced that people in this region very much like to greet each other, and even more surprising also us foreigners.

Our tour continued along the former German-German border. We decided to take a short-cut and biked on the dyke. We saw many birds. Most interest was to watch a group of storks, around nine or ten. Two of them were fighting for food. The one with the food in his mouth was traced by another stork., in the air. This play went on for more than five minutes including some artistic flight movements. None of the both seemed to give up. However, in the end the one with the food was able to defend his lunch.

As we approached Bleckede it started to rain. We stopped for a while and changed our clothes. We continued our ride with raingear. It was a good choice because it also got a bit colder. Because Bleckede is on the other side of the river we had to take the ferry. It was 1,50€/person and 0,50€/bike. Once we arrived in Bleckede we went to a ecological supermarket and bought some fruits, yoghurt and chocolate. The food was quite expensive, but the yoghurt was very delicous. Hard to say whether it tastes so good because it was an ecological product or because I had been biking the whole day and starving for food. Maybe it was more the latter reason.

We took another rest in the castle of Bleckede in which the tourist information is located. This gave us the opportunity to ask where the passenger ship "Bleckeder Löwe" will depart tomorrow morning. Mette and I will go on a river cruise from Bleckede to Hitzacker tomorrow.

Before we biked to our today's accommodation we went to a supermarket and bought some food and drinks for tonight. Our today's sleeping place is called "Alte Schule" and it is located in Neu-Wendischthun which is a bit outside Bleckede on the other side of the river, which means that we had to take the ferry again.

We both took a shower now and I guess we are going to eat something soon...

2. day - Hamburg-Geesthacht

Trip: 57,4 km
Average speed: 16,5 km/h
Max. speed: 31,3 km/h
Overal time: 4:24 h

We started our day with another sight-seeing tour in Hamburg. As breakfast had not been included in our accomodation we went first to a cafeteria near the landing docks. We both had coffee and tea and some sandwiches. Actually, the sandwiches were pretty greasy and I was wondering, how I would survive the day. I thought a real biker would better have a somewhat more balance food, less fat more carbohydrates. After the breakfast we went to the harbour where we saw the fish market and the shipyards of Bloom&Voss. Our trip continued to Hamburg's most famous place: Reeperbahn. Many "red-light" bars and clubs on both side of the street. However there were not that many people walking around and the whole quarter appeared to me as kind of lame. I guess that was because it was around ten o'clock in the morning and this is probably not the peak time for such establishments.

We decided to buy a new kickstand for Mette's bike because the old one broke down under the weight of two heavy rear bike packs. Happily the next bike shop was pretty close. On our way there we passed again the inner city with its fashion boutiques and jewelery shops. Compared to yesterday, this Monday morning the streets of Hamburg had been much more busy. The guy at the bike shop seemed to be professional and friendly. It took me a little while to mount the kickstand on the bike, but once the work was finished I was very satisfied with the result. The new kickstand is working much better than the old one. It can hold the complete packed bike.

Right after this we started our trip towards Geesthacht, our today's destination. We cycled from the centre of Hamburg downwards to the river Elbe. After a shortwhile it started to rain. We seeked shelter under a bridge and changed our clothes. We continued our trip wearing rain clothes. Even when the rain and wind became stronger the clothes protected us well from the wet weather. The only downside is that, eventhough most manufacturers are promising this, all these "xxx-tex" are not really breathable. Even if one is protected from outside the jacket and the pants become wet from inside as the membrane prevent sweat from evaporating, or at least there is not enough evaporation. Anyway cycling in the rain was not that hard. I even enjoyed being exposed to the elements.

Our trip continued along the Elbe river banks. After five kilometres the view changed and the landscape switch from a loud and densly populated city to a more quiet and pitoresque country side. Twice we saw sheep cattles on the dyke. We mainly cycled on special bike roads. In Fünfhausen, about 20 kilometres south of Hamburg we took our first break and went to a supermarket to buy some drinks and snacks. Everything you eat and drink outside after doing sports tastes so good!!!

