Friday 13th August
The flight was uneventful, even if once again we were to make a delayed departure.

Once again we had tail winds and we landed on time. It was a delight to see us through baggage retrieval, and customs and immigration in about 15 minutes. We did customs and immigration first, then got our baggage and walked out. There were some people that were subject to a baggage search right at the last stage before release. The pigeon gentleman was not seen or heard during the flight. Cooooo …what luck.

Once outside we tried to call the hotel for a shuttle but no luck. We caught a taxi from the airport and went straight to the hotel.

The room was a pleasant surprise being a good size with a great view over the cemetery – more in a minute. The check in man was very helpful with maps, directions (a city bus stop etc and we got a free drink which we will use tonight at tea).
We had a little walk to get some lunch at a local café, which was interesting as everything is in German but the waitress spoke English. She was from Tunisia and beautifully dresses. Many of the women are very well dressed and the man more colourfully dresses then what you would see at home.
We walked back towards the hotel and across the road from the hotel is a cemetery. It is the most beautiful cemetery I have ever seen (and the jokes about everyone dieing to get in it can be true). The cemetery is totally surrounded by high walls, a bit like the secret garden. Apparently there is a cemetery so big in Hamburg that people take bus tours thru it.It was like a walk in the black forest, except there were very orderly rows of headstones. In Nu Yark they have the Yellow Cab Company, but in this city, the Frankfurters are a bit more reserved and not so bright and loud with their colours. They have the beige cabs. Strangely across the road from the hotel, in front of the cemetery, they have a taxi station – one wonders how many of the cemetery inhabitants use the taxis. The photos may tell the story.