Einbeck to Seesen

May 6, 2019

Bad back continues and the weather is no better..

Our stay at the Gastehaus last night was made special by the couple who own and run the business. Their personalities suit the hospitality business as their friendliness and sense of humour made us feel most welcome.

Ina and Walter Watermann were wonderful hosts at Gastehahaus Niedersachsen. The temperature this morning was a cool 5 degrees Celsius.

As we continue east through Germany, we are finding that very little if any English is spoken. As well, we are finding that the dialect for Lower Saxony makes our understanding of the German language disappear. Similarly, locals do not understand us when we try to speak their language. Generally though, this has not been a big barrier as we find that people here love to laugh, and we seem to provide lots of entertainment for them. But seriously, a good sense of humour and openness to our differences go a long way to finding common ground.

We rode in to Einbeck on a lovely bike path along the Leime River and through farmland.

On our ride in to Einbeck, we of course stopped to chat with the cows, were delighted to spot some fawns In a field and saw our first hunter’s tower on wheels.

Einbeck is indeed a special place with a spectacular old town of medieval half timbered buildings. Unfortunately, as it is Monday, all museums are closed..so we couldn’t visit the Bicycle Museum nor tour the Einbecker Brewery. Perhaps another time

The Einbeck Tourist Office is in a beautiful building.

Barry looks like he could be the Einbeck Welcome man.

Einbeck has a long history of brewing beer. During the 1600’s there were more than 600 houses licensed to brew beer. Bock beer got its start in Einbeck.

There is so much to see in Einbeck....just don’t come on a Monday.

There are over 400 half timbered buildings in Einbeck

This statue of Will the baker, with his dog and an owl, is in Market Square in front of the Baker’s Guild building, “Brodhaus” built in 1552. This same site has been used by the baker’s guild since 1333.

A decorative touch over a doorway at the Brodhaus ( breadhouse)

The Rathaus (City Hall) is suitably in a special building with an interesting trio of turrets.

Slate tiled buildings always catch my eye. Here in Einbeck we have seen many homes with interesting patterns created by different shades of slate,

Hanging out with Seavo in the Market Square.

We are getting a bit discouraged by the continuing bad weather. Today it feels like it will rain and the temperature is once again around 5 degrees with a possibility of a high of 8. Add to this the winds and damp air and you have a pretty miserable situation. We are getting used to wearing layers of coats and woollens. At one point today, I realized that I was wearing three coats: a wind breaker, a Gore Tex and a down jacket, as well as booties, a wool buff up to the eyes and a wool hat under my helmet. I’m sure that when we get off our bike that we look like aliens invading their city. But at this point, we truly don’t care what we look like.

Added to this, Barry is really suffering with back problems. Usually his back pain can be moderated by exercise, but not this trip. We suspect that the cold weather and damp winds are not good for him. So, we stopped for a coffee in Seesen and searched out an electronic store and bought a heating pad

It is so good to find a Rastplatz on the cycling route as they provide welcome relief from the cold. We were impressed that the local community had provided a guest book which has been used by other travellers. We enjoyed their stories.

We usually make our own lunch while on the road. We always have bread, cold cuts and cheese with us and a Barry makes coffee in the morning. However today, we were on a mission to find a warm place, preferably a Metzgerei, where we could have a hot meal. We were lucky to find Harzlander, a combination bakery, butcher, cannery of wurst and salads...and best of all, a lunch place with an incredible selection for great prices.

We had 2 meat dishes, potato and veg with dessert for 7.50 €. We’ll have the cold lunch that we had packed for dinner tonight.

The logo refers to the Hartz witches from this area

A few images of the large Harzlander shop in Kreiensen.

The butcher was making up raw ground meat sandwiches in a bun for a line up of hungry customers

We are now in the beginning of the Harz Mountains and the climbing is beginning. A helpful feature of the route here is that gradients are shown on the signage. At one point today we had an uphill that took us to the top and we rode along for several km with expansive views. The payoff though was the long downhill which we thoroughly enjoyed

Glimpses of the surrounding countryside as we climbed the hills.

Such an idyllic setting for a farm. We can imagine that the winters are tough here.

Once again, we have decided to stop earlier than we planned. Truthfully we are not enjoying the weather, but we can cope with that. We are more concerned that Barry have a chance to relax with the new heating pad and feel better.

We found a Pension in Seesen that is a real bargain at 50€ and offers us everything that we need. An early night and we hope that tomorrow will be a better day.

Today's ride: 44 km (27 miles)
Total: 781 km (485 miles)

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Kathleen ClassenThis weather is so frustrating. It is 4 degrees at the moment in Annecy. Fortunately it is forecast to go up to 18 so that we be lovely for exploring the town. We have goretex jackets with hoods that fit over our helmets. The hoods make a tremendous difference when we put them up. We are so sorry to hear about Barry’s back. Best wishes that it settles down soon.
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5 years ago

Barry BartlettThank you for your kind wishes Kathleen.
We are so enjoying your journal and your great photos. Having only visited Basel, we are very tempted to explore Switzerland based on your narrative and images. Aren’t the winds a major challenge? We read about your battle with them and we can relate as we had a similar experience with side winds in Holland.
Have a great day and enjoy the better temperatures.
All the best (Are you and Keith recovering from your colds?)
Mary Ellen
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5 years ago

Scott AndersonWe’re so sorry about your back too, Barry. I have my own back issues from time to time and know enough of what you’re experience to really sympathize. Good luck with a quick recovery!

Also, I’m so glad the two of you are pioneering this region for all of us. It looks like wonderful cycling country, at least when the weather cooperates. We’re going to have to study the maps and think about this.
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5 years ago