Travel report: Cycling tour in East Frisia, July 2021
From our guests Sandra, Ilja and Lisa
After a wonderful cycling vacation around Lake Constance, in the Altmühltal valley and on the Moselle with cycle path trips, this year we wanted to go to the North Sea.
This time, we deliberately opted for a trip to the North Sea in the hope of being able to jump into the sea (unfortunately, the North Sea was too cold, so we were only able to cool off our feet).
Show more Show lessDay 1, arrival:
On 24.07.2021, the time had finally come. The three of us arrived at the start hotel in Emden by car with two bikes and three suitcases. Two bikes from the Palatinate were allowed to get a taste of the sea air. A third bike was rented. Like the two bikes from the Palatinate, it was to be an e-bike. After all, it was supposed to be a vacation and not a training session.
Excited about the first hotel, we were pleasantly surprised. It was located directly "am Delft" in the immediate vicinity of Emden's pedestrian zone. The breakfast terrace and the breakfast buffet were great. We enjoyed salmon, sparkling wine and various rolls with a direct view of "the Delft". We were particularly pleased that the Otto Museum was within walking distance. We like Otto and his films and have already been able to see him perform live, so this museum was a must for us (now in times of Corona it really makes sense to reserve an admission time in advance).
Before we made our way to the organizer's information event later in the evening and the associated bike handover, we first fortified ourselves with a fish sandwich at the "Emder Heringslogger". Here we could see hungry people queuing throughout our stay. As expected, it was very tasty. During a late evening stroll through the pedestrian zone, we spontaneously managed to get a nice seat for our dinner at the Greek restaurant "Olymp".
Show more Show lessDay 2, off we went on the discovery tour:
Well rested, we set off early the next morning for the ferry to Borkum. Not a holidaymaker-friendly time, but you can still snooze a little on the ferry. Departure was already announced at 08:00. We had a lovely two hours on the ferry. Here you can really make yourself comfortable with another coffee or a second breakfast. It's worth getting on the ferry early to get the seat you want in the indoor or outdoor area. Queues quickly formed at the kiosk and the waiters struggled to satisfy all the thirsty and hungry guests. Once we arrived on Borkum, we took in the island on our bikes for about 30 kilometers.
It was a great day. On the way, we bought a picnic for the beach in a supermarket. Unfortunately, it was only around 20 degrees, but that was enough to lie on the beach and enjoy the sunshine and our snack. Afterwards, it was a must for us to look for at least one geocache on the island. Caching is a hobby for us that accompanies us on all our travels and can be easily combined with cycling or hiking. The first logbook was quickly signed.
Ferry trip in East Frisia
At around 5 p.m., our ferry left again. Once we arrived at the hotel in Emden and had a short rest, we went in search of a restaurant. We quickly found one near the hotel. This time we went to the "Aurora" restaurant, a nice little Italian restaurant with lovely outdoor seating. Just as we were paying, a thunderstorm came up. The friendly innkeeper let us linger a little longer inside the restaurant and even invited us in for a liqueur, which made for a fun end to the day. We can only recommend the food at "Aurora".
Show more Show lessDay 3, the first major cycle tour with lots of interesting stops:
Today we wanted and had to collect kilometers (58 kilometers). We went from Emden to the north. You should take plenty of time for breaks on this tour. There is a lot to discover. We cycled towards Suurhusen along a beautiful canal which, as we later saw on the map, is called "Treckfahrtstief". Suurhusen is home to the most leaning tower in the world, which we wanted to see. We had visited Pisa years ago, but this tower here really seems to be a lot more crooked. But it's not quite as high, so of course Pisa seems leaner at first glance. But the Suurhuser church tower is definitely worth a visit.
Another highlight of the day was the "lowest point in Germany". There is actually nothing to see here, except for the sign indicating that this is the lowest point. You have to decide for yourself whether you want to cycle the few meters detour. But even if there is nothing to see here, the rest area for tired cyclists and hikers is definitely worth it. Here we enjoyed the food we had brought with us and the flask didn't stay closed either. In any case, we can now say that we have already had a picnic at the lowest point in Germany.
The day continued with our aforementioned hobby. In search of a geocache, we took a closer look at the Hinter Mühle, as well as Hinta Castle, which is privately owned. We were still able to take a look at the garden, as a local resident told us that we were welcome to enter the garden. You can only imagine what went on here in earlier times.
