This morning we departed from our accommodation in Hamburg and started running from Ahernsbok. Once again it was very warm as we ran through scenic countryside. Due to the humidity there were small bug-like flies everywhere. There was nowhere you could go in order to escape them.

When we reached the town of Lubeck the whole team ran through the main streets greeting the public as they went.

Unfortunately the town mayor had cancelled his meeting with us at a local sports centre so we had to improvise. After a lap of the running track we spotted many soccer players in the adjacent field.

There were many teams playing a soccer blitz and during an interval we manage to address everyone present.

After some friendly cheers we managed to commandeer some players to run with us.

One gentleman watching the soccer had a very gentle dog that just smiled at everything that was going on around him.

As we were running from the football tournament a young lady was warming down after her run and she gladly ran a few metres with us.

We continued to run out of the city along the river with the church in the background.

With no more scheduled meetings for the day we were able to focus on covering the distance to our destination in order to finish earlier. We had an extra van so we were able to triple-leapfrog. This process meant we could have up to six runners on the road at any one time.

The day passed quickly as we ran through countryside and small towns. Just before arriving in Lunenborg we happened to pull into a petrol station to wait for a runner. The courtyard was filled with gleaming motorbikes and bikers chatting away to one another. Of course it was a perfect opportunity to tell them a little bit about the World Harmony Run.

There were forty of them altogether, all on shining bikes that looked more luxurious then cars. You can imagine our amazement when we discovered that every one of them were dentists! Yes that's right: dentists! Who could have conceived of a biker gang of dentists? But if you don't believe us, check their website...

We crossed the bridge that spanned the River Elbe and had a great view.

Along out route we met two lovely children by an old windmill.

As the runner's ran through the streets of Lunenburg towards the town square, they spotted a carriage drawn by horses. There was a newly married couple inside the carriage and before they knew it the World Harmony Run torch was in their hands. They were full of surprise and smiles!

We stopped in the town square and then decided to reward ourselves with ice cream! The restaurant next door, like our team, was also quite international. Jadranka was surprised to find a man also from Serbia working there and Petar met a fellow Bulgarian. He has being speaking English on the Harmony Run for so long that no Bulgarian would come to his lips. All he could think of was: "Hi, How are you!" Eventually it all came flooding back and he told her about the run.

Once we had enjoyed our ice cream we returned once more to our accommodation in Hamburg to rest for the evening. We finally sat down in front of the television and watched Germany play Portugal in the World Cup. Germany won and for an hour or more after the game all we could hear was the sound of car horns as they celebrated.

---

Distance: 110km

Team Members:
Colm Magee (Ireland), Jadranka Grbic (Serbia & Montenegro), Janos Derekas (Hungary), Mark Collinson (England), Olesya Ilyasova (Russia), Ondrej Vesely (Czech Republic), Petar Mihaylov (Bulgaria), Petr Machacek (Czech Republic), Svetlana Gorshkova (Russia), Valentine Bebik (Ukraine).

Harmonemail:
You can send a message to the runners or read the messages.

< Germany 7 July

Germany 9 July >