After a few days in Denmark, I cycled a few days in Schleswig-Holstein. Why? Ah, that old question. Well, I’m planning a German End to End later this year, and this seemed good preparation.
Northern Germany does good cycling infra. The hundred-plus-mile trip from Flensburg, on the Danish border, through the DK/DE ambiguity of Schleswig-Holstein down to Hamburg, in ‘proper Germany’, was almost all on very good cycle paths separated off from the main or side roads.
Every small town had a supermarket, and clean, comfy, reasonably-priced accomm was easy to find.
As for the scenery, well, words such as ‘spectacular’, ‘thrilling’, ‘alpine’, and ‘not’ come to mind. I didn’t expect frame-filling mountainscapes, and I didn’t get them. It’s all gentle, rolling, farmy and green, though there are some picturesque river crossings with cool ferries.
(The ferry at Missunde has an unfortunate story. The terrible polluting old diesel ferry was sold off cheap recently and replaced with a super new green solar-powered one. Which, er, soon proved unsteerable because the PV panels acted as sails. The council had to buy back the dirty but reliable old ferry at a premium and get it running again, which is still is.)
I caught up with old friend, Hans, whose family has a farm outside Rendsburg. I wild-swam a few times in lakes. I had picnics at trim village-green benches. I ate delicious fresh food from farm shops. I saw storks. I sang karaoke in Hamburg. It was sunny and warm, and a very satisfactory few days.
I roughly followed the ‘Ox Path’, an ancient livestock way that gives its name to a modern bike route. No bull.
My last leg into Hamburg was along the A7 main road that now follows the historic royal highway between it and Flensburg. Built in the early 1800s, it was evidently future-proofed with good cycle paths.
Period milestones line the route. However, these are Danish miles, which are about 7.5km, ie nearly five British miles.
Here’s a few more pics from the trip. I’m very much looking forward to my German End to End; if it’s anything as good as these last three days, it’ll be a cracking experience.
