From Leer to Haselünne

Today marks the first major stage of our journey. We set off from Leer under bright sunshine. Unfortunately, the weather began to deteriorate as we went along. We followed the Ems river for a while, and the first highlight was the Meyer Shipyard in Papenburg, where a large cruise ship was being built. It was truly impressive. After Papenburg, we experienced our first heavy rain shower. Thanks to the rain radar, we knew it would stop soon. So, instead of riding in the rain, we waited it out in an old bus stop. Afterwards, the sun occasionally came out again, and it became pleasantly warm. Before reaching our destination, Haselünne, my birthplace, in the afternoon, we had to cross the Hümmling. However, with a maximum height of 73 meters, it is not exactly a mountain range. In Haselünne, we were welcomed by my cousin Hans-Jörg and his wife Karin. After being greeted with coffee and cake by Karin, Hans-Jörg gave us a little tour of Haselünne. Then, we enjoyed a delicious pizza and plenty of tasty beer. Finally, we visited my uncle Bernd and his wife Christa, who live right next door. The evening on their terrace turned out to be much longer than planned. Due to this, and also because of a very poor internet connection, I was only able to post this update with a delay.