Hamburg-Germany 7’

July 16, 2023,

Hi Everyone,

Last evening after eating a meal which was too filling, I followed the advice of 2 of my ‘followers’ and took the subway to Reeperbahn. This is a street, several blocks long in the St. Pauli area. I have been blown away by the incredible good things that Hamburg has to offer. Well, the opposite is with what I observed in Reeperbahn. This area is absolutely the worst that Hamburg and probably the rest of Germany has to offer. I was easily the oldest, smallest, white haired person on the street. This is the famous Red Light District of Hamburg. The street itself and the off streets offer the most seedy aspect in Hamburg. It was not at all dangerous to walk there alone, as there were tons of people around. There was a small police presence but I don’t doubt that there were cameras and plain clothes men around so as to protect against disturbances.

The street mostly consists of sex shops selling all sorts of ‘toys’ and clothing. You can buy any time of ‘organ’ that you need. Restaurants were mostly fast food joints, very poor quality. There was bar, after bar, after bar offering cheap drinks and of course dancing girls. The music was loud and a lot of people were dancing and having a good time. There were prostitutes everywhere. There was even a 1 block street called Herbertstrasse where men only are allowed to go. Women, all made up with make-up, in skimpy dresses, sitting on chairs in window fronts, offered themselves up for sex. The crowd on the street was mostly pretty low class. There were street ‘odours’ everywhere, some of which I recognized, some of which I did not. I did not hear or see any tourists. The tourist books advise that you visit the area with a guide although nobody seems to bother anyone if you are not interested in what is for sale. There were ATM machines on every corner; I guess that most people pay cash for what they purchase.

I didn’t sit down for a drink. A also would have been afraid to enter a club as I had a bag with me and was afraid to be pick pocketed. The people walking around were mostly young to middle age, a very rough, tough looking crowd, although I did not see any fights and only heard a police siren once. The area resembled a poorer ‘Old Los Vagas’ area. It had much less class from what I remember of the Red Light District in Amsterdam, however that was 50 years ago and things might have changed.

After 1 hour of strolling around, I had had enough. So I took the subway back to my area, downtown. What a difference!

Love, Brian

Hamburg-Germany 6,

July 15, 2023,

Hi Everyone,

I must have been exhausted yesterday as I slept for 9 hours, waking up rather refreshed after my race yesterday. As a senior citizen I might even start getting used to sleeping for more that 8 hours, after 50 years of sleep deprivation of 6.5 hours of sleep per night. I wrote my blog this morning for 1 hour and set out to explore Hamburg on foot. I walked from 11:00 to 6:00 only stopping for a brief sandwich for lunch.

It was sunny, 28C, a beautiful day with a small sprinkle of a shower that did not require an umbrella. I used Siri and Apple Maps to get around. It is nice having someone to talk to. She doesn’t even get annoyed with me if I take a wrong turn.

Hamburg is a city, rebuilt with 19th century architecture. The buildings are not uniform like in Paris but somehow the buildings seem to go well together. The city is built on a series of canals. My first stop was the Maritime Museum. I spent 2 hours there but could easily have spent the whole day. The museum traces naval history from the first ships in the Middle Ages to the present time. They explain the European conquests of the New World and the East. A pope at the time divided the world among the Catholic powers so as ‘not to cause conflict’. Spain was ‘given’ the Americas and Portugal was ‘given’ India and the East. Britain and France were not consulted and obviously did not agree with the ‘unfair’ devision setting the stage for 400 years of colonial warfare terminating with WW2 and beyond. The slave trade was atrocious.

I then made my way to the new and modern symphony and opera house, the Elbphilharmonie. It is an incredible building, ultra modern, married well with its surroundings. I could not visit the symphony hall itself as it was closed to the public. However, I was able to go up to the terrace which gives a beautiful view of the harbour. It costs 2 Euros to visit but when I got to the entrance, the nice lady told me in English, without me having to ask the price of a ticket, that it was free for me. I guess with my white hair I resemble a senior American tourist. I took the Metro back to my hotel, cheap, clean and not at all crowded even at rush hour

I ate dinner outside at a German restaurant. The portions are huge.

Love, Brian

Hamburg-Germany 5

July 15, 2023,

Hi Everyone,

Today is Saturday, beautiful, sunny 25C. The perfect day to walk around and see Hamburg. I didn’t write yesterday, except for a few emails to exclaim that I was still alive. I was seriously exhausted after the triathlon and needed a brake in the action. The atmosphere is electric here. I never saw such a collection of tall, long legged, hard, muscular bodies in one place. The men as well as the women. There are 4000-5000 athletes here from 36 different countries participating in a dozen different events. The Canadian delegation is one of the biggest and very popular if one considers the cheering that we got in the parade and among the enthusiastic fans that lined the race course. On the other hand, triathletes don’t know how to party like sailors at major regattas such as the North Americans, the Canadians and the World J24 Championships. They are too keen to stay in shape. They come to win, not to play, especially the Brits, the Americans, the Germans and the Aussies.

