Monday 10 August 1998

Slideshow Pictures

We crossed the border into Germany at 2:00 p.m. at Flensburg where we had to show our passports. Drove into Sehleswig looking for a restaurant to have lunch. Ended up at a yacht club which was actually a hotel with an outdoor restaurant. Lunch was already over so we had a couple of beer and coke and headed off for Hamburg.

We missed our turn off from the freeway, drove through the tunnel and realized we had gone too far so we turned around, went back through the tunnel and turned off the freeway, stopped at a gas station for directions and bought a map. We went back on the freeway, took the next exit, and our hotel was three/four blocks from the freeway; the Holiday Inn on Kielerstrasse. Checked in and decided to have a look around Hamburg. Drove down to and parked our car near Landungesbruckn and walked by Statue of Bismark to Neustad.

We were looking around for a restaurant; looking at the menus in front of several restaurant. Nothing appealed to us. Went to a square called Rathaus Square. We viewed a restaurant by the water but it wasn’t very appealing and then spotted a restaurant on the second floor of a building; tried to find the entrance to the restaurant but without success. We walked down Jungfernstieg and looked at a couple of waterfront restaurants there and again, didn’t find either the menu or the restaurants appealing.

Decided to have dinner back at the hotel but on our way found a restaurant beside the Alster-Fleet.

We sat down at an outside table beside the canal.

 It was too cold and windy so ended up inside. Had quite a big meal. Rita and I had chuck steak, Rita preceded with a huge radicchio salad and Rachel had pasta. The inside restaurant was quite big, modern looking and practically empty.

We walked back to the car and decided to head back on the Reeperbahn (the red light district of Hamburg). Rita asked Rachel and me to close our eyes while driving through this section of town. I came up with the lame brain excuse, that I had to keep one eye open so I could drive. My one eye was scanning from left to right, from top to bottom, but all I saw was a lot of explicit advertisements and neon signs. It was nothing as Rita remembered from her tour of Hamburg years ago. Not a sign of prostitutes at least they weren’t noticeable. Arrived back at the hotel and went to sleep.

Tuesday 11 August 1998

Breakfast at the hotel. Great breakfast. My favorite. Most enjoyable breakfast. I still rave about it. I thought it was excellent. Superb. It was an exceptional breakfast My word for it is: "supercalofragulisticexpialadotious".

Alongside the buffet breakfast was a cart loaded with all kinds of liquors and brandies. Grand Marnier, Courvoisier, etc., etc. I asked Rita to get me a shot of Grand Marnier while I was having breakfast. She went, and came back empty handed. she couldn’t open the bottle. So I went and helped myself and Rita also. Too bad I had to drive. I sure would have got my money’s worth out of this hotel otherwise. I was willing to stay the day, but we had to get to Frankfurt. Checked out $163 CAN. And we were off to Frankfurt.

In the beginning of this vacation Rita was complaining about driving too fast at 140 km/hr. Now we were driving at 180 km/hr and Rita was used to it. I had to keep an eye on the rear view mirror when passing in the left lane, because Mercedes Benzes, Porches and BMWs were going by us as if we were standing still. The pedal was to the metal, but the Ford Escort just wouldn’t go any faster than 180km/hr.