10.7.2018 (Day 53- Break Day: Sylt)
After a short rain shower in the evening before, the sun was shining again most of the day and we enjoyed the rest day at the campground and on the close by sand beach. In the evening, we ate local fish in a restaurant in Westerland.
Sylt is the largest of the North Frisian Islands and therefore the fourth largest island in Germany. In the west of the island, there is the 40km long sand beach, which is visited by many German tourists in the summer as a holiday destination.
11.7.2018 (Day 54: Sylt-Lürschau)
We left the island Sylt by train over the 11km long «Hindenburgdamm» in the direction of the mainland. In Klanxbüll, we left the train and cycled eastwards over agriculturally used areas of North Friesland. As already in Denmark, there were cycling paths next to the roads most of the time in Germany so far, which made the cycling less stressful. Switzerland definitely has backlog there. Near the coast, we spotted uncountable wind turbines, which use the steady wind to produce electricity. Shortly before Schleswig, we found a small lake with a meadow, so we decided to camp there.
12.7.2018 (Day 55: Lürschau-Kiel)
After a few kilometres, we reached Schleswig and explored the city without further ado by bicycle. A short detour later, we arrived in Kiel in the early afternoon and relaxed in a city park with a small pond. The last two days, it was rather humid and many insects gathered on our sweaty body. In the evening, we were welcomed by Sarah, who we knew from Couchsurfing, in her beautifully arranged apartment. Following pleasant shower, we went shopping and cooked a delicious meal while holding interesting conversations.
13.7.2018 (Day 56- Break Day: Kiel)
In the afternoon of our rest day, we walked to the city centre of Kiel and along the port. Our host Sarah already told us, that the city does not offer many interesting sights. During the Second World War, Kiel was levelled to the ground and therefore does not offer many historical buildings anymore.
14.7.2018 (Day 57: Kiel-Fehmarn)
On the way to the third largest island of Germany, we cycled passed many thatch-roofed cottages, which accompanied us since Southern Sweden. For example on the island Sylt, new buildings still had to be built with this kind of “soft roofs”, since there were specifications in place. The reed that is grown on shore or on swampy grounds is used for the roof construction. The craft of thatching industry was accepted as an immaterial cultural heritage of UNESCO in the year 2014.
As soon as we arrived at the campground, we built up our tents, ate dinner and sipped on a delicious Cocktail while listening to live-music with the much older crowd.
15.7.2018- 16.7.2018 (Day 58&59- Break Days: Fehmarn)
After updating our website, we walked to the nearby beach and enjoyed the sun with the constant sea breeze.
17.7.2018 (Day 60: Fehmarn-Lübeck)
Before we left the campground, several other guests asked us about our journey and we had interesting conversations. The sun burned on our bodies since the early morning and made us sweat as if we were in a sauna. Along the coast of the Baltic Sea, we cycled towards Neustadt in Holstein where we met our close friends Yves and Chiara for lunch. After finishing our pizzas called Diavola, Quattro Staggioni und Fantasia, we said goodbye to our friends and continued cycling. Locals recommended the ice-cream shop called Venezia in Bad Schwartau and we were not disappointed from the self-made ice cream. In the evening, we reached Lübeck and could build our tents in the garden of Kurt and Barbara. The friendly, older couple with their own turnery workshop, we met through Warmshowers. Soon after our arrival, we were spoiled with delicious dinner and cold beer. We enjoyed the new acquaintance in the lovely garden, just outside of the city centre.
18.7.2018 (Day 61- Break Day: Lübeck)
Supported with a map and many interesting facts from Kurt and Barbara about the city of the Hanseatic League, we started our sightseeing tour. The beautiful old town of Lübeck with its numerous cultural monuments is part of the UNESCO world heritage and impressed with its density of old buildings. The “Holstentor”, the “Marienkirche” and the “Lübecker Dom” are the emblems of the city of marzipan. Finally yet importantly, we visited the interesting Willy Brandt museum in the city centre.
19.7.2018 (Day 62: Lübeck-Hamburg)
Fuelled again with new energy, we started our leg in the direction of the metropolitan area of Hamburg. In the afternoon, we could finally change our Danish Crowns in a bank to Euros and took a break from in the shade. The temperatures reached almost 30 degrees and let us sweat for real. Later, we reached Holm, a small village 27km outside of Hamburg. Bettina (Fabians girlfriend) had friends there and we could build our tents there in the beautiful garden. After the arrival of Bettina and a first beer in the city centre, we enjoyed the evening together. Bettina will cycle the next weeks with us.
20.7.2018- 22.7.2018 (Day 63-65- Break Days: Hamburg)
The Free and Haseatic City of Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and the largest in the EU, which is not a capital at the same time. The city-state is home of one of the largest ports worldwide and has many interesting buildings, which is a magnet for tourists from all around the World.