We started the day by meeting outside of the hotel and walking to the area marked off for the race at the port. There was a check in for the bikes and serious security as they obviously did not want to have an incident. I parked my bike in the designated area for my number 1565 and my running shoes in a separate area assigned to me. I took my wet suit with me as we were allowed to wear it for the swim given the water temperature of 21.9C. 22C was the cut off for allowing wetsuits except for the ‘seniors’ who need them to keep afloat. I then walked around the exhibits and had a light breakfast.

My group of men 70 to 89 years of age met at the waterfront half hour before the swim. We were in the water 5 minutes before the horn blew with super enthusiasm from the athletes yelling and cheering themselves on before the start. Usually I hang back and allow the faster swimmers to go ahead so as not to get kicked in the face. I made a mistake and started in the first row, going all out for the first 100m. I was a little short of breath and did a few breast strokes to relax and find my rhythm. After that it was ok.

We ran out of the water and there were some young officials there to encourage us and help us onto the stairs. I then ran over to my bike, took off my wet suit (I am rather slow at that; I should practiced it at home in the garden.) My transition time was 8 min, the faster athletes do it in 4. However, I relish the brake to get my energy back. My bike part was ok, but I was still on the first lap and the leaders were passing me on their 2nd lap. My run was ok although I was tired at the end. The major advantage in being one of the last in my age group is that I get to run with the 20-30 year old girls (women) which is great to watch. There is no way that I could keep up with them. The difference with a race here as opposed to a race in Quebec, is that in Quebec the girls all shout out encouragement to me saying ‘allez, lache pas’ as they pass me. Here non of the girls talk. They are too interested in winning.

I arrived at the finish line and one of the officials congratulated me and put a beautiful finishing medal around my neck. I wore it all day and only took it off when I went to bed. I relaxed for the rest of the day and visited the booths. After all, my goal was to play, not to win, and of course to finish the race. I visited the Garmin booth to look over the watches. I bought my watch 10 years ago and have never really learned how to set it up to do a multi sport triathlon. The advisor at the booth, Veronica, looked at my watch as if it were a historical entity. She was really nice and spent 1 hour setting it up for me, incredibly patient with a senior citizen who is a techno-peasant.

My results were a PB (personal best) at 1:56. The word must have gotten around that there was a Canadian to beat as he wins all the golds, silvers and bronzes in his age group in Canada. And beat me they did. The mean in my group was 1:30. I can’t even dream of doing that. I came 43rd out of 44 with 1 athlete dropping out of the race. If I compare my time with the 75 to 79 group, I do a little better and improve in the 80 to 84 group. There is even an 85-89 age group. An 80 year old blew by me in the last 500m as if I were standing still. I really don’t care about the results, I was here to have a good time. The athletes here in all age groups are really serious about their sport. They identify themselves as triathletes. This is their sport and this is what they do. As for me, triathlon is 1 of several sports that I participate in, and not necessarily the best one. Canada, although one of the biggest teams, managed only I silver medal in the men’s 80-85 division. I don’t know how we did in the other races. Today I will try to get my medal engraved with my name on it.

Last evening I had dinner with a Canadian, Rick, from Edmonton. We exchanged athletic stories although I am sure that I did most of the talking as usual. I spoke to 1 Canadian who has done 60 world championships in various divisions over the last 30 years. I will have to live to 130 to accomplish that. Today I will walk around and explore Hamburg, what a wonderful city.

Love, Brian

Hamburg-Germany 4,

July 13, 2023,

Hi Everyone,

Here is a good rule of thumb for finding restaurants in a foreign country. No matter where you are in the world, look for an Italian restaurant. You can’t possibly go wrong. Italian restaurants always know how to prepare a good spaghetti, cannelloni or rigatoni. I found an Italian restaurant and I was right. I had a rigatoni prepared ‘just the way mama makes it in the old country’.

Over the last 3 months I have been training like a fiend. I played hockey twice a week or once a week and raced my sailboat on the make up day. 3 days a week I would do 2 or 3 parts of the triathlon. For example, I would run 5k in the morning, swim 30 laps (750m) in the afternoon and ride my bike on the bike path for 50 minutes (20k) in the evening. I put it all together last week in the Gatineau Triathlon where I won a silver. This should be good enough to be invited to the World Championships in Malaga next year. I will skip into the 75-79 age group.

