11:00

Another day, another city. As I was late arriving in Hamburg I haven’t had chance to explore more than the area I’m staying in, which is functional, but not very attractive. I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to see before I leave, but Hamburg tourism wasn’t high on my agenda for this trip, it was more a useful stopover on my way elsewhere.

Today I travel across unfamiliar territory to a city I once knew very well 20 odd years ago. Back then, Lynn (my first wife) and I had Danish friends who lived there. We’d often go over and stay with Didi, so we got to know the city well. Now, I’m the only one left out of the trio. I’ve not been back since Didi’s funeral, so I’ll be curious to see how much has changed.

Right now I’m leaving Hamburg aboard a rather nice Danish Railways DSB train formed of modern Talgo articulated coaches. I’ve grabbed a seat in the rear coach as there’s a little window at the back that allows you to see where you’ve come from. I’m hoping to use it for photographs later. Plus, there’s power sockets and wifi, so I can blog along the way. As this is a DSB service I’m hoping to avoid another DB farce like yesterday.

I didn’t see much of Hamburg, but then I didn’t expect to. Most of my time was spent taking pictures at the vast main station which is like a mini city in itself. I’d certainly return to Hamburg. Whilst the area around the station can be a bit seedy it looks like an interesting place that’s seeing a lot of investment in infrastructure. The cities international links can be seen through the trains that serve it. Earlier I watched a Czech train arrive on it’s way to Budapest, Hungary! If I hadn’t already got plans I’d have been sorely tempted…

Just as I was settling in for the journey every phone in the coach went off, including mine. It was the Germans testing their national alert system!

11:50.

The trip’s going well so far (touch wood). We’ve juts passed through Neumunster, a small town with a large railway works of the sort we lost in the UK many years ago. All sort of DB vehicles appear to be repaired or refurbished here. There’s still a lot of freight traffic too. Once thing I’ve noticed is the number of solar and wind farms we’ve passed so far. They’re a real sign of investment in clean energy. The countryside itself isn’t that exciting. It’s pretty flat but is obviously good farming country with a variety of uses. Maize seems to be a popular crop around here.

12:10.

OK. I take it back about the countryside being flat! We’ve just passed over the 1913 Rendsburg high bridge which crosses the Kiel canal at a height of more than 40 meters. It’s a very impressive structure I’d love to come back and photograph!

12:43.

Having made our first stop at Schleswig I decided to have a wander through the train. It’s packed, with lots of people standing. Heading to the rear was a wise move! Sadly, there’s no buffet car, just the standard Danish vending machines offering tea, coffee, fizzy drinks and sugar rushes.

Now the train’s even more packed with the last few available  seats in the rear car taken

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