We reached Hamburg easily by bus and train from Holm in approximately one hour. At first, we joined a free walking tour, which focused on the harbour area and St.Pauli. We got an impression of the strong character of the inhabitants of the St.Pauli district and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere in the port area.
In the later afternoon of the second day, we were surprised of Fabians sister Nadine and her husband Simon, who drove to Hamburg with a camper. Clara, the daughter of our host in Holm, joined the group as well. Our huge travel group undertook a guided harbour excursion including the “Speicherstadt”. Like this, we got another perspective of the port facility. Afterwards, we enjoyed the holiday-mood at “Strand Pauli” and satisfied our thirst with a cold beer.
On the last day in Hamburg, we met all our Swiss friends and family again and organized tickets for the musical “Catch me if you can” in the Altonaer theatre and enjoyed the nightlife of Hamburg afterwards. Following a few G-rated beverages, a techno club and a visit to the impressive bunker, we ended the night at the fish market with a fish sandwich and a last beer.
23.7.2018 (Day 66: Hamburg-Wechold)
Bettina’s fitness was tested already on the first day with the three guys. With 110km, a strenuous day with high temperatures waited for our first female company. After the transport across the Elbe River, we cycled through huge orchards. Those fruit plantations are called “the old land” and is one of the largest of its kind in Europe and stretch over the states Niedersachsen and Hamburg. Despite the heat, we reached our hosts Dietmar and Silke in Wechold not too late and were spoiled with delicious meat from the barbecue and salads.
24.7.2018-25.7.2018 (Day 67-68 Break Days: Bremen)
After a generous breakfast with many homemade jams, we started our regional tour through Wechold. First, we visited the local tractor museum of Günther. He showed us proudly his collection of Porsche tractors, which date back into the fifties. Afterwards, we discovered the village with a small pickup truck and enjoyed the airstream. Long announced, the centre of Niedersachsen (a rock with a sign) was the next point on the program. All six of us cycled to the geographical highlight and finished our local tour with a cooling in the nearby lake. During an interesting city tour in Bremen, Dietmar and Silke showed us, among other things, the Town Musicians of Bremen. Especially the old town of Bremen with its many beautiful corners in a small area invite for a stroll and was our favourite part.
The second day in the region of Bremen was rather relaxed. In the afternoon, we had visitors from Fabians parents and friends from Switzerland. Michi and Lisa discover Scandinavia with a caravan in the next weeks. Fabians parents, Peter and Lilo, will visit us from time to time in the next 2 weeks and occasionally cycle with us. In the evening, we enjoyed the summer atmosphere at the music festival called Breminale, which took place on the riverside in Bremen.
26.7.2018 (Day 69: Wechold-Nethen)
In the morning, we said goodbye to our awesome hosts Silke and Dietmar. Michi and Lisa drove northwards and our paths went different ways. In Oldenburg, we walked through one of the oldest pedestrian area in Germany and enjoyed a delicious ice cream in the city centre. In search of a cool down, we saw a lake on the map and cycled there. After the camp was all set in the forest nearby, we went for a short swim in the refreshing lake.
27.7.2018 (Day 70: Nethen-Dornumersiel)
After a few kilometres, we pedaled through Jever. The city is famous because of its brewery. Next to a small lake, we cooled our bodies down and enjoyed the lunch break in the shade of some trees. After a nice conversation with interested local tourists, we slowly got closer to the mudflat and the protecting North Sea dike. At the campground, directly at the mudflat, we met Fabians parents, his sister and her husband again. We enjoyed the sociable, joint evening with good food. After sunset, we admired the blood moon on the sky.
28.7.2018 (Tag 71- Break Day: Dornumersiel)
We experienced our first thunderstorm, discovered the mudflats and recovered from the heat of the last few days. Since a long time, we found time to update the website again.
29.7.2018 (Day 72 Dornumersiel-Bad Neuschanz)
In the morning, Fabians parents accompanied us by bicycle and we enjoyed the new company. In Emden, the hometown of Otto, we split up again after a delicious lunch. We pedaled further in the direction of the german-dutch border along the Ems. After crossing the unspectacular inter-European border, we decided to build camp next to the railway tracks, which seemed to be used infrequently. Hungry as always, we ate dinner and waved at the passenger in the passing trains. The forth-regional train, which was passing us, stopped and the driver warned us from his colleague: He wanted to call the police in case we would not leave the area in half an hour. The train driver was saying he was a fan of wild camping and would not care, but his colleague was not on the same line as him. After a short discussion, we moved our tents 100m into the forest, directly next to a small lake. Undisturbed, we spent a peaceful night and were not bothered by the noise of the passing trains.
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