Through Germany

The first day of my journey didn´t bring me very far, just around 15 km to Syke. Accompanied by Heike I spent the night on a small space in the woods beside an arm of the small River Hache.

After a second night in Heike´s Garden the third day started with less clouds and rain.

Roundabout  lunchtime I arrived in Harpstedt. Standing by The River Delme, which is the only River in Germany with a population of Bachmuschel (Unio Crassus), an old man approached me and told me to be happy to see me. As he was young, he used to cycle over the Alps, with tent and all. Now his heart isn´t working good anymore, so he is quite happy to owe one of those new electro bikes.

In the garden of the Amtshof is a flat big stone. It was found on some hill in the region in 1920. It is decorated with a small dot in the middle surrounded by 12 circles. The stone has been worked during the bronze age and is called Sonnenstein nowadays.






















My way brought me close to Wildeshausen, through Dötlingen, Großenkneten and finally to Hespenbusch, where I stopped for the night. Sitting on a meadow. I cooked me some food, enjoyed the sunset, and put up my tent for the night.

The next morning is grey and soon the rain  starts. I come across strange birthday decorations and the Hügelgräberfeld Hespenbusch.

54 small burial hills are spread across the field. The place has been used as burial ground since the bronze- until the pre-roman iron age.

Emsland has a catholic population and Jesus hangs around on mostly every corner.

The rain stops in the late afternoon. The sun got through some of the holes and turned the last rain cloud into the background for a rainbow.
Between Breddenberg and Lorup is time for rest. I cook myself a hot meal and put up the tent early. It is nobody around in these weathers.

The next day is even worse, a storm is hauling, and I can only drive in the lowest gear. Sometimes I even have to hide for the worst wind gusts, they nearly manage to blow me off the street.
I have to make several breaks, and one of them is in a german imbiss. A cheeseburger, a coffee and a longer chat with the woman who owns the place is a nice interruption. She is cyclist too, and we share our stories for a while before I´m heading off in direction Dörpen. I have choosen to go on a campsite there, and take a long and very hot shower :)

The next day is wet again. From Dörpen where I had a loud night is it only few kilometer to the green border to the netherlands. One only has to follow the Hasselbergstraße.