Michael Poliza has travelled the world quite a bit. The man has travelled to 190 countries. "Not just the airports, but the real thing," he emphasises. If you had any doubts, you would only have to look at one of the photo books that the Hamburg-born photographer has produced during his travels around the globe. There are some fantastic pictures, many of them from a bird's eye view. When he talks about his photo books, he likes to describe them in terms of weight: 15 kilos of Africa from above, five kilos of Mallorca from above and so on. Poliza was an actor, sat in meetings with a certain Bill Gates as an IT entrepreneur and co-founded a cinema chain. The jack-of-all-trades now prefers to sit on an e-bike, weighing an estimated 30 kilos, cruising through the Lüneburg Heath - and raving about the landscape.
Sunset or sunrise?
"For me, it's the combination of large heathland areas with the juniper bushes and the birch trees in between. When the morning mist settles over this landscape in late summer when it's in bloom, it always blows me away. Barely half an hour away from Hamburg, you are in this completely different world." Poliza offers sunrise and sunset e-bike tours around the Wilseder Berg and asked us if we would like to join one of his tours.
Of course we felt like it. However, we didn't want to get up at five o'clock, so our choice was quickly made: sunset instead of sunrise. This was perfect, as we were on a tour through the Lüneburg Heath anyway: on the trail of the Heidschnuckenweg, perhaps the most beautiful long-distance hiking trail in northern Germany. We thought to ourselves: where you can hike, you can also cycle and planned a tour that followed the Heidschnuckenweg as closely as possible - sometimes we even shared the route with hikers. The trail leads from Fischbek near Hamburg to the old residential town of Celle in the Südheide.
Created by humans
The heath is worth a visit all year round. During the heather blossom in August and September, it is a dream in purple. A landscape that is beautiful to kneel down in and has a very special history. Because it is a man-made cultural landscape.
man-made cultural landscape. Originating as early as the Neolithic Age, the region was initially covered by dense forests, but the forest was pushed back by intensive grazing and clearing. Wide, open areas were created, on whose sandy and nutrient-poor soils the undemanding broom heather in particular spread.
From the Middle Ages, people settled permanently on the heathland and for centuries practised typical heathland farming on the barren farmland: heather snipe breeding, beekeeping, but also intensive arable farming, which caused more and more heathland to disappear. At the beginning of the 20th century, the value of this extraordinary cultural landscape was increasingly recognised. In 1909, the Nature Conservation Park Association was founded and bought the first areas around the Wilseder Berg in order to preserve the remaining heathland and prevent the planned construction of holiday homes.
For me, the Lüneburg Heath was by no means love at first sight. Rather, for a long time I associated it with memories of boring trips with Aunt Gerda and Uncle Wilfried. For me, it was a classic "outdoors only" region, rather stuffy and potty and not at all sexy. But that has changed. And not just for me. Michael Poliza says: "The Lüneburg Heath is slowly being discovered by the younger generation. There are more and more great inns that offer first-class quality in a casual atmosphere."
The right path is the goal
However, heather is a tricky thing. You have to know where to find them, otherwise you will mainly cycle through a northern German landscape characterised by fields and forests without seeing a single specimen of heather. And that is precisely the trick of our cycle tour along the Heidschnuckenweg. The route reliably leads through the most beautiful heathland. The Fischbeker Heide to the south-west of Hamburg can be described as a kind of "amuse gueule" before the Büsenbachtal in the Nordheide really whets the appetite.
From there, the route continues to Undeloh, one of the Heath's tourist hotspots. In the high season, coaches disgorge hordes of visitors here every hour, who buy overpriced heather kitsch and heather honey from the numerous stalls. I haven't checked, but it's quite conceivable that the cafés there still serve "only pots outside" and electric blankets are sold on the buses.
So we quickly continue along the Pastor-Bode-Weg towards Wilsede, into the heart of the nature reserve. The path is named after the Protestant clergyman who once campaigned for the preservation of this landscape. A truly wise man. Car-free Wilsede, a tiny hamlet at the foot of the mountain of the same name, has also long been a tourist hotspot, more of an open-air museum than a village and yet much more likeable than Undeloh. Carriages clatter past, and in the local history museum "Dat Ole Hus" you can experience how the Heidjer used to live and work. And there's delicious buckwheat cake in the dairy hall. It's a little heavy on the stomach as we pedal up to Wilseder Berg. But the view from the highest point (169 metres) of the North German Plain is magnificent, even if the heather blossom hasn't quite kept to schedule.
Will sheep save the heath?
While the heather has flowered earlier than usual in recent years due to climate change, this time it is rather late. However, there is one thing that is even more of a dampener: there are plenty of brown, burnt patches to be seen. Experts fear that a considerable proportion of the plants will die completely, particularly in the Lüneburg Heath, which has been able to rely on sufficient rain in spring for centuries.
In the evening, we set off on a sundowner tour with Michael Poliza. Wilseder Berg, Totengrund and Steingrund look even more magical in the evening light. The Heidschnucken are back in the barn, but the next morning we get to see them in the flesh. First we only hear the barking of the herding dogs, then a rustling, and finally we see the shepherd with his 300 or so Heidschnucken; 300 out of around 10,000 that still roam the heathland today.
Around 150 years ago, heathland farmers kept more than half a million of these animals. Then as now, they do not roam the heathland to amuse tourists, but to maintain the landscape and preserve this unique cultural landscape. The snails eat the green shoots of the heather plant, causing new shoots to grow and rejuvenating the plant. This keeps the heather short and prevents it from becoming woody. The snails also bite young trees, which would otherwise spread and overgrow the heather plants.
