Day 5: Hamburg – Heidenau

Distance: 31.31 miles

Time: 3:31:08

Average Speed: 8.9 mph

Elevation Gain: 940 feet

The hotel in Hamburg was showing the late match of Portugal vs France on the big screen, so I had a few glasses of bier vom fass, oblivious to the fact that the match was happening just a few miles away.

Awakening the next morning, I was readying myself to cycle the 3 miles across town to run my first international Parkrun, at Alstervorland park, then at 3 minutes to 9, I suddenly remembered that Parkruns in Germany started at 9, not half past, like back home in Scotland. I had been remembering, until I wasn’t. It was probably for the best I thought, I could definitely use the extra sleep, but, knowing that some of my more bloodthirsty readers would be disappointed in me for giving up so easily, I readied to go anyway, at least to see the course.

Arriving at the course, they’d already begun tidying the signs for the opening part of the course away, so even if I had wanted to attempt it, I wouldn’t know where to start. Unless… I opened the route map on the Parkrun website on my phone, and started to piece together the route from what I’d seen, then thought I may as well give it a go! 26 minutes later I’d managed to stumble my way around the course, ending up with a little too much distance, but my attempt at the Parkrun course was close enough to register as an ‘Alstervorland Parkrun’ segment attempt on Strava. It would have been a nice run too, flat on firm gravel paths, and beside a lovely lake.

Back on the road, it was becoming clear that Hamburg was more a city of industry than culture, as I passed through a world of concrete and iron, and billowing chimneys. The cycle path, while serving its main purpose of keeping me off the road well, was causing me some irritation as it meandered around the pavement, then across to the opposite pavement, then onto the road and back again.

Stopping at a busy flea market by the canal, I hoped to get some lunch before leaving the city confines. When the only option was a Nutella crepe, I kept on moving, before stopping for a pizza just off the main road in the bustling suburb of Harburg.

As I began to push on, the route started to take liberties, the path throwing up a short spell of gravel through the trees, maybe a forewarning of what was to come, namely the road out of Sottorf leading into the Buchenwälder im Rosengarten Forest where the road started to climb up a rough stony track, this would be lovely, I thought, if I wasn’t on a loaded bike with road tyres.

Keen to avoid the inevitable spate of punctures, I briefly considered turning back and finding another way, before opting to get off and walk, and hoping that soon the surface would change. Fortunately, on reaching the top of the climb, half a mile later, I was delighted when the route turned left onto a chunky concrete road.

Relieved at finally rejoining the main road once more, I enjoyed the smooth surface, and the shade of the trees, until the cover ended, when I was left ploughing on into the full force of the gusting 30 mile an hour winds, and a fierce sun.

Clouding over, as I reached Hollenstedt, I made for the supermarket just as the rain began, and as I consumed a tub of fresh raspberries in front of the store, a lady pulled up on a very fancy-looking Reise and Muller E-bike, and although I had no barometer at all for what was regarded as a good bike in Germany, I was pretty sure this would be high on the list.

When the lady reappeared from the shop, she gestured that it was good that the rain had stopped, and she was right, I should probably be on my way.

Taking the road to the tiny villlage of Ochtmannsbruch, the road had run out before I was out the other side, first turning to rough old cobble stones, before they in turn gave way to loose stones on a sandy base.

All these factors having added up, the race to not run a Parkrun, then running it anyway, the days of ploughing on into these stiff prevailing winds, the lack of sleep, the heat of the sun, and now being bounced around on these infernal surfaces of varying quality, meant I was undoubtedly in need of a rest. So, having passed through the small town of Heidenau, and on seeing a sign to a nearby campsite, with tent camping round a pretty duck pond, and a Greek restaurant on site, I knew it was time to stop.

Day 4: Neustadt – Hamburg

Distance: 65.81 miles

Time: 6:21:25

Average Speed: 10.4 mph

Elevation Gain: 1,582 feet

I’d lucked out with the Campingplatz Südstrand campsite. I’d only ended up there because its reception was still open, but the facilities had been excellent, and although I was initially concerned that I hadn’t paid up front – as I’d heard that German campsites were expensive, and there was a card payment system for using the showers and cooking facilities – but ultimately the 22 euro cost seemed reasonable, especially seeing as I’d had two very warm showers, and cooked up industrial quantities of Lidl risotto on the hob.

With a Saturday morning Parkrun at stake, and over 60 miles to go, I was underway by half past 11, then, after pedalling along to Neustadt’s bustling harbour area, I was drawn in by the lure of the area’s culinary speciality, fischbrotchen, varieties of sandwich containing fish, sauces, pickles, and salad leaves.

