Last Friday (June 5, 2015) we went out on a dragon bout tour on the Alster lake and its canals. We were lucky for having chosen this day, it was the first summer day in Hamburg with about 27 degrees and Hamburg was shown at its best from the water side! While passing at some of the most prosperous properties in Hamburg with beautifull estates and gardens with rhododendrons in flower we saw lots of aquatic birds such as ducks, geese, great crested grebes, cormorants and swans. The Alster lake as well as the canals were well-attended by people doing stand up paddling, canoeing and we saw all kinds of boats: for sailing, pedalling, rowing and we crossed the famous Alster boats passing.
After a short introduction in how to behave on and deal with the dragon boat given by our cox our students launched the dragon boats and with Aida and Rakshit on the drums we put to sea. The most important command was the stop command in order to avoid a pile-up with other watercrafts or the botany. Our students showed once again their ability to respond to a challenge which they mastered brilliantly. Addtionally our students gave a sample of their Italian knowledge by counting in Italian in order to improve the rhythm of the rowing teams! After a really short break and a change on the drums, Sascha alternated with Rakshit, our cox who by the way was enthusiastic of our students, who tried hard to follow his instructions and to cut a good figure, trained us for a final race. Only by a hair's breadth the red team won the race. We had a lot of fun and none of us felt into the water :-).
