Cycling Copenhagen to Berlin: Day 8

This is a rest day and I thoroughly enjoy sleeping in a little, putting on regular clothes and having a leisurely breakfast. We meet at 9:15 and take the metro to the harbor where a private charter boat is waiting to give us a ride on the Elbe River. We have a guide who tells us about the port, about Hamburg, and about some of the ships we see. The river is crammed on each side with all kinds of ships, boats, loading equipment. It is a hub of activity. Some cargo ships are no longer in use because of the advent of container shipping. Philipp shows us the cargo ship he worked on for three years when he was a young man. It is no longer in use.

After the tour, people disperse to do what interests them. We go with Philipp, Evelyn and Carlota to St. Michael's church to go up in the tower to see the view. When we get there, we see that an organ concert is starting in a few minutes. There are three famous organs in this church. Carlota is amazingly good during the concert. She falls asleep in Philipp's lap. After the concert, we go up in the tower where we enjoy a gorgeous view of the city. We have lunch nearby in a Portuguese part of town. A couple of us have grilled sardines and the food makes us remember Portugal last year.

We say goodbye to Philipp, Evelyn and Carlota. There is a huge bike race tomorrow. There will be 20,000 people in town for the race! It is a big event! There are many, many tents set up showing bicycles and cycling gear. I've never seen so much in one place! We make our way to the tent area and look at all the stuff. Kathy and I get new helmets, the same as the one Joanne got earlier in the week with the light on the back of the helmet. Kathy gets a red one and I get a white one. Experience Plus! will take our old helmets.

We go back to the hotel for a rest before our briefing. Our hotel is right in the middle of the race area so streets are closed off and it will be impossible to get the van to the hotel to get luggage and difficult for us to get out on our bikes. We will carry our luggage a short distance to the van and will leave later after the races start. Should be interesting.

After the briefing, we give Carlota the book we have gotten for her. She seems pleased and is familiar with the main character. The book is in German. We purchased it at a bookstore around the corner. It was recommended by the bookstore person and by a customer who said she had a 5 year old daughter and she loved this book.

We go to dinner with Kim and Billy and Kathy and John in the same Portuguese area as lunch because Billy wants some Portuguese food. Dave and I just get fish soup and split a salad, perfect for us. We take the metro back to the hotel. There is a station very near the hotel. It has been a relaxing fun day.