Lost in not so little Hamburg

Hamburg was a bit of a shock after the relative tranquility of sea travel. Our first shock was to discover that the train system is struggling to cope here. Our train from Kiel to Hamburg last Sunday terminated in the suburbs and along with most of northern Germany we finished the trip on the S Bahn.  We were in the hotel by late afternoon.

Monday was orientation day as we hopped on and off buses and got a feel for the place. Very rough in places with more than a few evidently living it tough. Whilst the weather was ok, it has continued to be very mixed, much as we have experienced all summer.  So we were not surprised to emerge onto a damp and cool Tuesday.

Tuesday, the real target was 'miniature world', or heaven for modelling buffs interested in trains. But the nominated 40 minutes commute turned into 2 and a half hours as the bus system ground to a halt, the rail system struggled along and we went the wrong way for a bit.  Nevertheless we had a good 4 hours in ' miniature world' which is apparently the number 1 tourist attraction in Germany and in summer is open each day until 1 am.  We enjoyed recreated Germany, Italy and Switzerland in particular as well as the fully functional international airport.

The bus for home eventually arrived Tuesday evening and by Wednesday morning the city gridlock of the day before seemed to disappear. We were then on the Elbe river exploring different stops and ended up in a very fine waterfront restaurant which we then booked for R's big day Friday.

By Thursday we were getting the hang of the place as we explored galleries and the historical areas. And we finished the week in fine weather enjoying our exceptional lunch for now old Randall.

The interlude in Hamburg over, we now head for Bavaria and our 5 day walk there. This will be our final fling before tracking back towards home.

I have decided to post this blog without pics this time. But hang in there as I hope to catch up tomorrow.  This morning is wet again, reminding me just how much mood is driven by weather. Bright and sunny as you skip along and cool and damp as as you drag yourself from outing to outing. For me, Hamburg reminds me somewhat of both Canberra and Melbourne. We are living in the Fyshwick of Hamburg surrounded by car yards and brothels. Our apartment hotel is excellent despite the surroundings. In the city we confront the massive harbour structures, docks and cranes as you do on the ferry to the centre of the world at Williamstown from Southbank.

'Tis Saturday so we are hoping traffic is moving okay but we will not be happy until we get to the humungeous station, the crowds moving to somewhere else or just hanging around looking for a 'sting' and we find the train out of here.

Finally a word on the ever dazzling world of communications. I remember that it was not that long ago that I used to try to find a phone box in Europe to use my Telecard and phone home. And we then sought out Internet cafes to get a short fix and catch up on news etc.  Now we are using three computers and together with Multi channel TVs we have apps and channels covering almost any country on the planet. We use FaceTime and/or Skype all the time and use news apps from Oz, UK, US, Germany and France. So we know that a man was murdered in a Hamburg supermarket last evening almost as soon as it happens. Not to say anything about mad Donald's tweets.

Maybe it is time to give Elon a ring to book that trip to Mars.