Hiking and biking in Northern Germany

When we lived together in Norway they must have gotten the impression that I like outdoor sports, ‘cause for the week that I was going to be in Germany, Johannes and Harmut planned an overnight backpacking trip and a 3-day cycling tour to the North Sea…

… We slept very well.

If I could characterize the week in 3 words, in addition to hiking and cycling I’d have to say napping. I napped on top of both the Brocken and the Ottofelsen in the Harz National Park. I napped on the train, I napped at lunch breaks, I napped waiting for bridges to close so we could continue cycling, and all three of us fell into a deep slumber by the shore of the North Sea. I’ve never really figured out how to cat-nap before, but this week I’ve fallen into dreams instantly. It helped that it was sunny pretty much the whole time.

If I had a few more words to describe the week, I’d say butterkuchen and beer. We compared butterkuchen (butter cake) and other pastries from village to village. Johannes and Hartmut made sure I sampled a decent selection of German pilsners and hefeweizens. Beers taste so good after a long day of hiking or cycling, and... maybe that’s the secret to good naps, too?

Give me a few more words and I’d also say yellow fields of rapeseed lit by the sun, wind turbines, canals, thatched roof houses, centuries-old cathedrals, city gates and brick and cobblestone streets. The sound of frogs and cuckoo birds. And sheep. Lots of sheep.

People bicycle a lot in Germany – people of all ages – and the bicycle infrastructure is inspiring. There are bicycle signs at most intersections in addition to signs directing cars, and always a bike path along the road or through the countryside. In the city there are both pedestrian and bicycle walk signals and a special section of the sidewalk designated for bikes. Seattle is doing its best, and I appreciate the efforts, but I definitely have some bicycle culture envy.

Thank you to Johannes for masterminding this action-packed week, and to his friends and relatives for hosting us along the way. We stayed with cousin Sarah in Berlin where we explored art-houses and saw the remains of the Berlin wall. His grandmother fed us amazing homemade rhubarb-kuchen when we stayed with her in Braunsweig the night before our hiking trip. There were many great conversations with Johannes’ flatmates in Bremen, Shiva and Stephan, who also cooked delicious food for us and made sure we had a glass of wine. Cousin Sandra in Nordenheim made moussaka and laughed with us until we could resist our sleeping bags no longer.

Thank you!