April 15th to 17th 2024

On to new adventures !

After a journey of almost 12 hours by train, and a short fifteen-minute ride under the rain that sounds like an introduction to the variable weather that awaits me this spring in northern Europe, I'm warmly welcomed by Andrea and Konrad, who will be my Warmshowers hosts for the next three nights. Konrad has even cooked me an invigorating soup, which comes just at the right moment as I hadn't eaten anything since midday...

So I've got two days to visit Hamburg. And I'm incredibly lucky, since Lisa, a friend I'd met in Sardinia in a hostel and with whom I'd shared some wonderful moments and excellent exchanges, and who I thought would still be walking and hitchhiking somewhere in Italy, has been in Hamburg for some days to attend the birth of her niece and prepare for her future nomadic adventures. Hamburg is her city. And she'll be my personal guide. Wow I'm so grateful !!!

We spend the first day visiting Miniatur Wunderland, which had been on my bucket list for many years. For 8 hours straight, we're so mesmerized by the countless details of these endless 1:87 scale models that we totally forget to eat or drink... We play at spotting couples frolicking in the woods, in the middle of sunflower fields or in other unusual places unreachable to the eyes of young visitors ;-) !!! It's fun to note the infinite details of the miniatures, the bizarre characters among the 289'410 figurines, the funny situations that the builders have brought to life here and there, and I enjoy admiring some of the 1,166 trains running on the more than 16 kilometers of tracks zigzagging among the floors. More facts here: https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/exchange/about/facts-and-figures/. Crazy !!!

The next day Lisa takes me on a personalized tour of the city, punctuated by numerous stops at bakeries and Imbiss to sample Franzbrötchen, Zimtschnecken, ice cream and other Fischbrötchen. It's a good thing I'm starting to pedal tomorrow, because my gluttony could get the better of me !

To Sicily and back