Germ 'n Knee

Anyone who’s been following our InReach might have noticed something different in Germany; that’s because we cheated! We rode out of Denmark into Flensburg and stuffed the bikes onto a train to Hamburg.  There were a couple of reasons for this decision. First of all, we’re starting to feel a bit rushed on our Visa. We’re only allowed 90 days per 180 day period in the Schengen zone, which started in Iceland and counts until we leave Hungary for the Balkans. We also need to make sure we have enough time left to enter Greece, which is also included in the same visa. Also, my knee has been giving me some trouble for a few weeks now, which is part of the reason we didn’t move faster through Denmark.  We cut our days way back to try and help it heal, or at least stop it from getting worse. We crunched some numbers and realized that without some real rest or the ability to do longer days, we’d be running out of time pretty quick. So, to Hamburg we went, to rest a bit, jump ahead a few hundred kilometres, and dry out our soggy tent.

We were originally going to spend 3 nights in Hamburg and keep moving, but that didn’t happen either. The night we got here I noticed that a blister I had on my toe had gotten super infected and had a red line shooting out of it and up my leg.  So the next day we ventured into the German Healthcare system to get it looked at. I was helped out by a very nice doctor who spoke great English and hooked me up with some antibiotics. Unfortunately, she also gave me some very strict orders to rest and not to exert myself or walk around too much until all signs of infection were gone. She put that estimate at about 5 days, at least! 

So for the next few days I lay in bed with my foot up on a pillow while Steve explored the city, did some errands, and brought me snacks. It was boring, but the forced rest was good for my knee too. I’m feeling better now, and have even been able to do a bit of city exploring myself. Yesterday we visited the Miniature Wunderland, which sounds cheesy but is actually really impressive. It’s the world largest model train set with 16km of tracks carrying over 1000 trains through highly detailed and computer controlled miniature cities and villages. Today we went to the St Paulis Christmas Market and got some bratwurst and feuerzangenbowle, which is a yummy drink where a rum-soaked sugarloaf is set on fire and drips into mulled wine. Delicious. 

As good as this week off has been for my poor old body, it really hasn’t helped our timeline. So, tomorrow we’re going to hop onto another train to gain a few more kilometres before getting back on the bikes. We definitely aren’t getting to pedal as much in Germany as we’d planned, but I guess that’s just how things go sometimes. Hopefully I’m all sorted out now and can get back to some bigger days.