I also modified my diet. Breakfast: 1.5 cappuccinos with a bagel, butter, no jam. Lunch: small salad, fruit and a cappuccino. I snacked minimally between meals: Supper: a good meal but no seconds. No scotch on Friday night. I also decreased my wine intake from half a bottle to 2 glasses. Last night I drank my usual 2 glasses and surprise, surprise, I was flying. Were the Italian glasses bigger than my usual or I am I no longer able to consume 2 glasses of wine with a meal and remain sober? What will happen to me when I return home and go back to my usual habit? The former is a disaster and the later even worse!

Today I woke up early and went to the bike shop to pick up the bike that I had rented. Some athletes brought their own bikes and unfortunately some of the bikes have not arrived yet. At noon, Team Canada met up at a Bavarian restaurant so our team leader could give us instructions. We are about 150 Canadians, one of the biggest teams. There are about 4000 athletes from 36 countries competing in 10 different races. We all then walked 1k to the main area for the ‘gathering of nations’. It started pouring and everyone took shelter under the tents. Finally we were able to unite for a photo shoot and the parade.

The parade was really exciting. The athletes lined up with their respective teams in alphabetical order. Pictures and movies were taken. Then a band started playing and we marched through the streets of Hamburg for half an hour. There were thousands of people lining the streets cheering us on “Ca-na-da, Ca-na-da”. It was very stirring and I was very proud. I didn’t know that so many people liked us. Then there were some speeches by the international triathlon president and the mayor or Hamburg. I listened to the oom-papa music by a German band for a while and then met up with the French Team. I introduced myself as a Francais-Anglophone from Quebec-Canada. That required a certain explanation. The French team is very small and they asked me why I don’t compete for France next year. Obviously they have never seen me run.

Hamburg-Germany 3

July 12, 2023,

Hi Everyone,

I spent my first night in my 2* Ibis Hotel which is adequate and centrally located. Apparently there are 150 Canadians here but many have not arrived yet. I went to bed at 11:00 last night and slept until 10:00 this morning a feat that has not been duplicated by me since my university days. I guess that I must have been tired from the voyage. I am not as young as I used to be. I left the hotel in shorts and a t-shirt, prepared for a sunny day…

My first stop was at a German bakery for a chocolate croissant and a cappuccino just like at home. I spent the day strolling along various streets in Hamburg in no particular direction and with no particular place to go. I love travelling like that. It reminds me of a scene in Easy Rider when a fellow asks Peter Fonda ‘what time is it’ and he responds that it is the ‘time that we throw away our watches’ and he tosses his.

Hamburg is an incredible city. It was bombed and completely flattened during the war. It was then rebuilt with the same 19th century architecture. All the buildings are 6 to 8 stories high and I didn’t see any of those 30 story glass buildings that seem to grow up everywhere in our downtowns. There are pedestrian walk ways everywhere. The sidewalks are wide and there does not seem to be any traffic jams. I didn’t see any cones surrounding a hole in the street with a bunch of guys standing around with cigarettes trying to fill the hole up by flicking their ashes into it. This is obviously a Montreal phenomenon. The city is particularly clean with many beautiful parks. There are bicycle paths everywhere which are meant for bikes only. The bikes go fast so you must not walk on the path unless you want to be a ‘past tense’.

It started pouring late in the afternoon, so I got soaked. Everyone speaks English here except the salesman in the umbrella shop that I entered. However he quickly understood from my sign language what I wanted to purchase. At 4:00 I went to the main plaza where tents have been put up to accommodate the athletes and give us our pre race instructions and athletic bags with our numbers. There are 5000 athletes here competing in various categories.

I get the impression in Western Europe that they are much more concerned than us about protecting the environment, preserving heritage buildings, and conserving energy. People everywhere are very polite. It seems to be a pleasure for them to speak in English, showing you that they can converse in at least 2 languages. Is it possible that Canada is a young country with old ideas, and Western European countries are old countries with young ideas? Canadians either don’t travel enough or if they do, they don’t learn from their travels.

Well it’s time for my evening cocktail (beer).

Love, Brian

Hamburg-Germany 2,

July 11. 2023,

Hi Everyone,

Dominique drove me to the airport. There are 2 separate lanes to get you here and the line up is round the block. We have the most brilliant city planners in the world. Once into the airport things went quite quickly and I was through customs in 30 min. I had enough wine to drink courtesy of my bank and was the last person to board the plane. After 2 Ativans and a repeat dinner I fell asleep for 6 hours. A good combination of wine and sleeping pills always does the trick for me on a long plane trip. I arrived in London and had 45 minutes to cross the airport to catch my plane to Hamburg. They were just about ready to close the doors when I boarded the plane. It was a short flight, peanuts and a glass of wine for lunch. I switched my SIM card for a local brand at the airport allowing me internet but no calling out of the country unless I use the 20 number phone number.

