Day 211

Monday, May 2, 2022:

This is the first full day I got to spend with Tobias on this trip. We had stayed up late last night talking, so it was a late start. I woke up earlier and showered, put my clothing through the washer, attempted to fix my laptop screen, and prepared my bike to show Tobias. After he got up, we discussed equipment, looked on eBay Kleinanzeigen for workable gear, and submitted a few requests. This version of eBay works like craigslist here, apparently. We found a decent looking touring bike for 300€, but didn't find much in the way of high volume rear panniers. The guy with the 300€ bike quickly got back to us, and we arranged an appointment with him in Hamburg at 12:30pm tomorrow. I was initially a bit worried about train fares (it costs about 20€ for the regiobahn round trip), but Tobias called his friend Julia and arranged to have her drive us there. If he ends up liking the bike, he’ll go back alone via the train.

Tobias has other gear like a sleeping bag and tent down in Stuttgart, but that would be quite a hassle to retrieve. He might be able to borrow that stuff from Julia too. Next, I had him set aside the clothing he’ll take with him, so that we can see how much will fit and can better buy the right panniers. He'll have fewer bags than I do to save money, but that means he may have to leave some more stuff behind. I've been doing my best to show him what he doesn't need. We went downtown to a place called Trekking König to check their prices on 40L Ortlieb Back Panniers. 150€ for a set, not bad. I think the place really missed an opportunity, and should instead be called Trek King.

Tiffany decided she did want to see us in town today, so we went and met her outside Jim Curry at 16:30. It's a small counter with shaded tables out front serving classic German street food. I got one bratwurst, one currywurst, and a side of pommes with mayo. Tiffany introduced us to her friend Daniel, who works there. We had a brief discussion about the improvements of fake meat in recent years, with Tiffany alleging that the vegan chicken nuggets are convincing. I'm not so sure, but I haven't tried them.

We played Coup while we ate. I wholeheartedly believe that Contessa is the best card in the game, especially when paired with Duke or Ambassador. At 17:30, Tiffany had to go to an appointment at a skin care salon, so Tobias and I went to a local bicycle store to look at other options.

Tobias found a mid-price bike he liked at 650€ that was big enough for him. He had the shop reserve it for him in case the one we look at in Hamburg isn't a good fit. I mentioned maybe upgrading to Marathon Plus tires, since those are what worked for me, as well as picking up some basic tools like a pump, tire levers, patches, and spare tubes that he should have with him at a minimum. I also recommended he buy a helmet, but I doubt he will. I guess that puts him in the too cool for brain injury (aka idiot) camp. I picked up a new hand pump with a dial gage. I somehow lost my old one, and I don't trust my original hand pump anymore. Just been lucky I haven't had any flats since Wales.

After the bike shop, we went to a local park in Lüneburg and threw around an aerobie ring. It was a bit risky, since the sloped field we played on was right next to a small pond and there was quite a bit of wind. Thankfully, I was coincidentally wearing swim shorts. What I didn't know then, but do know now, is that the Kreiderbergsee is shockingly deep. It's on top of an old salt mine, and goes down something like 50m. I doubt it's even 50m across. Anyhow, the aerobie went in three times, and each time, I went and fetched it. The water was cold, but I jumped right in. It's nothing like Windermere or Loch Clatteringshaws. The second retrieval was a bit scary. It went to a spot so deep that I couldn't see it from the surface. Opening my eyes under the murky water, I was able to dive down to see a blurry pink shape deep below, instantly recognizable as the aerobie ring. I'm very glad we didn't instead bring the blue one I also saw in his basement. Somehow my lung capacity has decreased in recent years in spite of the exercise I've done on this trip. I used to be able to hold my breath for over a minute, and now it's just barely fifteen seconds or something. Embarrassing, really. I'd estimate the ring was down at least three body lengths.. call it 20ft? Honestly, could have been further. It took me several tries to get over the fear of diving that deep. I was just worried of not being able to hold my breath for long enough. Anyway, I got it. By the third time I got in to retrieve the ring, I was pretty used to it.

After aerobie, we took Lüneburg Stadtrad bikes to Bergmann's, a grocery store. I was uncomfortable the whole way, not wearing a helmet. I went slowly and carefully. We saw a beat up car on the way, and it reminded me to show Tobias videos about the Mongol Rally.

Tobias thought making a cheese fondue might be nice. At first I refused on cost reasons, but was reminded that good cheese is cheaper here than in the States, and that we don't need to make enough to feed a five person family. I quickly asked Mama about the spices we’d need (Nutmeg), and was promptly reminded that it's against the Geneva Convention to make cheese fondue in either the Spring or Summer. “Okay Mama.” And yeah, we did it anyway. Took another trip to Aldi to get garlic, which we'd forgotten. Emmentaler, Gruyere, and … Gouda? I would have chosen Alpenzeller. In the end, I was the one who prepared the cheese though, and minimized the proportion of Gouda so it wouldn't be an issue. We used white wine and garlic, then stirred in finely chopped cheese until it melted. I ground nutmeg over the top and cut slices of baguette. Tobias has a fancy electric fondue pot device that doesn't burn the cheese and there was no need to worry about sterno. It was good food. I was worried we wouldn't have enough baguette, but it lasted just as long as the cheese and our hunger. Despite my skepticism, it worked out just about perfectly.

We played one round of Azul, and then I retired to the couch for the evening. Tobias was up for another hour or so in another room talking on the phone. Then all was still.