This post covers the second part of our pedal to Unisee parkrun and the wonderful parkrun itself. If you’d like to read about the first four days of our journey, see Part 1.
Day 5: Delfzijl to Emden
We made it to Germany today!
After using the track pump in the hotel’s bike shed, we set off with a few bits of slightly damp laundry dangling from our bikes.
The first part of our journey took us along the Kustroute, through the industrial outskirts of Delfzijl. We passed a sewerage farm, encountered a lot of lorries, and were sprayed with water by someone dampening down a truckload of wood chippings with a hose.
A few miles later, we reached the pretty harbour of Termunterzijl. This was followed by a stretch of rather monotonous cycling behind a big sea wall. We stopped when we saw a sign for seals next to a set of steps. We stood and watched them for quite a while through a purpose-built viewing screen.
When we left the coast, we found ourselves on a very long, straight road with a strong headwind. Every so often we had to pull onto the verge to let a huge, noisy lorry go past. At this point we deviated from the Kustroute a bit to cut a corner. We were looking for somewhere to grab a drink and a bite to eat and weren’t having much luck. When we saw a building in Drieborg that said “Cafeteria” on the sign, I headed in to check it out. It became very clear that it was not a café and was actually some kind of community centre. The cleaner who was hoovering in the hallway let me use the toilet so that was something.
We pressed on and rode through the village of Bad Nieuweschans on the Netherlands/Germany border. I was very disappointed that there was no “Willkommen in Deutschland” sign, but once I was sure we were on the German side I took a photo with the first sign I could see anyway. Look at all the cycle routes!
We switched onto the Dollard Route to cut about 12 miles off our day and followed it all the way to Ditzum where we needed to get the ferry to Petkum. When we arrived, we found out that the ferry went every hour, on the hour. It was 1.10pm so we’d just missed one. The port had benches and toilets so we just settled in for the wait.
The ferry was €1 per person and €2 per bike. It was small, not very busy, and took about 15 minutes to cross the River Ems.
After the crossing, we followed the North Sea Route to Emden. Our accommodation was on the far side of town so we detoured into the centre to finally get some lunch at about 3pm! I had the most amazing deep fried feta cheese!
While we were eating it started to rain. We waited for it to stop again before cycling the final 2 miles to our apartment. When we arrived the heavens opened once again!
Because we’d taken a few shortcuts, it was a shorter day today at 44 miles.
After getting settled and putting our bikes in the garage, we walked to Lidl in the rain to get supplies for tea.
Day 6: Emden to Wilhelmshaven
Despite cutting a few more corners, this was our longest day of cycling on the trip.
Our first stop off for a cuppa was Marienhafe which was a little baffling to us. The map very clearly showed that the town was not on the route but both the GPS and the road signs told us otherwise. Very confusing!
We’d begun to notice a few differences between cycling in Holland and cycling in Germany. One of the things I think is amazing about German cycle routes is how they are peppered with handy shelters. These take various forms and sometimes doubled up as bus shelters, but they were a good way to escape the wind. I would have been so grateful for something similar on our downpour days in Holland. Although perhaps on reflection it would have been too tempting to stay put…
Once we hit the pretty seaside town of Norddeich (26 miles in) we stopped and bought sandwiches and cake from a bakery for lunch.
It was very soon after this that we had our easiest 15 miles of the whole trip. We were cycling almost due East behind another huge sea wall and we had the most amazing tailwind. We whizzed by all the people on their electric bikes. It felt wonderful! According to Strava there was an 8-mile segment where we averaged over 17mph.
The only thing to be done when we reached Dornumersiel was reward ourselves with ice cream!
Our route continued Eastwards and we were happy to keep enjoying the benefits of the tailwind. 59 miles into our day we stopped at a café in Harlesiel. I went in, pointed to some cake, and asked for a slice of apple cake. This threw the staff into a minor panic – apparently it wasn’t apple but no one knew the English word for the fruit. Despite me saying I really didn’t mind what it was, one person looked it up online while another drew me a picture. Turns out it was pear and it was delicious!
I’d originally estimated today to be around 65 miles, but when we consulted the map it turned out we had about 25 miles still to go. Whoops!
Our final total was 84 miles – my longest ever ride on Strava.
Our accommodation in Wilhelmshaven was a room above a café – Frühstückshotel Fürstenwerth. The surrounding area wasn’t exactly salubrious but the room was absolutely amazing! It was huge! There was a locked courtyard around the back of the buildings to store our bikes.
We showered and headed out for dinner at about 9.15pm. After trying a Japanese restaurant that really didn’t want us, we found a charming Greek restaurant in an old pub-style building. The chap running the place was incredibly friendly and gave us multiple free shots of Ouzo to go with our huge portions of food!
Day 7: Wilhelmshaven to Bremen
Our final day of cycling before the parkrun and another long one…
It took us a little longer than we’d hoped to get out of Wilhelmshaven but we finally rejoined the North Sea Route alongside the Banter Sea. It was very breezy and we were heading West again so the wind wasn’t there to help us out!
