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Where am I?:^mistymornings-->Cycletouring-->2009-->Summer.-->Day 5

Day 5-2. Wingst to Meldorf contd.

The ferry was a chance to relax and enjoy the views. Although the ferry took the best part of half an hour it saved us cycling over a hundred kilometres into Hamburg and back out to Glückstad, (which would have meant cycling at over two hundred kilometres an hour to get to Glückstad in the same time). The ferry was busy and it threaded its way across the river dodging sandbanks and larger shops: the sandbanks made it look like the large ships were grounded although they were still moving. It looked like the world and his wife were out there on the Elbe with yachts and Dutch barges in full sail. Stan was also amused by this small robot-like light house in the middle of the channel.

At around half past eleven we arrived at the other side. On disembarking we found a similar queue of traffic waiting for the ferry to Wischhafen, the air was full of exhaust fumes. We decided it was time for an early lunch and looked for a place to sit. Despite there being a mobile kiosk (albeit closed) in the car park, there were no picnic tables, nor any in sight. We ummed and aahed before plumping for a particularly comfortable kerb, where we brewed up and ate some sandwiches. Once we'd finished eating lunch we headed on towards Brunsbüttel along the banks of the Elbe. We'd rejoined the NSCR ont he other side, which made navigation a little more certain. We were lulled into a false sense of comfort by the first section of smooth tarmac on the inside of the dyke. However, within ten minutes we ended up on a rougher paved track on the outside of the dyke. This gave us more interesting views of the Elbe including sheep grazing on salty marsh grass and sheep grazing on the outside of the dyke.

Just after a bend in the dyke we were directed back onto the top of the dyke. Here we paused as a bridge ahead of us opened and Stan took the opportunity to take a picture of a small lighthouse for Damae. After twenty minutes of cycling inside the dyke we started climbing up to the top of the dyke again and ended up on a nice, wide and smooth asphalt road. The sheep were kept of the road by fences and the wind was not too bad. We passed a large factory or power station then carried on our way, in the sunshine for a half hour or so.

At two it was time for a break and as if by magic a picnic bench appeared, so we stopped. We were sitting at river level here, or so it seemed and ships on the river appeared to be higher than us. There was an odd tower in front of us and behind us the village of St Margarethen. All we could see behind the large dyke was the tops of trees and buildings. We brewed up and Damae enjoyed a biscuit in the afternoon sun. The area we were sitting in was called the Außendeich St Margarethen and and an information board next to us explained why the dyke was so far from the river. It appears that due to natural currents it had been impossible to create a stable dyke next to the river. So the dyke took another course and this piece of land ended up being used for grazing in the summer. When the water levels in the Elbe rose, the animals would be taken to higher ground a technique practiced in the early days of human habitation in this region when farms were built on mounds of earth. These days the St Margarethen Außendeich is an important natural habitat for a number of bird species.

That was a succesful stop, a nice cuppa and a biscuit and some historical context. Suitably invigorated we carried on along the Elbe towards Brunsbüttel and the next ferry. We had a short wait in a short queue, next to a car with Dutch plates. We could have been in the Netherlands rather than Germany, but for the name on the side of the ferry. This was a much shorter trip across the harbour where we passed some rather large and impressive locks, which looked equally impressive from the other side.

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