Hamburg Germany

May 17-18 2023

On May 17 Ken and I were feeling pretty blue. We had finally made it to Hamburg after a horrific flight from Calgary. Being rerouted all across Europe and turning an easy flight into an totally un-necessary ordeal.  So we didn't do too much we wandered across the street to where the main Hamburg train station is.  It is huge structure which was built in 1906.  There must be a dozen platforms and is a really impressive structure.  It even has a Dunkin Donuts.  Although the donuts are extremely expensive starting at 4.50 Euros or $6.75 Canadian.  

The group went out for supper at a Tapas café.  It was a fun evening as we ordered the complete meal which was a dozen different tapas.  One was this little meal trough filled with cooking oil and it had a spit mounted about and had pieces of sausage stuck to it. The cooking oil was set on fire and then the spit was turned by hand cooking the sausage.  There was a lot of laughs over this total fire hazard.  

This morning we had breakfast in the hotel which was excellent.  Although the hotel is kind of dumpy there are a lot of really endearing things about it.  One being the hotel manager who is the most helpful and friendly character you can imagine. 

Ken's air tag on his bike pinged that our bikes had arrived over night in Hamburg so we were quite happy about that and we expected them to be arriving at the hotel any minute. As they had not arrived by 11:#0 Ken e-mailed the clerk who had helped us in the airport file the lost/delayed baggage claim.  An answer came back almost right away that yes the had the bikes but could not deliver them for 2-3 days as they were so backed up.  However we could come get them.  We race out to the airport in a taxi to retrieve our bikes. The bike boxes were in terrible condition after being handled so many times.  My box which was a used box to start with was horribly beaten. The box must have had a dozen punctures, all of the hand holes which I had reinforced were torn out and the bottom 6 inches were barely holding together. It was more of a cardboard bag than a box.  Back at the hotel we assembled our bikes and while they have not been road tested everything does seem okay.  Wheels look straight and nothing seems bent or broken.

At supper Bob handed out the ride jerseys which he had designed and custom ordered.   They are a very sharp orange with a map of the ride on the back.  I think they look wonderful.  

Today I feel much relieved and who knows this might even turn out to be a great ride.  The weather forecast looks promising, the scenery looks good, the route looks very nice down the river, Bob has picked out some interesting accommodations, the riders are an interesting group and best of all I have a bike to ride. 

Terry 

  

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