19 JUN - Maxin' in Bendestorf (Day 12)
Today we started our tour for true. We won't be back in Weimar until Sunday! It's a good thing that I was able to get my laundry done today. OK, I didn't do the laundry. There are really no laundromats in most towns. What you do is drop off your laundry and someone else washes and dries it. Rather handy and not too expensive.
We drove from Weimar to Hamburg. Rocco took this pretty funny shot as we were driving along. It's apparent that we didn't take the high road. It turns out that the high road is a lot slower and requires special vehicles to traverse. I'll guess I'll take the easy road. The food is better along this one anyway.
We have seen some awesome country side. There are more trees between the fields here in northern Germany. With the awesome weather that we have been having and a beautiful countryside like this, I think it is impossible for anyone not to enjoy themselves.
In the Hamburg area, before we headed downtown to the match, we stopped in a little town called Bendestorf where our friends live (the ones we met at the first Germany match). They had recommended a little hotel in their town where we could stay for a couple of nights. The plan is to stay at the hotel while we go to the game in Hamburg today and the game in Hannover tomorrow. Hamburg and Hannover are not that far apart. The hotel they recommended is awesome! It was built originally in 1810 and was recently renovated. The roof is thatch which is expensive but used in this area of Germany if the owner can afford it. I'm in a separate building from the main hotel. There are only two rooms in this building so it was probably a small barn at one time.
Everyone has heard that there are no speed limits on the Autobahn. This isn't true. It seems there are speed limits for about 50% of the time that you are on the Autobahn. Typically, the speed limit is 120 or 130 km/hr which is 72 - 78 mph. Here is Rocco in front of our schnellwagen and a typical view from our car window.
OK, maybe those aren't real shots of me driving through the woods near Bendestorf. Rocco has a habit of tilting the camera when he take pictures from the SUV. It was a little dark when the shots were taken so the camera was leaving the shutter open longer which gives it that cool super-fast look.
There is one consequence of no speed limit on the Autobahn. If you are in an accident going 200 km/hr (120 mph), you are in trouble. As we were approaching the Hamburg area, we were pretty sure that there was an accident on the other side of the Autobahn. The traffic was backed up for 5 - 7 km. Just as in the States, it is a limited access road and I didn't see ANY exits from the time we noticed the traffic until we reached the beginning of it.
We weren't very luck as we drove into Hamburg today. We hit the downtown area just as the work day was ending. That was our first bit of bad luck. The next one was that the stadium wasn't near downtown at all. We got to go through the heart of Hamburg and its downtown, day end traffic to reach the stadium on the outskirts of town. We left two hours before the match and just barely made it in time. Ah well, at least we got to see these crazy Saudis. One good bump and there was going to be Saudi pizza in the road. Has anyone ever had Saudi Arabian pizza?
It was REALLY humid today. Even the ice cream salesmen took a break!
I don't know what this Ukrainian sign says but the hopes for Berlin are apparent.
Today's match was very fun to watch. It was like a shooting gallery for the Ukraine. They won 4 - 0. The Saudi defense really sucks especially their keeper. He is the only guy that I have seen that can hurt himself. It's good thing that he can't get a foul on himself.
Here is a shot of the SMART car that we have been discussing. As you can see, one advantage is that you don't have to know how to parallel park. For a lot of people, that is a boon.
I thought this vista was awesome as we were returning from the football match today. It makes me think of one of my favorite books by C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
When we got back from the game, we were a little hungry. The food at the stadiums isn't that good and we didn't have time to grab a bite before we got to the game. It turns that we picked the "American" restaurant in the next town down from Bendestorf. The place is called the "Country Ranch Steak House". The steaks were very good.
We drove from Weimar to Hamburg. Rocco took this pretty funny shot as we were driving along. It's apparent that we didn't take the high road. It turns out that the high road is a lot slower and requires special vehicles to traverse. I'll guess I'll take the easy road. The food is better along this one anyway.
We have seen some awesome country side. There are more trees between the fields here in northern Germany. With the awesome weather that we have been having and a beautiful countryside like this, I think it is impossible for anyone not to enjoy themselves.
In the Hamburg area, before we headed downtown to the match, we stopped in a little town called Bendestorf where our friends live (the ones we met at the first Germany match). They had recommended a little hotel in their town where we could stay for a couple of nights. The plan is to stay at the hotel while we go to the game in Hamburg today and the game in Hannover tomorrow. Hamburg and Hannover are not that far apart. The hotel they recommended is awesome! It was built originally in 1810 and was recently renovated. The roof is thatch which is expensive but used in this area of Germany if the owner can afford it. I'm in a separate building from the main hotel. There are only two rooms in this building so it was probably a small barn at one time.
Everyone has heard that there are no speed limits on the Autobahn. This isn't true. It seems there are speed limits for about 50% of the time that you are on the Autobahn. Typically, the speed limit is 120 or 130 km/hr which is 72 - 78 mph. Here is Rocco in front of our schnellwagen and a typical view from our car window.
OK, maybe those aren't real shots of me driving through the woods near Bendestorf. Rocco has a habit of tilting the camera when he take pictures from the SUV. It was a little dark when the shots were taken so the camera was leaving the shutter open longer which gives it that cool super-fast look.
There is one consequence of no speed limit on the Autobahn. If you are in an accident going 200 km/hr (120 mph), you are in trouble. As we were approaching the Hamburg area, we were pretty sure that there was an accident on the other side of the Autobahn. The traffic was backed up for 5 - 7 km. Just as in the States, it is a limited access road and I didn't see ANY exits from the time we noticed the traffic until we reached the beginning of it.
We weren't very luck as we drove into Hamburg today. We hit the downtown area just as the work day was ending. That was our first bit of bad luck. The next one was that the stadium wasn't near downtown at all. We got to go through the heart of Hamburg and its downtown, day end traffic to reach the stadium on the outskirts of town. We left two hours before the match and just barely made it in time. Ah well, at least we got to see these crazy Saudis. One good bump and there was going to be Saudi pizza in the road. Has anyone ever had Saudi Arabian pizza?
It was REALLY humid today. Even the ice cream salesmen took a break!
I don't know what this Ukrainian sign says but the hopes for Berlin are apparent.
Today's match was very fun to watch. It was like a shooting gallery for the Ukraine. They won 4 - 0. The Saudi defense really sucks especially their keeper. He is the only guy that I have seen that can hurt himself. It's good thing that he can't get a foul on himself.
Here is a shot of the SMART car that we have been discussing. As you can see, one advantage is that you don't have to know how to parallel park. For a lot of people, that is a boon.
I thought this vista was awesome as we were returning from the football match today. It makes me think of one of my favorite books by C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
When we got back from the game, we were a little hungry. The food at the stadiums isn't that good and we didn't have time to grab a bite before we got to the game. It turns that we picked the "American" restaurant in the next town down from Bendestorf. The place is called the "Country Ranch Steak House". The steaks were very good.
posted by jprg4evr at 3:51 PM
3 Comments:
to the best of my knowledge that "American Restaurant" or steakhouse in the town of Buchholz is owned and operated by a chinese family...
globalization at work ;-)
Who knows Buchholz? Edgar? Okay, I'm stumped...Hassi (a.k.a. Kleiner Arschloch), is that you? I signed this as you have recently known me best!! Love you too!
no, i am not hassi...i just happen to be from bendestorf originally and buchholz is the town where i went to high school
although at times i may very well be a little asshole (which is to what "kleines arschloch" translates) ;-)
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