Camping and Paddling the Elbe at Hamburg

Elbe Camping. June 2019.

A couple of nights at Elbe Camping, right on the banks of the River Elbe just outside of Hamburg, was a perfect way to break my journey from Calais to Aarhus in Denmark, a twelve-hour, 1000 km drive if done in a one-er.

And my timing was as good as perfect. I arrived early evening and, despite the slow-moving queue to check in, I had my tent erected in good time to pump up my board and get on to the river before sunset. Pitching a tent less than five minutes’ walk from the water’s edge is a top result.

This particular stretch of the Elbe is a very busy commercial waterway, and I shared the water with some huge containerships. I watched in awe as they slowly made their way in and out of port at Hamburg. I fancifully imagined where they might have set sail from, and what goods and luxuries might be contained within the multi-coloured containers which seemed to be precariously balanced on board. I made sure to give the ships a wide berth in any event. I was surprised at how little wake they left behind them as I enjoyed bouncing up and down on the gently undulating surface of the water.

Elbe Sunset.

The setting sun only allowed me an hour or so on the water before it was time to take the obligatory sunset SUP photos (you know the rules - if there are no photos on Facebook then it never happened!) and I made my way back to my tent. I didn’t want to paddle in the dark, although I was happy to sit outside at the camp café, sipping a beer and checking my emails.

Elbe camp was perfectly situated for a stand-up paddleboarder, and I loved the paddle on the Elbe. In my view, the commercial nature of the river enhanced rather than detracted from its value as a SUP spot. I didn’t get as much sleep as I would like, though. My first night camping here was a noisy one. And stormy too.

My first few hours were spent listening to music. I wouldn’t have minded so much if it had been my music. Or if there had been just one song playing at a time. But no!

From one side of the campsite, some pounding techno and from the other side, some unkind person was torturing the campsite with Britney and ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ on repeat. Again and again and again! I mean, come on, we all love Britney, but that was just a tiny little bit too much.

After what seemed like hours, the music stopped and I fell asleep.

And after what seemed like minutes, I was awoken again by a thunder storm overhead. I felt snug and cosy inside my tent and sleeping bag. I was confident my tiny Snugpak one-person tent wasn’t the tallest object in the area, so I decided to stay put as I listened to the rain pelting the outside of my shelter and hammering into the sand around my pitch. There is a sensation I get, which I can’t really describe, when I am almost outdoors, and I can hear rainfall even though I am sheltered. A sensation that makes me feel comfortable and content.

The storm eventually passed and, even though it was morning, I went back to sleep. I had plans to paddle again at Hamburg, but it could wait for an hour or two.