We fly into Hamburg Airport from New Zealand and in our jet lagged state will put our bikes together and bike to the nearby hotel where we have a room booked for the night. Next day we take the train to Ahlhorn (near Oldenburg) where our tour will start.Why Ahlhorn you might ask? The story is this. My uncle Andrew Brodie left New Zealand at the beginning of World War 2 to join the Royal Airforce. In 1941 he was a Rear Gunner on a Wellington Bomber on a raid on Bremerhaven. As his return to base started his plane was shot down over the North Sea off the coast of Germany. Andy's body was washed up on one of the outlying islands - it was returned to the mainline and buried in the Sage Commonwealth War Cemetry near Ahlhorn.

From Andy's grave we will bike to Bremerhaven, then to Cuxhaven and the mouth of the Elbe and follow the Elbe Cycleway to Prague. From Prague we will travel through the Czech Republic to Linz, along the Danube to Petronella where we will turn South and head to Slovenia, through Slovenia to Trieste then on to Venice. From Cuxhaven this route approximates most of the Amber Trail as described in one of Anne Mustoe's excellent books. We are booked to fly out of Venice on 9th October and will spend any extra time poking around that areaThat is the plan (or dream), it is of course very flexible, we have a flight booked into Hamburg and out of Venice and a hotel booked for the first night in Hamburg. Anything could happen and probably will. I know for certain we will have lots of fun and a little stress. Join us on our way.

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