The days are now flying by and I find I have just over a week left here before I start to head back home.  The weather has not been kind and is severely restricting a lot of my movement…  Today, thankfully, the sun is shining again… for now… and I have ventured outside again.

Wednesday 20.06.07 - We travelled to Högel, the town where dad grew up. This involved driving on the Autobahn as Högel is about 150 kilometres away, not 35 as I previously believed… Whilst I am not unaccustomed to travelling at speed in excess of 200km/hr, I found the autobahn somewhat unsettling in the fact that it often narrows to a single lane in each direction, forcing you to overtake vehicles on the wrong side of the road, with very little room to manouver… I also found it a trifle unsettling, that even though we were travelling at this speed, cars were overtaking us! As we approached the town of Heidi, the autobahn was closed by police and we were forced to take quite a long detour. Apparently a cow had escaped from the local abbatoir and was wandering somewhere along the autobahn… I can understand the closure. At these speeds, there would be very little left of the cow or the vehicle if they collided.

There was not too much to see in Högel… it consisted of a pub, where dad grew up, and a couple of houses. All up, it was less than a kilometre along. We walked the distance, just to say that we had been there, and to have a break from the car. Sadly, the pub was closed… Next we drove to Friedrichstadt, also known as ‘little Holland’ because of its canals and close houses. We had lunch here, which included the long waited for beer, and it started to rain again. We then visited Hattstead near Husum. Another pleasant country town.

Being on the Autobahn is like being on a ride at the fair. It is fast and furious. There is no getting off until the ride stops… It was great!!!

Thursday 21.06.07 - St Michael Church - Hamburg…

This church is probably the most famous in Hamburg as it towers above the city and can be seen from almost anywhere. It is a great landmark if you are lost. Inside the church it is beautifully sculpted with trimmings of gold… for 3€ you can climb the tower… believe me this is not for the feint hearted or the unfit! The climb was worth it though as from the top of the tower you have an uninterrupted 360 degree view of Hamburg and the Elbe River. Even with the day overcast and rainy, the view was magnificent. In 1906, the church burnt to the ground and was rebuilt. In 1943, it was bombed, and rebuilt. Today it stands as the tallest monument in Hamburg. If you don’t like climbing stairs there is an elevator that will take you to the top… but why miss a challenge?

Thursday night was my night out with Nils and Steffan, my two cousins. We went… somewhere… I think near the Reeperbahn… We ate at an asian restaurant ‘B with a nice bottle of wine… Next was a club lounge, where a few cocktail drinks evaporated before our eyes… ok… so maybe we drunk them too… then it was off to a bar for beer… I think you can work out how the night ended…. It was raining quite heavily and we decided the best thing to be doing was drinking indoors… Fortunately because of the rain the bars were not so crowded. It was a great night out with much eating, drinking and laughing. And we got very wet… This was my first view of Hamburg after sunset!!!

Friday 22.06.07 - Reeperbahn

I started my day with touring the Hamburg Rathaus… another famous icon in the city. The Rathaus is like a town hall… there is one in most areas. Altona also has a Rathaus that is very nicely decorated. The Rathaus in Hamburg is breathtaking… painted ceilings, marble pillars, gold trimmings, and still in use… I took a tour through the building that was meant to be in English but ended up joining the wrong group and got the tour in German instead… With my head still buzzing from the alcohol of the night before, this did not seem to be a problem… maybe I just need to stay drunk to understand everyone?

At about 9:00pm, I headed into the city to watch a water fountain display, where they light up the jets of water and make them ‘dance’ to music… It was to start at 10:00pm. At 9:30, the heavans errupted with a clap of thunder, and it pored with rain again. I stayed under shelter until the rain abated 45 minutes later, and caught the end of the light show… Then… off to the Reeperbahn to meet up with Benjamin for a tour with the Davidwach

Upon entering the station, I was greeted like an old friend, with everyone welcoming me and patting me on the back… This was a worry… what was I in for? Benjamin introduced me to the chief who merely smiled at me and told me to enjoy myself… After signing the necessary paperwork to waive asny comepnsation for injury (again… what was I getting in to???) I was teamed up with Benjamin and his partner Nina for the night. They immediately apologised that, because of the rain, the Reeperbahn was quieter than usual, and they were not expecting too much trouble… I won’t go into too much detail, but the night was anything but quiet… there were drug busts, stand offs with gangs, calls to assist others, patrols of the prostitute district and more… by 2:30am, I was given a lift home by my blue light taxi… I could have stayed for the entire night if I had wished… Fortunately I was still in one piece, but I could now understand the need for the paperwork. Davidwach is the busiest police district in Europe… and they only patrol 1 sq km… It was a fantastic opportunity and I made many new friends this night.

The weekend was quiet. My aunt is not well, it was still raining, and little opportunity to venture out doors again. Sigh… The weather is forecast for rain for the next week. I am glad to have worked out the train network. It has given me much freedom, and after proving to my Aunt and Uncle that I was capable of looking after myself and finding my way home again, I have been left to my own devices for exploring the city. I still find problems with the language, but there are ways around that… and everyone understands what beer is!

Here is to more exploration… and sunny days… and beer… and ice cream… until next time… in the rain…

Cass

PS Cathy… Sorry… read the comments… forgot to close them… all done now (I think!) Having a great time and will fill you in on all the details when I get home!!