5 August 2012 – About to Leave Flensburg

Overtaken by the weather, the internet and the Olympics.  Shades of Beijing all over again, when we were stormbound all the way to Falmouth during the Olympic fortnight. 

The quality of the internet connection has had a big bearing on the decision to stay in Flensburg.  LAN1 has been good, and the red box has worked well.  Wendy Effer has managed to find a virtual router, and Roger has been experimenting with that; also with proxy (sometimes poxy!) server that will allow access to the TV service on the BBC i-player.  This has been achieved with great success: and on Friday and Saturday nights we watched Olympics, seeing the women’s 10,000m final, and the 3 successes of last night – Jessica Ennis; Greg Rutherford; and Mo Farrar all winning gold within 45 minutes.  In consequence, we were very late to bed!

On Friday we managed to get the bikes out and cycled on the N side of the Fjord, crossing back over the Danish border, established in 1920 after the referendum.  No checking of documents now! 

An element of the coastal path was closed: Achtung, Verboten, pictures of gas masks, etc.  At the other end, we spoke with a very helpful man who said that the rules were not being observed: there had been a mudslide and “they” just didn’t want to take responsibility for any harm that might happen.  So we were grateful, and cycled back that way, a more pleasant journey through the trees and by the water.  No sooner had we got back than the heavens opened and there was a massive hailstorm.

Yesterday (Saturday) I walked into Flensburg for a few necessities, and again the rain set in heavily as I left the supermarket (Rewe here in Flensburg.)  I sheltered during the worst of the rain, and gradually made my way back.  The heavens opened again as I got to the harbour, by which time I’d stopped caring, and pressed on.  The drunks sheltering with their lunch under the fish quay shouted out moijns, moinjns; to which there was nothing else to do but reciprocate and trudge on.

But overall, very happy memories of Flensburg, and a super mooring/wi-fi connection!