“Can you get a decent hamburger in Hamburg?” asked Pete.  Well we did have beef burgers last night.  But this morning we almost saw an indecent Hamburger.  Our street is very narrow and everyone parks wherever they can find room.  Between 4pm and 7am it’s a free for all, but after 7am there are restrictions.  As we were breakfasting, we noticed a wide flatbed truck pull up.  First he clamped all the wheels of a car that was illegally parked.  Then he started attaching his mini crane to the car,  prior to hoisting it onto his truck.  This was all very entertaining for us.  Suddenly a window opposite was flung open, and an angry young man, wearing nothing but a towel, started yelling and waving. He’d overslept and hadn’t moved his car, and now he was  up for a hefty fine.  Whilst dressing in the street, he managed to negotiate with the truck driver and got the clamps removed, but the police, who were also on the scene, made sure he parked elsewhere.

We left with indecent haste to catch our first regional train to Schwerin, a historical town about an hour’s ride away.  We were cutting it fine, or so we thought.  We were sure that the German rail system would run like clockwork.  Not so!  Our train was delayed by 5 minutes, then 15 minutes, then 30 minutes, and eventually departed an indecent 50 minutes late.

It was an ICE high speed train, very smooth and comfortable, and express all the way to Schwerin.  We had the rest of the day to enjoy the town, and the famous Schloss, or castle.  We polished off our lunch while sitting beside a small lake with a water fountain, set across a backdrop of church spires.  We strolled to the castle and gardens, admiring the medieval architecture along the way.  Schwerin is no doubt very busy on weekends, but today was not too crowded.

I have had the Schwerin Schloss as my computer wallpaper for several months, so it was a familiar sight as we approached, and crossed the bridge.  The castle features a fascinating mixture of styles including Gothic, Renaissance, Slavic, Hanseatic and Ottoman.  It was a ducal palace and not as ornate as somewhere like Versailles, though it was influenced by Chateau Chambord.

The gardens provided a gentle backdrop.  The grass was not manicured, and was quite long and full of wildflowers. Unlike Versailles there were no fountains, and the grounds were much smaller (which we were happy about as it was an easy walk to the far end).  Of course as we walked, we planned where we would put the controls for a sprint.

After enjoying our stroll, we headed indoors for the palace tour.  We had a very good audio guide which explained the features of each of the rooms we were visiting.  The ceilings and floors were especially notable, though we did think the décor of the throne room was a little OTT!

We finished off looking at the Orangerie and the lake.

The return trains were also indecently delayed.  We took a regional train which stopped at various stations and was quite slow, but it gave our aching feet a chance to recover.  Our final stop for the day was yet another location where my GGG grandfather had a photography store (taking the total to 3 that we know about).  This one was in St Georg, which is near the main railway station.  It could not have been more of a contrast to the Neuerwall location!  This was definitely Hamburg’s less salubrious side, and we didn’t linger.  The potential for indecency was high.

Fun facts: Ian can hit three portals without leaving the apartment, and has been able to capture pokemons while eating breakfast.

Fun facts:  Schweinfleisch (pork steaks) – delicious and cheap – 3 steaks for 4 euros ($6)