Ende ... off

Friday, September 14, 2018

Lübeck-Hamburg-Basel-Kiesen

0500 - finally I can wake up. I rarely sleep badly - but the DB allows for a lot of room to imagine bad scenarios:

Need an example? The train composition is different than announced...

... I better check the situation again on the DB app ... Track 14/Sectors A and B ... we'll check that in Hamburg of course ... so I'm quite relaxed.

At 0615 we go to Lübeck Central Station ....

... a clear sky spreads over our courtyard ...

... the hotels on the other harbor pier are already shining brightly ...

... past the Holsten Gate - in the background you can see the cathedral ...

... and Platform 7 is there too and there are already people ... later a train also arrives, but before it departs, it is already 7 minutes delayed.

Not so bad, we can handle the ICE-compliant disassembly of the bikes in Hamburg in a smaller time window ...

Unfortunately, the elevator is currently broken in Hamburg - the escalator is going in the wrong direction - so we have to walk along the entire platform to the other escalator ... outside around the station to Platform 14. Quickly check how the train is composed - the DB app has given a correct oracle - Platform 14/A and B.

Now concentration is required - key ... loosen screws ... attach handlebars and saddle to the frame with adhesive tape - remove front wheel and pack everything neatly into the bike bag ... Verena's bike is already ready ... just the other front wheel - we're doing well in the race ...

Attention! An important announcement ... the train will operate in a modified formation today ...?!?!?

Sectors E and F are correct! How we achieve the impossible is not important ... but we are in E/F ...

Front wheel out - pack it nicely .... done!

There it is again ...

Attention! An important announcement: The previous correction was wrong - we are correcting the correction ... panic breaks out in me now ... we try to hurry back ... and somehow manage to do it ... just get on the train now ...

The car is completely full ... Verena's bike fits exactly between the seats in First Class ... but now it just doesn't fit!

Uh, wait ... this is Second Class ... the conductor explains: The app was right - so we are at the wrong end of the train with all our luggage!

How do you change trains in a crowded ICE? I spare you all the terrible details ... but now we're heading towards Basel SBB and the train staff invites us for a coffee to compensate for our suffering.

... and no - there are no photos ... or even better ... videos from Hamburg train station and from the ICE ... and that's fine!

Disassembly of bike components into great touring bikes ... still with the double-decker to Bern ... all back to normal ...

... along the Kiesen to Herbligen...

... and now we're here - done!

What remains: The memory of the vastness, of the freedom, of this piece of road ... life's journey ... 3 weeks ...

Our thanks go to all of you who accompanied us to the Wild East of Germany ...

Verena and Gödu Straub

September 14, 2018