Happily it stopped raining shortly after our break. The sun came out again and we could take off our rainwear. We stopped a couple of times more to watch cow cattles, goats and storks. One of storks was walking along the beach of a little lake and we observed him catching and eating a frog.

Some ten kilometres before Geesthacht we took the wrong way and by mistake left the Elbe cycle road. However, we decided to take an alternative road which also goes to Geesthacht. It has been a good choice as the road led us directly to our hotel.

The hotel that we stay in tonight is really charming. Immediately when we arrived I felt like travelling back 30 years in time. Our host had been welcoming us personally. He and his wife run the "Hotel zur Post". He showed us the way to our room. The house is really big, with high sealings and one can easily see the grace and glory of the good old days. It kind of remains to those days of my childhood where I used to stay at my grandma's house. The hotel has quite the same style than my grandma's house used to be. This is certainly different hotel than all those look-alikes in other cities with their anonymous service. It is a real pleasure to stay in this hotel.

Geesthacht itself has a nice little pedestrian zone. We went there by bike and eat at a Croation restaurant. We also discovered other parts of the 30.000 inhabitants city. I learned that Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in Geesthacht. Nowadays the city is famous for its nuclear powerplant. Actually there had been a fire in this power plant and the reactor is currently shutdown.

Tomorrow we will continue our trip from Geesthacht to Bleckede. The weather forecast promised more rain....

1. day - Hamburg

Mette and me arrived at Hamburg main station at 15:12 exactly as scheduled. Our hostel was easy to find wit the help of our GPS system. It is located in the very centre of Hamburg. The hostel is called "Deutsche Seemannsheim Hamburg", kind of a seamans mission. It says on our hostel bill "support of seafarer's dignity". Advance payment by the way. The womens toilet, on the floor of course, is locked with a key. The guy at the reception said that there is good reason for that...

St. Michaelis church, in Hamburg slang called "Michel" is just a stone through away. Many other famous sights are also just around the corner. We went to our room and left our stuff there so we could go straight for a sight seeing walk.

We started our tour at the harbour. On our way we passed a quarter with many Nordic churches. Besides a Danish and Swedish church we also saw a Finnish one: "Suomalainen merimieskirkko".

We took a long walk along the landing bridges, passing the dock houses. It was pretty crowded. We saw mainly tourists, but also some locals. As a German I can easily identify locals because they speak a typical local accent, which sounds a bit stiff if compared to other German accents.

Eventhough Hamburg is a fairly big city, moving around is easy as all major sights are clearly indicated with signs that show directions and distances. After the landing bridges we continued our tour through Nikolai quarter, where we could see many small pitoresque restaurants. Actually most of them are Spanish or Portugese. I wonder why? However, we decided to go for a kebab.

We also went to see the town house, which really impressed us. There is a nice fontaine in the inner court. The whole thing remainded me somehow about the royal palace in Stockholm. In a way I would say there are even more similarities between the look of Hamburg and that of Stockholm. I was surprised to see a Swabian wine & beer festival on the market place in front of the town hall. It did not really fit to the atmosphere of Hamburg, but I guess many locals do find that southern German "Gemuetlichkeit" exciting. At least there had been many visitors.

After our sight seeing tour we went straight back to the hostel.

Departure

Mette and me are sitting at the main station in Mannheim. We are waiting for our train which will leave at 8:39. The weather is quite alright. It is a sunny Sunday morning. Ahead of us is a 6:33 train trip to Hamburg. The trip to the train station by bike was about 8km. So to say a "test ride" for the hundreds of kilometres ahead of us. Happy to say that everything went ok. My dad accompanied us to Mannheim. There is a lift at the Mannheim train station so we did not have to carry our bikes. Actually, others than originally planned we did not need take our front bags. We managed to pack all our stuff in two rear bags each. I was wondering for a short while whether it would anyway make sense to take the smaller bags for the lowrider as the bikes would be better balanced. However, I believe that it is better to have less bags to carry around.