Home is where our bags are...

Used the phrase 'when we get back home' today and it dawned on us that we were referring to the place where we are staying at the moment ... and that keeps changing!!! So .... home is where the bags are.

Today (past few days actually) have been full of achievements. Our trip isn't just about destinations. It's really about getting from one place to another. Yesterday we arrived in Hamburg and decided to try to get ourselves to our pre-booked hotel ... without using a taxi (or tacsay if you're still in Ireland). Soooo off to the Tourist Info office at the airpoort to ask for help. The lady spoke a little English, and was able to look it up on the internet. With printout of buses and trains ... backpacks and front packs in place, we headed out. As you're probably aware, I'm not used to using trains (more than a little nervous with no signage in English) But we made it ... bus from the airport to the nearest station ... 2 train rides (had to change lines) ... and lastly another bus ... for 1 STOP!!!!! We could have walked it if we'd known which direction to head out from the station.

WE found ourselves in an amazing outdoor market area about lunchtime. What an experience!!! There were all these food stalls (and flowers) ... all so cheap ... and a few standing-height tables ... no chairs. Obviously, the office workers know about it ... it was so busy. The food looked amazing, but I opted for the things I could point to or say. Maybe next time .... if there are less people waiting in the queue. Queues here are very orderly, and people are very patient ... unless someone tries to bypass the queue.

Also happened to be around this old church, Saint Nickolai ... which was bombed during the war, and is now a memorial to all who suffered in wars ... when the glockenspeil and carillion recital was on. That was spectacular. We also took the lift to the top of the spire ... 75m ... even Lex trembled a little. It was a very moving experience.

Whilst in Edinburgh, we tried looking up options for travel between Hamburg and Paris ... for which we had nothing booked. Part of our flexibility plan!! It all looked too hard and we figured that the tourist office here in Hamburg might be our best option. Let me say that Tourist Offices here are not what they were in UK ... we got great help in Dublin. The lady spoke some English, and told us that train was the best option ... go over to the railway office. WELL!!! All writing is in German ... no English ... kiosk type terminals where people were looking up info ... did have an English option ... but you need to have some idea of the region names that you#re heading for... We had this vague notion that we might have a couple of stop overs as we had 2 days to get to Paris, so we managed to print out a couple of possible scenarios ... or so we thought. Then join the queue to speak to someone and possible make some reservations. If we thought it had been tough up to now ..... it was about to get frustrating. The rep did speak some English, but appeared to be having a bad day and was less than helpful ... verging on abrupt might be more accurate.

Needed to sit down after that!!

We managed to walk out of there with 2 tickets to Paris ... leaving from somewhere in Hamburg (not sure which platform etc as yet ... but it will happen) travelling overnight ... in a couchette!!!

Also managed to book an extra night where we are in Hamburg ... so all is well. We´re doing good!!!