HAMBURG 'ITS A TOUGH CALL'

WEDNESDAY Lauenburg - Hamburg (approx. 55 km) 

Elbe-Rad-Touristik takes us to the naughty city

(I am borrowing liberally from the excellent guide by Elbe Rad Turistik our brilliant organisers. www.elbe-rad-touristik.de)

' On the eastern side of the Elbe you soon reach Geesthacht. The city is located in the southwest district of Herzogtum Lauenburg. It has almost 30.000 inhabitants, is the largest town of the district and one of the oldest settlements in the region. It was first mentioned in a documentary in 1216. It was famous because of Alfred Nobel who invented here in his powder factory the dynamite. 

Then you continue on the Elbdamm past many small villages and reach Hamburg. Experience Hamburg on a city tour or take a boat tour to see the historic warehouse district - the largest continuous warehouse complex in the world. Beautiful parks in Hamburg offer opportunities for recreation and relaxation.

The lively Hanseatic City has something to offer for everybody - on Sunday mornings at the fish market or late at night in Sankt Pauli. For the rest of the time it is a tough call between a harbour tour, a warehouse district tour, visiting museums and the art gallery or enjoying one of the outstanding musicals in the evening.' 

LAUENBURG A TYPICAL SAILOR TOWN

TUESDAY Hitzacker - Lauenburg (approx. 55 km) 

Elbe-Rad-Touristik moves us on…

"Lauenburg is a typical sailor town on the old salt road between Lüneburg and Lübeck. 

The city is dominated by the German brick architecture. 

A remarkable number of historic buildings are "downhill" in the lower town. Worth seeing are for example the oldest lock chamber of northern Europe on the Elbe-Lübeck canal, named after its builder Palm. 

CYCLING THE ELBE

Our Elbe River Cycle tour reached its the final stage in May this year. I am borrowing liberally from the excellent guide by Elbe Rad Turistik our brilliant organisers. www.elbe-rad-touristik.de

' SUNDAY Elbe-Rad-Touristik picks up the story

Today you travel to Wittenberge, the biggest town of the Prignitz area. Its port belongs to the most important ones at the river Elbe. 

MONDAY Wittenberge - Hitzacker (approx. 70 km) 

On the western side of the Elbe you first past Wahrenberg where also are many storks. There it is very quiet, because it is situated behind a dike. In the past it was often threatened by high water. The area at Wahrenberg belongs to the bird protection area of Europe and with its meadows and ponds it is a paradise for nature lovers. 

In Aulosen you can visit an open-air model of the former inner-German border with original parts.


The Border Museum of Schnackenburg reminds at the 45-year-long division of Germany. Your today's destination is Hitzacker, which is famous for its beautiful old town with its half-timbered houses and the German brick architecture. 

Clever Trevor

For five years now Trevor and I have been exploring the coast of Suffolk Essex and Kent. I post the stories of the jaunts here as TRAVELS WITH MY ARCHITECT The offbeat, kiss-me-quick atmosphere of these sea fronts and coasts fascinates architect and photographer Trevor Clapp and I.These places are captured in photographs and drawings we have taken/made at the time of each visit. The words I write soon after under this banner of Travels with my Architect. Trevor's implacable architectural eye has created some great pictures, which will soon find a home on a dedicated website. He takes the most exciting photographs.

Frinton on Sea

Jaywick

Isle of Sheppy

Orford Ness

Tilbury

Dungeness

Canvey Island

Walton on Sea

Mersea Island

Lolling around in Laugharne

June 1 and 2 

For no reason, except that we are entranced by the place we were again in this delightful place.

Checking into The Browns https://www.browns.wales again we were then soon round the corner and down the road, four miles away to Pendine Sands. The beach shimmered in the sun and people seemed to dissolve in the haze. 

That evening we enjoyed an excellent meal in Arthur’s, a café restaurant in Laugharne. Burgers for the both of us, served with a shamelessly cheeky Portuguese vinho tinto.

All the nosh in the part of the world is well cooked, tasty and reasonably priced.

Next morning I crossed the street from The Browns to the post office and bought a copy of the Carmarthen Journal. It is lovely to descend, over coffee, into local events in the area “Man carrying garden spade arrested after woman is attacked in alleged street assault” and the coverage of the A&E doctor going onto Love Island.  There are lots of pieces about things to do and see in the area.  

A very Roman Wales

The main entrance to the stadium 

In the 5^th century AD the armies of Rome left Britain to the fate of Anglo-Saxon invaders.  The Welsh, having resisted these armies so fiercely had by now become so very Roman in habit and language, more so, it is claimed than any other part of Europe.  

Emperor Honorius decided that his legions in Britain were needed elsewhere. Yet Wales, was so fortified by the men of Rome, these lands to the West of the Rivers Severn and Usk remained self contained and prospered.

Just off the M4 is one of the most exciting legacies of Rome’s time in Wales.

Isca, was the site of a Roman legionary fortress the remains of which lie beneath parts of the present-day village of Caerleon just north Newport in South Wales.

On a sunny day we strolled around the widespread remains of Roman workshops, barrack blocks, granaries. 

Then crossing the road, we wandered in an unusually, a large and impressive amphitheatre. The arena is oval in shape with eight entrances still easily seen. The stadium is thought to have had a capacity of around six thousand spectators. It is probable that apart from the usual gladiatorial diversions, the legionaries probably used it for parades, displays and exercises.

Laugharne Love

Tea by the Sea is just down the road in Pendine. Great coffee tea and cakes.

Pendine is never crowded even in high summer. The Beach is a 6¼-mile long at Gilmore Point, at the western end is a small bay of sand and rock-pools, with a wall of high limestone cliffs and secret small caves. 

The view from the Tea by the Sea cafe

Evening sun is setting over the town of Laugharne; share it with seagulls and a boisterous rookery. Golden sun makes the chardonnay sparkle in your glass; all is orange, gold and chrome yellow.

Morning, don’t be late abed! Get up and walk down Victoria Street. The River Tâf’s estuary iridescent in the sun through a high garden of grasses and teasels. Walk down to the base of the castle. Another day begins as people greet one another.

 By the River's estuary early morning

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