Bamboozled by the menu, I opted to play it safe with my opening gambit, Raucherlachs mit honig, or smoked salmon with a honey and mustard dressing to you and I. First go, great success, so I upped the ante, selecting Bismarck – or pickled herring – for the second attempt, the pickling was pleasant and I was kind of enjoying it, until I ran out of bread, and my appetite for the slippery raw piece of fish dwindled.

Continuing along the main road, through Neustadt, I soon swung back off towards the coast, rejoining it at the sleepy seaside town of Sierksdorf, where, seeing a bike maintenance station beside the promenade, it reminded me I’d been meaning to pump up my tyres, instantly regretting that recollection when the pump let the air out instead of putting it in.

A sudden shower struck just as I reached the other end of the strip at Scharbeutz, sending me rushing for cover at a handily placed bakery, picking up a delicious apple crumble cake for later in the day.

Turning back inland, I was excited to be greeted by 3 bikepackers as we rode past each other on a narrow country lane. Perhaps not too unusual an occurrence on previous trips, but on this one my attempts at contact with my fellow cycle-touring brethren have usually been spurned. Perhaps in the homeland of the pannier-making giants of Ortlieb and Vaude, it’s just too common a thing to do.

Finally, reaching the once Hanseatic city-state, now UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lübeck, some 20 miles in, I was confronted by a row of fine medieval town houses across a moat, with the spires of 5 large cathedrals piercing the sky beyond, offering a tantalising glimpse of this special city, famed for its gothic red-brick architecture, and its marzipan.

Forging my way through the heart of the old town, I passed by the monumental Marienkirche – some 800 years old and restored after heavy bombing during the Second World War – before stumbling upon the old Marktplatz town square – in my bid to find a good vantage point for the tightly hemmed in church.

After an ice cream for the road and taking care to charge my light batteries for later, I pushed through to the other side of town, finding myself on a rough canal path for a short spell, before regaining the road, just in time to detour around a couple of significant road closures where improvement works were being carried out.

Having left the Lübeck city limits, I wended my way along country lanes for a time, before starting to worry about the lack of provisions I was carrying as I passed through the tiny hamlet of Labenz, and was instantly drawn to a vending machine sitting on the road outside a guest house, before then stopping for dinner at a Turkish takeaway in Sandesneben, anyway.

Just after leaving the takeaway there was a commotion from inside, Spain had just scored, putting my current hosts, Germany, at risk of going out at the Quarter final stage of their home European Championships. Some time later, as I continued my journey, through Lutjensee – along Hamburger Strasse – there was a loud screaming from multiple directions all at once, it could only mean that Germany had equalised, but as I started the long trudge through Hamburg the cues seemed to be a little more ambiguous after that, until finally they were out.

I had been grinding away for an hour or more through Germany’s second largest city when I finally reached the Motel One hotel that I had booked for the evening. Or had I booked? The telltale Expedia booking email I was expecting to find was absent, and now the hotel was sold out. Fortunately I’d also had my eye on a Super 8 by Wyndham hotel a short distance away, and they still had rooms, so, ensuring I’d booked properly this time, I raced on over, delighted I’d made it. It was almost 10 o’clock, but I was in Hamburg, and tomorrow was Parkrun day.

Day 3: Puttgarden – Neustadt

Distance: 41.5 mph

Time: 3:46

Average Speed: 11.02 mph

Elevation Gain: 846 feet

The day started well when a kind Austrian man from the neighbouring pitch brought over a cup of coffee, to the picnic table where I was hunkering down in amongst my layers eating a little breakfast. ‘I used to do the cycling he said, and I thought you could use a cup’. On this occasion he had been travelling with his wife and a caravan, all the way up to the Lofoten islands in Norway, and they were now on their way home.

The weather worsened before it improved and there were regular showers and strong gusting winds all morning, so I sat it out a while, having a lunch consisting of a donner kebab box from the campsite restaurant, before setting off at half past 1, with the sun starting to make an appearance.

Yet to reach the German mainland, I was on the small island of Fehmarn, which was attached to the mainland by a bridge. Looking at the route to get there, I was a little dismayed, it ignored the direct path taken by the main road, and swung round by the small town of Burg auf Fehmarn en route, my dismay diminishing rapidly on arrival, the small town square was picture-postcard perfect with rows of tall trees and chunky cobbled streets.

Continuing onwards towards the bridge, I found the steeply-sloped pedestrian access ramp to be closed off at the bottom, but there was just enough room to get past, so I went for a better look. As I climbed, the view opened up with extensive views up and down the coast, and was worth the climb, even when I reached the top to find the cycle path on that side of the bridge was definitely closed with three additional barriers forming a blockade. Furthermore, there wasn’t a cycle path on the other side, it was reserved for a train track.

