It was 6.30pm by the time we packed up and left Hamburg. This meant that we would have to use the motorway/ autobahn all the way to our hotel for the night, that had only just been booked, in Steinfield (near Damme). It was a glorious warm and sunny evening though and we were happy to be travelling again so the autobahns weren’t going to phase us. It made it a lot easier of a drive to get out of Hamburg although it was busy with traffic and lots of trucks.
We stopped after an hourish at a McDonalds to warm up a bit and to get some dinner as it was already nearly 8pm. Then after a fuel stop we were back on the autobahn for another hour. It was less busy on this stretch, it no longer being rush hour which was nicer. We had a lovely sunset for nearly the whole journey, turning from golden, to orange to pink in the skin. As it was dusk there was also a lot of deers playing in the fields and a surprising amount of countryside that we passed on the motorway. Just as dusk was turning into dark we got off the motorway and made our way through some country lanes, including lots of tree lined lanes to our hotel just as we lost the light. It was 10pm by the time we checked in, so it was a good thing we hadn’t left any later!
We were staying at the Bergmark hotel, a nice country hotel where we got a big room and were pleasantly surprised to find the pool and sauna were open 24/7. A quick change later and we went from being on the bike in the dark to being the only ones enjoying the lovely indoor heated pool. We went for a few laps and soaked in the warm water before heading into the very hot but gorgeous sauna. A nice way to relax after a stressful few days and a late night drive. Fully making the most of the cost of the room too as we had booked last minute.
The bed was extremely comfortable and we allowed ourselves to sleep in a bit after a good few days of broken and uncomfortable sleep. Then we got our money's worth at the included breakfast buffet before packing up the bike again.
Today we needed to drive 3 ½ hours on the motorways if we wanted to reach Sittard to stay with Dave’s friend Lauren. This had been our initial plan before we got stuck in Hamburg and we were keen to make up sometime/ make this plan work. It was another sunny day but the first hour on the autobahn 1 was a lot, lots of traffic/trucks and it meant we needed to go faster than we would have liked. After an hour we stopped at a McDonalds to break up the journey with a coffee.
When we got back on the road we transferred to a different motorway which was a bit quieter and gave us a bit more opportunity to just cruise along. We stopped after another hour to refuel, stretch and to grab some very underwhelming snacks from Penny for lunch. Another hour on the motorway and we refuelled again outside Venlo as an excuse for finding a bathroom. Shortly after this we made it to the Netherlands! From here it was a 45 minute ride to pick up chocolate and wine for our hosts just before we made it to theirs. We were in Sittard and made it to Lauren’s for early afternoon.
Thanks
Alex
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