Tour de Norddeutsche Tiefebene - Edition 2026
This year's longer cycling tour was a larger reboot of my successful previous multiday tours visiting friends all over the North of Germany. This time I was joined by Martin.
Hoboing by bike and enjoying the kindness of friends
The plan was simple (like the best ones are): Meet up in Hamburg, pack the bare necessities and ride from friend's place to friend's place for a week and a bit. This third edition of the Tour de Norddeutsche Tiefebene would be the longest one after 2018 and 2023.
I had stored my bike at a friend's place in Hamburg after last year's Ronde van Bouldern, which allowed me to travel to Germany with just a small backpack. Martin left his home on wheels close to the city as well and we were ready to go.
However the famous northern German weather decided to make our life a bit more difficult and we had to delay our start for a day to avoid the worst of it. So a day later than planned we started from Hamburg and Geesthacht respectively and met up at the quaint castle in Bergedorf to ride towards the north and the Hanseatic city of Lübeck.
The weather was still quite iffy and we had to brave rain, wind and two punctures. However the forecast looked better for the coming days and we were able to pick up our spirits quickly again.
Day two was a breeze: 90km with a slight tailwind to the island of Poel where we enjoyed a hearty meal made almost exclusively from produce we harvested from our host's garden and a nice walk on the beach at sunset.
The following day we continued towards Rostock. A quick ride with the wind pushing us along the Ostsee coastal cycling route (I do apologize to all the other cyclists we overtook with as much respect and distance as possible on the way). Being in Rostock quite early we used the rest of the day for a bit of bike TLC and a bouldering session.
For day 4 our paths diverged for a bit. Martin stayed in Rostock and I returned to Poel. However on the next day we met up again and made our way to a small village on the northern shore of lake Ratzeburg. Here we were met by pizza, cake, playful dogs and welcoming hosts.
The sixth day of our trip actually brought us back to Hamburg. As it was a Sunday we met tons of other riders along the way and spent the rest of the day eating and talking. Good times.
Leaving the big city again we took the famous old tunnel running under the river Elbe to the south and followed the river through the harbour and the fruit plantations to Wischhafen to a friend I have known since school and his partner. On the menu today: Burgers and boardgames.
To get back to Hamburg on the last day of this trip we chose to ride on the northern side of the river - which meant taking the ferry over and dodging hundreds of sheep.
So another adventure is over and I for one have to say living the hobo life from time to time and for a time is great fun. And I do have ideas floating around my head for a reprise.
And finally: Thanks to all the friends who hosted us and made this trip possible!