We turned off the Route again to cut another corner and were treated to a sculpture trail alongside Jadebusen (Jade Bay). The seven sculptures symbolise the creation story and originated in 2000 as part of a sculpture symposium.
We paused briefly to watch some fighting sheep and then carried on to Dangast – a small holiday resort and campsite – where we stocked up on snacks at a local shop and used the public toilets.
We passed through the festivities of a sailing regatta before stopping for another excellent bakery lunch. When Ian went in to return the tray he got shouted at by the staff for putting it in the wrong place!
Before we’d left home I’d purchased a set of cycling maps covering all of the Netherlands, and one covering the relevant bit of the German North Sea Coast. Although we were using the GPS to navigate it had proven really helpful to have the paper maps too for reference. At this point we’d just gone off the edge and run out of map so we decided we’d try to purchase one.
At the next town we saw a bookshop but it was closed and wouldn’t be re-opening for about 20 minutes. So we waited. When it opened we discovered they didn’t have one. Next we tried a very large bike shop at the other side of town. They had quite a few maps of the River Weser route (which we’d soon be following for a short distance) but none that would cover the rest of our time in Germany. It seemed a bit odd given the prevalence of cycling infrastructure and popularity of bikes.
Undeterred we carried on cycling to Brake, where we would join the Weser.
In Brake we finally found a tourist information place that could sell us a map that would cover the rest of today and most of tomorrow.
The first part of the River Weser was very scenic but we soon found ourselves behind a flood wall again!
There was a part of the route just after Elsfleth when we got confused and felt like we were going in completely the wrong direction. A farmer in a field by the road tried to reassure us and it was only when I looked at my Strava map later that I realised why we’d had to take such a detour (a tributary river with no bridge for miles).
When we reached Lemwerder there was a viewing platform with a lot of steps. In my mind we were almost at Bremen so, despite my tired legs, I trudged up to get a view. Suffice to say Bremen was nowhere to be seen!
The River Weser had been a little bit duller than expected so the Lemwerder graffiti wall was a welcome point of interest. It went on and on forever! Here’s a video of it someone else has shared on YouTube. We were going in the opposite direction, but you’ll get the idea.
We started to get to a more industrial area so I assumed we would almost be at the end of our ride soon, but the approach to Bremen also seemed to go on forever!
There was a very cool cycle path under the motorway to finally cross the river into the city.
Our hotel was about three miles north of the city centre, which was incredibly handy for parkrun but a bit demoralising at the end of today! We cycled through some very pretty parks to finally arrive at the 7 Things Hotel on the University campus. The staff were really helpful and friendly and we were allowed to take our bikes inside and lock them under the stairs.
We shared some nachos and pizza for tea in the hotel bar.
Unisee parkrun
The day had finally arrived! It was Saturday 11 June 2022, and I was about to finish my parkrun alphabet!
Ian wasn’t feeling too good, so I left him in bed and set off for the park. It was less than a mile from the hotel and a pleasant walk in the morning sunshine.
I was wearing my apricot parkrun T-shirt with the union flag on the sleeve, and as I walked down the lane, a man on a bike passed me and asked (in English) if I was volunteering. It all made sense when I arrived and I met mother and daughter, Christine and Rebecca, from Northamptonshire. Rebecca had organised the trip for her mum as a special birthday treat and was volunteering as the tailwalker.
There was another British tourist, Colin, from North Yorkshire who was on a campervan holiday with his wife and dog.
I got chatting to a British couple from Doncaster – Richard and Stephanie – who had lived in Germany for 20 years. They were part of the core volunteering team at Unisee (although both were running today, as Stephanie was running her 50th).
Everyone was incredibly friendly and it was Unisee’s 3rd birthday so there was an extra special atmosphere.
34 of us amassed on the start line for a briefing. The main highlights were given in English as well as German. Then we were off!
The course follows the edge of a lake. There is a nice mix of woodland and open trails and it’s completely flat. It’s both a two-lapper and an out and back at the same time. When you get close to the start at the end of the first lap, you run round a tree and then head back round the lake in the opposite direction.
There were relatively few runners and no marshals out on the course. This meant there was a point on the way back when I hesitated in the woods as I’d lost the man in front of me and wasn’t 100% sure I was taking the right path. Luckily I’d guessed correctly!
I finished 14th in 27m 22s. It was fabulous to cross the finish line knowing I’d completed all 25 letters of the parkrun alphabet. It had only taken me six years(!).
I gladly accepted a parkrun birthday cupcake, chatted to Colin and Richard about cycle touring for a while, cheered Stephanie, Christine, and Rebecca in, and then set off to walk back to the hotel. I felt a bit jealous of the people swimming in the lake – it was a very warm morning!
When I got back to the hotel Ian was feeling a bit better. This was good as we had 71 miles of cycling ahead of us before the end of the day!
To be continued…
I’ve also added a blog about our week of cycling back from Unisee parkrun.
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