Hamburg: Hanging with Karin

August 3, 2013 to August 4, 2013

My meeting with Karin had been pre-arranged of course, I'm just assuming they won't mention that in the movie. She had taken a five-hour train ride from Mainz after work, hence the later hour of our meeting and the reason for my 176km day. Karin used to live in Wilhelmsburg and she explained that it was actually a wonderful neighbourhood and she set about convincing me of it right away. After my long cycle I was all set for an early night, but instead we took off into the city streets, wandering along passed graffiti covered buildings and beside a canal with mysterious characters all around until in the middle of the night we arrived at our destination. It was a concert of some kind, Karin's friends band were playing, but in a random building that was really just a house, behind warehouses. The band was great but the room was hot and full of sweat and people sat outside on the concrete and listened through the window instead. I met some of Karin's friends here, a motley crew of happy souls. There was David, an Aussie who studied and now worked in Hamburg developing sticky tape, who held the floor. His friend from home, Mark, was visiting him for a few days and was soon to move to start a new life studying in Belgium. I loved the way Mark spoke, I thought his accent was amazing. Then there was an American girl, Crystal, and her German boyfriend Boris, who was all smiles and enthusiasm. There was a German named Stephan, and there was Andy, another German who looked exactly like a guy I once knew in Munich. We all sat in a circle and drank and talked and I layed down on the cool concrete and looked at the stars and mostly just listened.

The grafitti in Wilhelmsburg. IBA is some sort of building company that invested loads of money into improving Wilmelmsburg but everyone hates them because the cost of living consequently increased. A lot of the grafitti is anti-IBA

After sleeping through Saturday morning, in the afternoon Karin and I met with another old friend of hers, Dominic, an Englishman working in a vegan kitchen in Hamburg. The three of us made houmous and went to the park to eat it and played catch. The park was a short walk from where we were staying and was one of the greatest parks. By now I understood what Karin meant, Wilhelsburg was a great neighbourhood. It was full of foreigners, mostly Turkish and a few eastern Europeans. The park was the great meeting place, where Turkish families cooked barbeques and kids had soccer games and big fat men sat with their bellies out. I looked around and thought 'Where am I?' and 'Wow! What will Turkey be like?'

On Saturday night we all went to a big outdoor festival. The music wasn't my thing, it was supposed to be hip-hop but there was just a terribly foul-mouthed rapper and a strange electro group. It wasn't all bad though, Karin and I ended the night sitting in a giant duck and I explained to David an idea that I had to improve sticky tape which involves making use of the hole in the middle. David seemed impressed "Yeah it is just wasted space!" he said and I was proud and hoped that if he made a lot of money from my idea he wouldn't forget to buy me a beer. As Karin and I prepared to leave, Mark said in his Aussie twang "Whats the plan now guys, surely that can't be the night!" It was one in the morning and the way he said it stung me with joy at the thought of long Sydney nights to come that I'm convinced will be a part of my future.

That was the night, but the next day was Sunday, and Sunday was the best day. First there was a visit to the Intercultural Garden, which was a community allotment where I saw Crystal cutting lettuce and Andy talking about the benefits of eating stinging nettles. He said the best way to eat them was by blending them up in smoothies and that if I didn't have a blender then I should buy one. I hadn't talked to Andy much.

After the garden me, Karin, Crystal and Andy cycled into the city of Hamburg and found our way down to the docks where this was waiting for us:

It was a solar-powered boat! Can you imagine! Stephan belonged to a 'solar boat club!' The club rented out this boat for the season and Stephan had invited us for a trip out around the waterways of Hamburg. As the boat pulled away, piloted by a cheerful fellow named Henning, it was absolutely silent. It was unbelievable, it made almost no noise. It was the greatest boat in the world! The sun shone brightly on the solar panels on the roof and powered us along. People stopped and stared as we sailed effortlessly along. It was the most magnificent boat trip of my life. It was the one and only greatest way to see Hamburg!

The cathedral on the left, I don't know exactly what it is, but it was explained to me that it was bombed during the war and they leave it like that with all the scaffolding, they will never repair it, so that people don't forget the war

From left to right - Andy, Kristen (she was part of the solar boat club), David, Crystal, Stephan

Mark on the left and Henning at the wheel. Karin was sat next to me and so isn't in any of these pictures but you already know what she looks like!

This building on the right, I'm not sure what its called, but it has apparantly taken a really long time to build and is eleven times over budget at a cost of 500 million euros, and still isn't finished

In the evening, I said goodbye to everyone and Karin and I took our bikes to a pub to see some more live music and meet another of her friends, Pia. This time the music was really great. Just a tiny little gig, with this long-haired young guy and his guitar, and a girl on the violin accompanying him. And he could really sing, and it was a wonderful end to the weekend. I sat and listened and closed my eyes and thought about all the places I'd come already since Paris - from those early days under the hot French sun, the dash across Belgium and Luxembourg and the winding Mosel. The romantic week in Mainz, the romantic Rhine, the windmills of Holland and now all that had happened in Hamburg. And it was only the beginning. I had the memories of the past and the dreams of the future, but all that really exists is the present and I listened to the songs and I looked at Karin and around at the smokey bar with the Jack Daniels sign on the wall and I smiled, because the present was magnificent.

04/08/13 - 20km (unloaded)

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