Wed July 24, 2019

Slept well this night so far. My air mattress is no longer worth much. It loses so much air that after midnight there is little left in it. Fortunately, I bought this mat at the beginning of the tour. That makes it more bearable and you get used to it. Woke up during the night, puffed up quickly and fell asleep again straight away.

When I said goodbye to the woman, I said casually, see you next year. She said that it was not certain whether this campsite still existed, as she had disagreed with the city politicians about expansion. Should call or write an email beforehand.

Then I drove off towards Glückstadt. At the beginning I wasn't sure whether I should go down to Hamburg, which would appeal to me, or just take the ferry across the Elbe near Glückstadt. I let it come to me.

For a long time I realized that I shouldn't have sent the front pockets home at the beginning of my trip, whatever. Uff difficult sentence. When I arrived in Brunsbüttel in front of the North-East Canal, I saw a bicycle dealer. I decided to buy new front pockets from Ortlieb. I liked them better anyway. That way I could distribute my luggage better. Too much anyway. In the future I would like to take less and lighter material with me. Still, it was a good experience. Then I went on the ferry across the North-East Canal. This was free of charge and, I think, was borne by the talking shop.
A few kilometers after Brockdorf I had to cross the Stör river, which flows into the Elbe. The interesting thing for me was that the road had just pulled up to let a sailing ship into the Elbe. If you don't see it every day, it is impressive to see how the road-bridge, or what it is called, descends. After I got down, after about a kilometer down, I went back to the North Sea. I was just able to brake as hard as a tree root had raised the bicycle road so much that I would have had a broken bike if I had ridden over it. Dear tree roots, how about if I crossed the street deeper down?

When I arrived in Glückstadt and waited for the ferry, I ate a fish sandwich at the snack stand. How delicious it tastes, I'll miss you at home. Then I drove to the port of Bremen with anticipation, knowing full well that I won't be able to reach it today. It was 5 past 5 when I arrived at the Oste River. There was also a street sink bridge that was pulled up. Hmm, no traffic here ?. I got off my bike, went forward and looked at a board ... opening times from ... until 5 p.m. What a bummer, 5 minutes to peek. I was angry. So I had to drive everything back to Balje, which meant a huge detour.

After a short time my navigation system said I could also take the dirt road, which would be a few kilometers less. My inner voice said, not such a good idea, I meant, but a good idea. As off to the right, over the gravel road. OK, the gravel road turned into a thick sand road after a short time. Farm fields to the left and right of it. Pushing was the order of the day, you couldn't drive on the sand. Heavens again, now tractors with trailers came by. You can guess what happened. Tuck a cloth around the mouth and nose, could hardly see anything when these vehicles drove by. Ok, it wasn't such a good idea. The time when I lost to push, I could have taken the direction of Balje and the bypass. I hadn't gained any time, but now I had enough dust and sand with me.

Finally after a while I came back to the streets. I was completely sweaty, clogged with sand and dust, and exhausted. Then it went towards Otterndorf to the campsite. I was glad to have arrived there. After setting up the tent, I first had to take a shower, which was difficult for me. My will was strong, my flesh was weak. In other words, I was drained.
After showering, some spirits came to me again. So cook something and enjoy the evening in my camping chair ...