We stopped in north western Germany primarily to pay a visit to a good mate, Alex. He lived in Bad Schwartau, a small town outside of Lübeck (a larger town), about 45 minutes from Hamburg (a major city). I say "lived", because he was in the process of moving into his own apartment in Lübeck. It seems that Aisha and I have a bad habit of turning up right when people are moving. Frida, who we stayed with in Stockholm, was also moving during the time that we were there. Matt and Aisha's Worldwide Removalists, at your service.

It was a Friday afternoon when we arrived, and Alex was still at work. We wandered towards the centre of town and stopped at one of the gazillion döner stores for lunch. German/Austrian döner is bested by no-one, not even Turkey, where it supposedly originated from. The combination of spiced meat, salad, onion and garlic sauce in a wallet of bread is mouthwatering. At around €4 a pop, they have to be one of the best meals around, especially after a few beers.

And that night, after dinner, a few beers we had. Much celebrating and "Prost"ing were done, especially because of Alex's new apartment. We finally made it home in the early hours of the morning.

The plan for the next day was to visit IKEA with Alex, who was shopping for a new couch. Somehow, instead of walking out with a new couch, we walked out with a corner lamp, a spatula and some seat cushions. We did manage to find one particularly nice couch/bed hybrid, however, and it was put on Alex's list of potential purchases. IKEA food proved to be an excellent stomach lining after the previous night. On ordering ten hotdogs sprinkled with pickles and fried onion as well as three soft serves, the checkout lady was surprised enough to throw in free drinks. Winner!

Alex and his mates play poker every week, and had a game organised for that evening. I figured I'd go along and try my luck. Aisha had all the cash, so I borrowed €5 and promised her she'd get it back. Luckily for me I had some awesome hands, and managed to walk away with €14 and the knowledge that I beat a bunch of Germans who play poker every week.

Swingolf is a game that stemmed from the mutilation of golf by the Germans. You play on a regular sized golf course with larger-than-normal holes and a ball that is slightly squishy. All of your shots are all played using only one club. It is incredibly frustrating at times, but when you do pull off an awesome shot, it can be very satisfying. Alex, Aisha, Julian (one of Alex's mates) and I spent almost an entire Sunday playing 18 holes, because none of us were any good at it. I got the lowest score of 101. Par for the course was somewhere around 70.

The weather was excellent while we were in Lübeck. One of the days the temperature hit 35°C so Aisha and I spent a day at the beach picnicking and swimming. Seemingly, we weren't the only ones with that idea. The trains and streets were full of people making an exodus to Scharbeutz, one of the beaches in the Ostsee (Baltic Sea). The beaches themselves were absolutely packed, with barely any white sand showing. I think we're quite lucky in Australia to have so much coastline and such a small population.

We did actually do some sightseeing while we were staying with Alex. Both Hamburg and Lübeck were excellent to wander around in. Lübeck is full of tiny cobblestoned streets with nooks and crannies everywhere. Hamburg is much larger and grander, and we spent a whole day walking through the shopping streets, relaxing by the river and eating good food. We climbed one of the church steeples with an excellent view of the city, and also took a tethered balloon ride that went even higher.

For those that have made it to the end, apparently the translation of the title is "The old city is calling for you" (although Google Translate says it is "The old reputation"). Suggested by Alex. Because Lübeck and Hamburg are old.

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