Hemmoor

Because of our change in direction I had to find a place to stay that was on the route to Bremerhaven and roughly half way. Hemmoor was 53 kms away ,and on the route .They started breakfast at 6.00 so we were able to be on the road by 6.30 .As we caught the ferry BACK OVER the canal a cruise ship was coming through the lock. we dressed for rain but after one brief shower it turned out a fine dayAfter 10kms on the inside of the dyke ,the route went up and over on to the River side where we got our first sight of the Elbe. It’s HUGE. actually we crossed it on the way east up near Lutheran when it was just a small riverAt Glückstadt we boarded the ferry to the south bank. There’s 4 ferry’s running across non stop so we needn’t have hurried . €7 for the 2 of us and bikes. Wischhafen. The town harbour ,like all of the estuarine harbours off the Elbe, dry out at low tide and the coasters would sit in the mud and wait for the next high tide.(3 metre tides here ) This is a typical freighter from the 1800sI got an urgent message from my NZ museum buff not to miss the maritime museum here.As usual she was right on the mark. It was fantastic . Thanks Di no reply? Oh well I triedWischhafen also had a great cake shop, all made on site. It is after all the main reason to bike!The route now is past Apple orchards and little lanes with thatched cottages. It felt like a part of England. Just before Hemmoor is the pretty village of Osten and for me , a wonderful surprise!The Osten Transporter bridge! Built in 1909 to replace the old ferry these clever bridges were high enough to let sailing ships through. The carriage is at road level and runs along a railway track on the structure above. Driven by just one small electric motor. The local museum runs this one. There are only 8 of these bridges left in the world, 3 in Britain,1 on the Baltic end of the Kiel canal , and one in Rochford France ,all of which I have seen over the years. I had no idea of this ones existence so naturally I’m pretty excited. Now I’m keen to see the last two .Ones in Argentina, the other in the USA5 minutes later and we’re on the other side on the outskirts of Hemmoor It’s a nice hotel but it’s best feature is the view. I can still see the bridge