Hamburg - day 2

Megan heads to work, mainly I think for a friends leaving party, because she is not feeling 100%. She has left me with a small shopping list: some picture hooks, bicycle chain oil, and lemons. I decide to start with the hardest and head for Ikea to get a pack of hooks.

The U-Bahn and a bus get me to Altona. The Ikea is on 3 floors, and I'm told that the fixings are on the right by the checkout. They are, but they picture hooks are out of stock. A nice lady tells me that there are 26 in stock at Moorfleet - 11km away.

More buses, S-Bahn, rail replacement bus get me to the next Ikea. Their Info Punkt says that what I am looking fof is in the lighting section. It isn't. A staff member directs me to the checkout where, once again, there are plenty of fixings, but not the ones I'm looking for. Finally, another staff member escorts me back into the marketplace to the central repository of all things fixing. And there they are, on the wrong shelf, under the wrong part number, marked with the wrong price. Success is sweet!

I return to Hochallee. The local bicycle shop sells bicycles, but not chain oil, apparently. I walk around the block to the Velo Shop where they have a shelf of oils. And then, completing the block, I get lemons, saurkraut and pumpernickel at Alnatura.

Elka, the landlady, is boiling fish in the flat. I head over the road to Tiefentahl for a Weißbier and to read my book. It's relaxing and calm, but eventually the beer is finished and I head back. I'm woken by Megan calling from the front door. A quick change and we're off to Maquis for a table that she booked days ago.

It's another amazing meal, with pre-starters (a tempura'd stuffed brussel sprout with chilli jam) followed by lemon soaked olives and bread with creamy, home-made herb butter. There are two starters and two mains on the menu, so we order one of each (Panisse mit Fenchelcreme und Kräutersalat; Zwiebelbrioche mit Pilzen und Apfelchutney; Gegrillter Blumenkohl mit Haselnuss, Sellerie und Misobutter; Waldpilzragout "Stroganoff"). They are all excellent and Megan pronounces this her new favourite restaurant.

Hot toddies back at the flat and it's time for bed..... although I have to ask her neighbour to stop making loud phone calls on the shared balcony :)