Volume 2, Day 21
I finished off the toast in the morning and took a walk over to the river (which I couldn’t let myself leave town without at least seeing). I probably should have jogged it, but the short walk was nice and I hung around the apartment until about 9:45, when the landlady showed up. I was already packed, but would have waited until exactly the 10 am checkout time before setting out. The superglue seemed to help with the two wheels I repaired, but by the time I reached the Magdeburg ZOB, the two other wheels had started to fall apart. I I had booked a Flixbus for 11:30 or so and had a good hours wait, but there were seats in the shade and I brought the remained of the salad with me to serve as an early lunch. By the entrance of the train station, a trombonist provided background music and it wasn’t an unpleasant wait.
The bus to Hamburg took several hours and we had barely set off before we stopped at a mandated rest point and were all kicked off the bus so the driver could have his lunch. The highway rest area had a small shop, a restaurant, and a McDonald’s, but the prices were outrageously high. I wonder if the city McDonald’s actually charge 7-8 euros for a “value” meal. I had already consumed two meals, but the boredom was starting to eat away at me.
Once we were back on the road, I passed the time by browsing Twitter, listening to German podcasts, practicing Duolingo, napping, and staring out the window. The German country side was pleasant looking. It is quite flat in the northern parts of German (basically everywhere I have been so far) with lots of fields and almost always at least one wind turbine visible. I’m reminded of a trip I took across the American heartland in 2008 when wind energy was just taking off and they were being put up, and I can’t help but wonder how long these windmills have been there and will there be more. We also passed the occasional village with traditional German timber buildings and what not.
When we pulled into Hamburg’s ZOB, also conveniently across the street from the Hauptbahnhof, I hauled my luggage the roughly 100 meters to the Generator Hostel. Though I wish I could be rid of this corporate monstrosity, it was both the most convenient and cheapest option in town. Fortunately, I know exactly what to expect by this point. Almost. I was shocked to find an electric fan in the room, and as one of my roommates (a Californian) explained, they had special requested the fan because it “was so hot.” The room wasn’t hot and situated to catch the prevailing winds so long as the door was left ajar for the air to move through.
I dropped my stuff and with stomach growling headed up the street to find a supermarket. The area to the east of the train station (where I was staying) was pretty sketchy with plenty of homeless and junkies hanging out on the streets. The plaza is completely strewn with litter and a faint odor hangs in the air. It’s hard to untangle the feeling of urban blight with the heavily immigrant vibe of the street leading from the train station to residential neighborhoods, where every restaurant and shop was Arabic, Turkish, Afghani, or otherwise associated with some exotic far-off land.
I grabbed a half loaf of bread, water, and sliced cheese and continued on my way to a thin stretch of green to make a picnic. It was an early dinner at 5 pm, which was fine by me as my stomach was already growling. After finishing my meal, I finished walking the park and crossed the street to the “Outer” Lake, which was full of small sailboats enjoying the sun and wind. I followed the path south along the edge of the lake, snapping tons of photos and cross the bridge that separates the inner lake from the outer lake.
Having looked on the map, it seemed like there were long distances from my hostel to the lakes to the old town, but the walk had taken me so little time, I decided to continue exploring Hamburg, cutting into the old town and checking off most of the major highlights–Rathaus, Mahnmal St. Nikolai, Chilehaus. Apart from the historic architecture, the neighborhoods are essentially giant shopping malls, and I even popped into one outdoor sporting goods store to price backpacks. Omg, they are expensive: 200-300 euros. I finished walking back to hostel, where I pulled out my computer and worked on it for some time.
It was after 9 by the time I finished up my work and I was nearly ready to pack it up for the night, but I had a hankering for a sweet and decided to reward myself for abstaining from alcohol for two whole days. I popped up to the supermarket to grab a rittersport and another bottle of water. Up in the room, I moved the fan and propped open the door to maximize in the inflow of the already chilly night air. I took a shower and watched some YouTube videos, and decided to go to bed at around 10:30, just at the time that some other travelers came in for a pit stop before going out drinking.
| Flixbus | 14.23 |
| Hostel | 130 RMB (16.6 EUR) |
| Bread and Cheese | 3.13 EUR |
| Chocolate and Water | 1.28 EUR |
| Total: | 275.4 RMB (USD 40.9) |
Running Total: 8289.9 RMB (USD 1206.84)
Daily Average: 394.75 RMB (USD 57.47)