Doubling back, my onwards progress seemed to have hit a snag, however, Google Translate was available to lend a hand, truffling out the relevant information from the warning notice at the bottom of the ramp. It appeared there was a scheduled shuttle bus leaving the small village of Avendorf, some 2 km back, and when I scanned a QR code on the sign, it downloaded me the timetable. There was one in half an hour.

Safely dispatched, with my bike – and several other shuttle service users – at Grossenbrode Nord, I now had some time to make up, so plotted a route to Oldenburg in Holstein, before quickly becoming unstuck when the bike suitable route led me around a crescent-shaped bay on an unsuitably bumpy beachside path.

Back on the road, it was clear that the strong winds were going to be an issue along this stretch, I was now trending west as I headed inland, the wind sapping my strength.

Stopping briefly in Neukirchen, I had no idea how new the church actually was, moreso preoccupied with the strong gusting physical barrier to me reaching today’s target campsite in Eutin, still over 20 miles away.

When I did eventually arrive in Oldenburg, I was running low on energy, and feeling chilled by the wind, so when I looked at the map once more, and realised that I probably should have taken the route nearer the east coast via Neustadt and Lübeck, and then considered the fact that if I made for Neustadt now, it would be trending downhill, and with a slight wind advantage, I jumped at the thought.

So, after popping into the supermarket for a few focaccia and pastries, I was off in a new direction, and, buoyed by the significantly easier progress, I made short shrift of the remaining 15 miles, arriving in Neustadt at just after 7, and, third time lucky in finding a campsite with an open reception, I grabbed a beer from the shop and soaked in the sea views.

Day 2: Praesto – Puttgarden

Distance: 53.46 miles

Time: 5:00

Average Speed: 10.7 mph

Elevation Gain: 1,018 feet

Arriving at Praesto campsite, at 20 past 8 in the evening, I was a little concerned to find that the reception was empty, especially as I’d read a recent review that seemed to suggest that the site looked like it’d been abandoned. It certainly looked a bit dated, but there was a mobile number to ring for check-ins, so I gave it a call. No such number. What was the area code for Denmark? +45? I tried removing the initial zero and adding the +45, still no such number. Yet to be defeated I checked on Google Maps, and got a different number there, with the site number starting +45 instead of 045. This time lucky, a voice appeared on the line, communication was non-existent, but ‘I’ll be right there’ was tagged on at the end.

The site was gorgeous, large pitches – with picnic benches – nestled in amongst the trees. Sadly it looked like it was rarely used anymore, and the facilities had seen better days. Luckily as there weren’t many people around, it gave me ample opportunity to do some battery charging in the kitchen area, and that was a definite advantage.

Making it out of the door this morning, at the slightly more respectable time of 11:30, I popped into Praesto’s cute little town centre, set back from a small marina on the lake. After picking up a few supplies from the Netto supermarket – also one of my preferred suppliers in Iceland – I set off, westwards into the wind.

Back at the 151, I turned south, the brisk crosswind taking the edge off the heat generated by the bright sunshine, the road rising and falling along a constant bearing until Orslev, where the road veered west in the direction of the 3 km Storstrøm Bridge, that connected the tiny island of Masnedo – itself joined to Zealand by a short causeway – with the more substantial Falster, from where I’d catch the ferry to Germany.

I layered up and took on a little fuel, before setting off on the bitterly cold crossing. Glad to make it across, I was less pleased when the road I was expecting to take was closed for extensive roadworks, requiring me to take a substantial dog-legged detour via the small town of Norre Alslev. Stopping for an ice cream from the local petrol station, and sitting a while outside a large church, I readied myself to tack back into the wind once more, rejoining my original course at Oster Kippinge, before crossing a double lift bridge over the Guldborgsund, the small village of Guldborg straddled the river, with harbours on either side, and was part nuclear dystopia, part artists’ haven.

At 5 o’clock, I had my last stop of the day – and Denmark – at a pretty harbour at the end of the canal in Sakskobing. The sun was fighting through the clouds as I sat on the terrace outside Cafe Da-Vinci, waiting for a substantial plate of Nachos that comfortably fuelled me for the final 20 miles of the day.

Arriving into Rodbyhavn at half past 7, I quickly picked up some supplies at Lidl before making for the ferry terminal, and If it hadn’t been for the 48 crossings a day on this route, I might have worried about when the next ferry might be. As it was it was the worst-case scenario, I’d just missed one and the next would not be for another 45 minutes.

Once the gentle one hour crossing was over, I rushed the short distance to the Puttgarden campsite, arriving just before the 10 o’clock check in time, and able to do so over the phone. I was very glad I’d brought a few euros from home when I was required to pay in cash, putting my campsite fee in a postbox by the entrance.