Day 45: Hamburg to Lübeck

A nice ride today from Hamburg to Lübeck. I stopped in at a bike shop close to my hostel before heading off to check my tires. I asked if the person working there could help me check the tire pressure because I thought they were a bit low. He felt the front tire with his hand for approximately 1.3 seconds and said they felt fine to him…

I was not convinced and asked if I could use a hand pump. When I went to fill the back tire it was definitely low… very glad I was able to use the pump! Slightly concerned about that bike mechanic’s methods.

The clenching continued today during the first part of my ride as the streets of Hamburg were littered with broken bottles. For what felt like a very long portion out of the city I was riding along the separated bike path, which was on sidewalk. A lot of uneven and inconsistent pavement made for a bit of a bouncy ride. Even so, I have been very impressed with my panniers. They are staying on despite even the most massive of disturbances. An engineer’s best friend = heavy duty tape.

I stopped for a cappuccino somewhere and then for lunch somewhere else. A lot of the time I was riding on the bike / pedestrian path next to roads. Again, they were paved but had many bumps due to the underlying root growth.

Not captured: deadly tree root bumps in the pavement.

Lübeck is beautiful. I had never heard of it before choosing it semi-randomly to fit in my route. It is a UNESCO heritage site and has more than your average German towns’ worth of tall, pointy buildings. It is distinguished by brick Gothic architecture, which dates to its time as the medieval capital of the Hanseatic League, a powerful trading confederation (thank you, internet search).

I walked around the city and took in all the sights. I stopped for a coffee at a café along the water. I went into not one but two marzipan shops that were less than a block away from one another and tried the same free samples at both. I think marzipan is a thing here? I resisted buying marzipan ice cream.

I bought a few groceries to eat dinner back at the hostel. When attempting to sit outside I was savagely accosted by mosquitos. I have thus moved inside.

There seems to be a large school group or scouts gathering staying at the hostel tonight. I will spend my evening trying to avoid their youthful exuberance.