Day 57: Wed 13 Aug - Hamburg to Zeven, 70km

18-34 deg C, it was quite warm today

Total time: 6h14m

Ride time: 3h58m

Total ride G: 1,777km

Total ride W: 1,732km

Walk G: 5km; total: 449km

Walk W: 4km; total: 403k 

Week 9 starts.

We had a few options for the route today but our lazy bone kicked in so we ended up with the shortest one. What was estimated to be 65km, turned out to be 70km due to not wanting to share a road with very big, fast moving farm machinery. After completing it we realised that maybe we would have seen more by taking the longer, Euro Velo option, never mind. Although we did manage to get a ride through the Elbtunnel.  

Clearing Hamburg was a bit of a chore, by the time we got out into the countryside we’d completed 40km. The whole Hamburg region is very industrial and of course there is the huge shipping operation in the port and surrounds going on at the same time. 

When we finally passed all of that it was then a matter of navigating our way between villages in the general direction of Zeven. We had morning tea in a park at Neuwiedenthal watching a bunch of kids have fun on the various apparatus in a nearby playground. Lunch was on a bench in a church yard at Apensen

We only strayed from the chosen route once when a nice path beside the road suddenly ran out. We just recalibrated, found another great path and continued on to Zeven. There are always plenty of paths to choose from without adding too many km to the journey. 

As we pulled up outside our hotel for tonight the temperature was 34 deg, but it was a dry heat so not too bad. Wendy was unable to book a room anywhere in this town with aircon! We’ve found that a lot of hotels in smaller towns in Europe, don’t have aircon or even a fan. With the heatwave situation getting worse every time we come back to Europe maybe they need to start gearing up for the heat, not just the cold. 

After a short rest we headed out into the town for a wander. Nice quiet place. 

In the lift going down into the Elbe tunnel

In the tunnel

The bike path exiting the tunnel

Some of the Hamburg port area

Some of the paths ridden today

Mornos and Rathaus at Neuwiedenthal

Wheat trash being readied for baling - the wheat harvest is in full swing currently 

Lunch spot at Apensen, next to the Evangelical-Lutheran church

Hotel Paulsen, room #37, no aircon, 🥵

The breakfast room 

Our room is the second from the right on the top floor

The bike shed at the hotel, complete with e-bike charging stations 

Ride route and stats

Zeven Rathaus

Fountain in a park opposite the Rathaus

Cemetery for those from Zeven killed in both World Wars

St Vitus church at Zeven

Beautifully maintained stonework 

Would have loved to have seen inside but we were too late 

Thank you for reading the blog. If you would like to make a comment, please do as we love to hear your feedback. If you do it without the hassle of signing in, please include your first name at the end, so we know who is commenting. Cheers G&W.