Across Germany

ACROSS GERMANY

Crossing the Border - Saturday 27th May

 

Guten Morgen aus Deutschland

This was the design on the paper serviette at breakfast.Once I  had crossed the border near Bourtange I started  to cycle East. The plan was to reach the Baltic Sea at Lübeck and then follow the coast to get a ferry across to Denmark. 

Three days to Bremen  Saturday 27th May - Monday 29th

 

 As in Holland there are hundred of cyclists and the cycle paths are excellent and well marked, but they tend to be alongside the roads rather than well away from them. I soon got into a routine of cafe stops,  picnic lunches and afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen or a visit to an Eiscafe.

 

 

Lucy began to sulk when she realised that my German is better than hers, so she sat up most nights wearing headphones hooked up to a German Language App on my phone.

 

A day in Bremen - Monday 29th May

 

A cycle path along the side of a busy main road took me across the River Weser and right into the city centre where I lazed away a few hours. Lucy found the Bremen Musicians from the Grimms Brothers Fable and listened to their story.

 

While she was doing this, I sat in a cafe overlooking the river, explored the Altstadt, looking at the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall)  and St Petri-Dom (Cathedral). I couldn't resist buying a well-designed German Böker camping penknife, complete with knife, fork and spoon. I finished up in the Wallanlager Gardens, which are on the site of the ramparts that once formed an extra line of protection around the city.

 

Eventually I found Lucy drinking Becks as she had discovered it is brewed in Bremen. I managed to drag her away and continued on an off-road cycle path to a Gasthaus near Lilienthal, where I finished a perfect day with some good German home cooking. 

On to the Baltic - 30th May - 1st June

 

I spent three days riding to the Baltic Sea along cycle paths through flat agricultural land, past farms  and little villages with wind turbines on the horizon.

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At one point there was a sign to say that the cycle path was in a bad condition although I could see little sign of any damage, just a few cracks in the tarmac. I don't think I have seen any potholes since I left England. The surfaces have been really good, flat and smooth. 

 Through Hamburg - Wednesday 31st May

 

As I have been to Hamburg a couple of times before I decided to cross the Elbe and several tributaries to the South of the city and miss the town centre. This was an interesting route that took me over many bridges, through a huge industrial area, past power stations and areas under construction. There were some great industrial landscapes. 

 

Although it was only about 30 miles, it was a long tiring day as most of it was through busy urban areas, all on paths beside roads, but there were hundreds of junctions to negotiate, so a lot of map reading and starting and stopping to wait for lights to change and all the while having to keep  an eye on the traffic and other cyclists who suddenly appeared from nowhere.  

To Lübeck and the Baltic - Thursday 1st June

 

It was great to be back on the open road and riding  on off-road trails again as I cycled to Lübeck, in Schleswig-Holstein. an important Hanseatic trading city since the late 1100s. Many buildings are Brick Gothic and a lot of the town has been rebuilt  since it was extensively damaged during WW2. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As it was a beautiful evening I spent it exploring the city, sitting in Cafes and taking photographs. 

 

These are the towers of the Holstein Gate, one of two remaining medieval city gates which have become the emblem of the city. I took these photos at about  8.30 pm and it was still very hot without a cloud in the sky.  

 

Lucy had been reading about the Danes who used to live in the area and wanted to visit the Viking museum, but it was too far from my planned route, so I have told her that we will visit museums  when we are in Denmark.

Arriving at the Baltic Sea - Friday 2nd June

 

Finally we arrived at the Baltic and  from now on will follow the coast North towards Denmark. Again it was very hot, and a public holiday, Whitsun, so the beaches were crowded and there were lots of cyclists riding on the coastal paths. 

 

There are rows and rows of these Strandkörben, wicker beach furniture on every beach. They are peculiar to the Baltic coast and offer seating and protection from the wind, sun and sand. Of course Lucy wanted to sit in one so I found one in a picnic area for out lunch. 

 

I stopped for the night at Kellenhusen and went for an evening walk, far out to sea, along the very modern pier. These photos show the view walking out and back.

 

 

 

The Danish Border - Saturday 2nd June

 

I crossed from Mainland Germany over the Fehmarnsundbrücke to the German island of Fehmarn (the first of many bridges that I will cross as I island-hop on my way to Copenhagen). 

 

 

I was about 8 km from the ferry port of Puttgarden,  when the road suddenly disappeared. They had dug up about a 2 km stretch. There had been no prior warning, or any diversion signs. After consulting the map I figured out that I would have to cycle an extra 16 km to get round it. Luckily a couple came past and said that although it said no way through for cyclists, you could get through if you pushed across the sand. So that is what I decided to do. It was really hard in places with a heavy bike with 4 panniers but I got through. 

 

Finally I arrived in Puttgarden and booked into a cheap and cheerful ferryport hotel. I had a room on the 7th floor overlooking the port. Lucy loved it and sat looking at the ferries knowing that she would be going across to Denmark in the morning.