On the hunt...

Just over in Helgoland - much warmer than I expected here, considering the Kloar Kimming sailing from Bremerhaven was cancelled due to high seas. Ended up taking tram to train station, train to Bremerhaven, bus to Cuxhaven, ferry to Helgoland harbour and Ausboot to shore. Everything but my bike!
[video to follow]
If you think this is turning out to be a warm summer, check out the sea temperatures today!

Boxy is beautiful

Just when you thought the car was passé. Check out the Daimler-Chrysler prototype car based on the "clumsy" boxfish (and I learned how to make an animated gif!).
Contrary to the tried-and-true teardrop for optimal aerodynamic form, this highly manoeuvrable fish teaches engineers to think inside the box!

On a clear day...

Today was cloudy, then it wasn't, sunny, then it wasn't, now it's rainy. Wait an hour it will change. It is spring in Bremen now - apparently the seasons are reversed this year, after 30 degrees in May.

Today I found the answer to my dreams. Besides occasionally clear skies, I also found out that some snail shells are clear ... and the first diving goggles were made by the Persians from polished tortoise shells. This is a baby snail shell viewed with different polarizing filters.
This confirms my theory that if you can control the growth of crystals with enzymes (which is what animals do that use a process called "biomineralization"), you can control the optical properties as well as the strength and surface finish. This is actually very cool if you don't want to run into things when you're crossing the seas in your giant snail aka Dr. Dolittle (can't believe I can't find a picture of it online!).

This weekend I'm goin' barnacle huntin' up the Weser River to see if any of the local species can tolerate brackish water in the intertidal zone like some tough nuts in Texas (and go exploring) - 4 ferries and 70km to Bremerhaven should be a cinch after last weekend!

Happy Canada Day!

Great weekend here in Germany - I went exploring the Hamburg-Bremen Hanseatic bike route in the rain.

Kids colouring a grey day in Buchholz

I biked 65 km after work Friday to a little town called Zevin, where I discovered some of the friendliest people who even bought me dinner, then another 22 km to Scheeßel after I discovered the train doesn't run along the bike route tracks (or stop at the Zevin Bahnhof).

I missed the last train by 10 minutes, but the locals there are so accommodating that even though the inn in this wee town was full, the local donair shop guys put me up for the night. Then I met a couple locals at the train station who split on a ticket with me (Sundays 5 can travel for the price of 1!) and we had a hoot riding into Hamburg practicing German and English.

Dave and Jannes - the Scheeßel connection

I woke Christine up with fresh coffee and a croissant and we spent the whole day shopping with breaks at the Food Festival, eating Sauerkraut (pickled cabbage), Spätzle (dough noodles), champignons (the Germans have co-opted the French for mushrooms) and some Erdbeeren (strawberry) liquid that had a surprising amount of alcohol. I have now reached the language level where I can have an entire conversation about whether Schinken (ham) is a vegetable (almost makes me homesick for Strasbourg).

We spent Saturday and Sunday walking around the old town and harbourfront, where the old shipping warehouses have been converted into restaurants and theatres, like an enormous Gastown.

Happy Canada Day!

Hamburg is a beautiful city, but hard to leave ... literally. The signs all point downtown, but none toward the next town. Took me almost 2 hours to find the Elbe Tunnel for bikes and pedestrians under the river (hidden behind construction) and the path to Harburg in spite of a sign turned the wrong way - thanks to a friendly bus driver who gave me a lift into Harburg and directions to get out the other side :-)

I made it to Buchholz in der Nordheide before sunset, 20 minutes ahead of a train to Hamburg - and watched a terrific downpour as we rolled through Scheeßel - lucky I didn't ride any farther tonight!

In all, I biked 134 km, or almost one way to Hamburg.
Thanks to Google Driving Directions for mapping my trip (without the offroad component) and my 47.6 km route from Hamburg to Buchholz - only 36 km if you follow the highway (turn on the satellite and zoom in).