I took a taxi to my 2* Ibis where all the Canadians are staying. There are 150 of us in total so it should be fun. Some of them brought their own bikes but I rented one here and will pick it up on Thursday. The hotel itself is quite nice for a 2*, clean and very modern. I have a pretty good impression of Hamburg at first glance. It is modern but the buildings have a nice old style compared to the glass towers that seem to appear out of nowhere in Montreal and Toronto. I walked along the waterfront and had a beer on a terrace facing the water. There were a lot of small sailboats sailing around. The change of time started to effect me so I walked back to the hotel and crashed for 4 hours.

I am now sitting in a restaurant across from the train station. I ate pub food that was plentiful but not particularly tasty. The German beer is great. At one point a ‘street women’ walked up on the terrace asking for money, All of a sudden, without warning, she grabbed a lady’s beer off the table and drank the whole glass. The lady got up and started yelling at her. Her husband thought that it was rather funny and laughed it off. The waiter came along and told the women that it was ‘nit gutt’ and made her go away after she had downed the beer. He then brought the lady another beer.

Love, Brian

Continue reading “23-07 Hamburg-Germany 2” →

23-07 Hamburg Germany 1,

July 10, 2023,

Hi Everyone,

I am sitting in the Banque National lounge at Trudeau Airport waiting for my flight to London and then to Hamburg. I can eat and drink here for free due to my Elite Master Card status. The food is actually good and there is an open bar for wine which is to my taste. I am already on my …..glass. Unfortunately there is no scotch.

2 songs seem to come across my mind. My taste in music is mired in the 17th century with Bach and Beethoven and then skips rapidly to the Sinatra big band era followed by music from the 60s and 70s. I don’t think that I could even name a band or singer from the 80s onwards. “ All my bags are packed and I’m ready to go, I’m standing here outside your door, I am so lonely that I could cry. I’m leaving on a jet plane….” (John Denver). “I’m sitting in a railroad station, with a ticket for my destination, ooh ooh” (Simon and Garfunkel). Enough of that memorabilia.

How did I get here? Well that is a long story. I was playing 80 games of hockey a year and 50 games of squash. I was skiing and racing a sailboat. How could I have a cardiac problem? Like every good doctor, I had a blood test regularly every 30 years. Unknown to me, my cholesterol was ski high and in spite of my over active personality, my thyroid had virtually stopped functioning. I had 2 heart attacks playing hockey and 1 walking on the street. I stayed home, hoping to discuss this problem with my friend, the cardiologist, but a kidney stone intervened and brought me to the hospital. 3 days later I had a quadruple bypass at the old Royal Vic.

Following the bypass I entered into an intensive cardiac rehab program at the YMHA. My surgeon had promised me that I could play hockey 3 months after the bypass. Actually I started skating 3 months later, raced my sailboat at about the same time, reffed hockey over the summer and started playing 5 months later. The rest is history.

About that time my friend Glen told me that I should try to do a triathlon. A triathlon? I couldn’t even spell the word. I thought it was spelled with a Y. Anyway, the following summer I did my first sprint triathlon (swim 750m, bike 20k and run 5k). I won a gold medal in my age group. Since then, I have participated in 11 triathlons including the Olympic, (swim 1.5k, bike 40k and run 10k) and half Ironman relay where I did did the swim (1.9k). I have won several gold, silver and bronze medals in my age group, 65-69 and 70-74. There are not too many people over 70 who can do all 3 disciplines. If you out live the competition you can do really well in triathlons.

Last year I did the Sprint at the Esprit Triathlon in Montreal in the Old Port. Several months later I received an email from Team Canada inviting me to be a member of the Canadian National Triathlon Team, Sprint, Age Group 70-74. I accepted of course, not really realizing that it was self financing, (Canada really does not support its budding athletes) . So I am on my way to Hamburg to do the World Triathlon Championship, Sprint, Age Related. We will be 150 persons on the Canadian Team and probably 4000 athletes in all categories. I have a t-shirt that says Canada, a team jacket, shorts, a hat and a tight, tight tight bathing suit that shows a little too much.

I have been training like crazy for the last 3 months. 1 play 2 games of hockey a week or 1 game and do a sail boat race. On the days that I don’t play I do a sprint triathlon, split up during the day. For example, I would run in the morning for 40 min (5k) swim 20 laps in the afternoon (750m) and bike of 50 min in the evening (20). I lost 13 lbs. I cut back my wine drinking to 2 glasses a day without getting the DTs and cut out my Friday night scotch entirely.

2 days ago I did the Gatineau Triathlon. I came 185th out of 201 participants, finished the race in 1:57 and won a silver medal in my age group. I finished in the 4th quarter and the fellow that beat me in my age group did it in 1:20 and finished in the 1st quarter. My finishing should probably be good enough to be invited to the Worlds in Malaga, Spain, next year.

Love, Brian