There were other highlights on this day (e.g. the cycle path along the dyke through the flock of sheep, past the famous lighthouse from "Otto - The Movie"), but then we had to cycle on again so as not to arrive too late in Norden. The city hotel "Smutje" welcomed us and we were delighted to be able to spend the night nearby, or rather right in the pedestrian zone. This made it easy to find a nice place to eat in the evening. A beer pub in the pedestrian zone did the rest and we slept like lambs.
Show more Show lessDay 4, today we went to another island:
Strengthened by breakfast, we cycled from Norden to Norddeich and were able to take the ferry to Norderney at any time. Norderney is worth a visit for all bathing enthusiasts. There are miles of beaches here. The sand looks Caribbean. The only thing missing are the palm trees and the warm water of the Caribbean. However, the beach definitely invites you to relax and was not overcrowded.
In the end, we only cycled 23 kilometers today as we enjoyed sunbathing on the beach too much. The weather was pretty good and the sun shone long and hard. The warm day was perfect for swimming. However, the North Sea was very icy and we only had our feet in the salty water.
Back in Norden in the evening, we were drawn to the "Minna" restaurant. Here, too, everything was delicious.
Day 5, long, extended cycle tour:
We can only recommend everyone to stock up on enough food for this section of the route. We went from Norden to Jever. Today's cycle tour (68 kilometers) only took us through very few places, so there were few opportunities to stock up on food and drink. We therefore made faster progress than expected.
Before reaching Wittmund, the cycle path takes a very relaxed route through the forest. You can really enjoy the peace and quiet of the forest. We made our first major stop in Esens, a nice little town in the district of Wittmund. A stroll through the pedestrian zone is a great place to store and linger. Here you can also fortify yourself with all kinds of delicacies (ice cream, crab sandwiches, bratwurst sandwiches, everything was tested by us...).
We then continued on to Jever to the "Friesen-Hotel", where we received a very warm welcome and had great, quiet rooms with a view of the garden. We enjoyed our first Jever from the hotel fridge. Unfortunately, this hotel is not centrally located, but you can walk to the pedestrian zones in about 15 minutes. If that's too much for you, you can always use your bike. By the way: the Jever beer lives up to its advertising promises. A tart Frisian beer that is very refreshing. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to visit the brewery. But it was always questionable whether a tour or visit would take place in Corona times.
Day 6, the day that tested all our strength:
A surprise awaited us on day 6, a strong storm, which for the locals was probably just a stiff breeze. In any case, we had a headwind for 64 kilometers from Jever to Emden. We were glad to have a full battery on the bikes. But even that had to be used carefully. The ride was "unfortunately" very strenuous that day. We also had to unpack and put on our rain gear twice that day. Fortunately, the rain cleared up when we arrived in Aurich. So we were able to take a break in Aurich and fortify ourselves before continuing on. The sun made a brief appearance and we enjoyed another large ice cream.
The onward journey from Aurich to Jever could have been a dream if it hadn't been for the headwind. The route was almost always straight ahead along a canal. There was a lot to observe here. You just had to be careful to change sides of the canal in time. We also found the geocache planned for today along the canal. Afterwards, we were glad to arrive at the start and finish hotel in Emden in good time so that we could get plenty of rest before the evening. The hotel's own sauna was perfect for this. We were able to regenerate our tired, partly cold and wet bodies. We knew our way around Emden by now and in the evening it was no problem to quickly find another tasty restaurant in the pedestrian zone.
Show more Show lessDay 7, departure:
After another restful night and a very good breakfast on the hotel terrace with plenty of sunshine, we bought a few souvenirs in the pedestrian zone on the last morning before our journey home and visited a district of Emden, namely Transvaal.
Otto grew up here with his older brother. The town center is adorned with two Ottifants, which served as nice camera motifs for us. Afterwards, we unfortunately headed home again.
The Ottifanten in Emden
Conclusion:
This tour was completely different from our previous tours with cycle path trips. Mixed with two great excursions by ferry to the islands of Borkum and Norderney, the cycling alternated very well with days of relaxation on the islands. The cycle paths were all very well developed and we didn't have to cycle up any hills. However, the wind, especially the headwind on day 6, took some getting used to and was exhausting.
The organization on site, starting with the rental bike, the information event, the information material, the hotel bookings, the ferry trips and, above all, the luggage transport was perfectly organized. We will gladly plan a 5th trip with Radweg-Reisen. It is not yet clear where we will go. Maybe we will go on a trip abroad or maybe it will be the well-known cycle route from Passau to Vienna. We will see what will be possible after Corona. With this in mind, we look forward to the 2022 season and say hello with a "Moin".
