Our pilgrimage is starting to get a bit real. This morning, wearing our packs for the first time, we left our accommodation in Hamburg and walked to the Hauptbahnhof to take a train to Stade, the starting place of the Via Romea Germanica.
We had some 'fun' buying our tickets from the automated ticket machines. Fortunately I had been told that Stade is within the HVV area - the Hamburg Transport area so I knew to select HVV before deciphering the rest of the instructions. All went well until the machine would not accept our card and a very helpful man came to our rescue and paid with his card and I gave him the cash.
The train trip went well and what an experience walking into the Stade. It's gorgeous. Fairytale like.
Stade, officially the Hanseatic City of Stade is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the district which bears its name. It is located roughly 45 km to the west of Hamburg and belongs to that city's wider metropolitan region. Source: Wikipedia
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| Leaving our accommodation in Hamburg. |
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| Hamburg Rathaus, town hall, with morning sun on it. |
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| Inside the Hauptbahnhof |
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| At the Stade railway station. |
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| Walking into Stade |
Some random photos of Stade:
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| Große heiße Schokolade und Apfelkuchen |
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| Built in 1590. |
At 3 pm we met up with Sigrid, the route sponsor for the Stade area, and Francisco, a Spainard who lives in Italy - he has just arrived in Stade from Rome and is continuing on to Trondheim.
Sigrid took us on a walking tour of Stade then we sat in a square and talked about all things pilgrimage. Francisco has been walking pilgrimage routes for 30 years and Sigrid has walked many pilgrimage routes as well - she is currently walking to Jerusalem in sections and has got to the border of Turkey. It was a wonderful afternoon.
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With Sigrid and Francisco.
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