Wafts of mist over the heath
On the way from Oberhaverbeck to Bispingen, we zigzag through the area to pass through as much heathland as possible. We only get to see Heidschnucken from a distance once more. But because it was so great to experience the heath in the evening atmosphere, we do it again the next evening. Sitting on a bench at the edge of the Behringer Heide is an older gentleman, an old freak with a long ponytail and a bottle of beer next to him. "Awesome, isn't it?" he asks, although it's more of an observation - only to add: "But you know what's even better? When the mist wafts over the heath early in the morning and is illuminated by the rising sun. You have to experience that." He says, takes a swig of beer from the bottle and turns his attention back to the natural spectacle.
A little later, as we sit on the edge of the heath with a beer, we think about setting our alarm for five o'clock. But that's brutally early and as soon as we get to the hotel, we abandon the plan. We'd rather have a leisurely breakfast and then continue our leisurely ride towards Müden an der Örtze. The landscape changes from Bispingen onwards and we often cycle through forest. Initially on winding paths, later through wide tarmac lanes where tanks once rolled along; to the right and left of the road is a "no-go area", a restricted military zone.
The military played an important role in the region for more than a hundred years. In the meantime, numerous sites have been abandoned and parts of the former military areas have been renaturalised. But they still exist, recognisable not only by the prohibition signs, but also by the sound of gunfire coming from the forest.
Ambivalent folk hero
The Wietzer Berg near Müden was never a military site; it was here that the heath poet Hermann Löns liked to sit and be inspired. Löns is regarded by many in northern Germany as a kind of folk hero. However, a critical and differentiated approach to his personality and work is called for. As a person and as a writer, Löns had very different and sometimes strange facets.
He was one of the first conservationists and demanded around one hundred years ago that the nature conservation movement should become a force that opposes the interests of capital. But the heath poet, who was also known for his alcoholic excesses, also wrote: "We want to prevent the great fountain of public health from being buried, the sacred bath of souls from being polluted. Because we know that nature conservation is synonymous with racial protection." And Löns denounced the fact that "humanism and internationalism have ruined us".
You can guess how it came about that the man who died in the First World War in 1914 was later appropriated by the Nazis. After Müden, the Misselhorn Heath is one last heath highlight before we reach Celle. No heathland far and wide, but more half-timbered houses than anywhere else in the north of Germany, a castle where the ancestors of English kings lived and the world's first 24-hour art museum. You really don't have to experience the heath for 24 hours - at night, of course, it's completely dark. But when Michael Poliza sends us a WhatsApp photo of the mist-covered heath at sunrise, we know we have to come back for another cycle tour: Set the alarm clock and get out of bed at the crack of dawn to experience this magnificent natural spectacle for ourselves.
All important information about the cycle tour through the Lüneburg Heath
Tour character
The route runs close to the Heidschnuckenweg, one of the most popular long-distance hiking trails in Germany, in part directly along it. It crosses 223 kilometres of Lüneburg Heath, from Fischbek, a district of Hamburg, to Celle in the Südheide. You pass around 30 heathland areas, including the largest contiguous heathland area in Europe around the Wilseder Berg - a nature reserve since 1922.
The cycle route is mainly on natural paths away from traffic. It is often over rough gravel, sometimes the paths are quite sandy and you will have to push from time to time. We recommend a gravel bike, an e-bike or a robust trekking bike with suspension and thick treaded tyres. All in all, more sporty than pure pleasure cycling. Around the Wilseder Berg, the route is somewhat steeper in places. Pay attention there: Be considerate of walkers and hikers, who are clearly in the majority here. But: Cycling is permitted everywhere!
MYBIKE TIP: Heather blossom barometer: The heather usually blooms in August and September. The heather blossom barometer at www.lueneburger-heide.de provides up-to-date information
GPS data Lüneburg Heath
The GPS data for a cycle tour through the Lüneburg Heath can be found in the MYBIKE Collection on komoot or here for direct download
Arrival
Railway: The starting point in Fischbek can be reached from Hamburg main station via Harburg with the Metronom and the S3 in around 45 minutes (Hamburg-Neugraben S-Bahn stop). Celle can also be reached from Hanover in just under 45 minutes on the S7.
Car: The Lüneburg Heath holiday region to the south of Hamburg, south-east of Bremen and north-east of Hanover is very well connected in terms of transport links. Fischbek can be reached via the A7 motorway, exit 32 and on the B73 towards Stade. The Heidschnuckenweg begins on the Scharlbarg road to the north of Fischbeker Heide. During the holiday region's season (15 July to 15 October), the free Heide-Shuttle can transport 14 bicycles. The bus runs on four different ring routes.
Information and timetable under "Heide-Shuttle": www.lueneburger-heide.de or https://naturpark-lueneburger-heide.de
Accommodation
- Oberhaverbeck: Stimbekhof. Beautiful courtyard ensemble. Cosy, individually designed rooms. Double room from 146 euros (breakfast extra). Oberhaverbeck 2, www.stimbekhof.de
- Bispingen: Beautiful widow. The historic parish widow's house in the centre of the village has been completely renovated and now houses a café and a hotel with eight rooms. Double rooms from approx. 140 euros, Hauptstraße 14, www.schmucke-witwe.de
- Tired: Landhotel Bauernwald. Located opposite the church in the old part of the village. Cosy rooms, beautiful garden, regional specialities are served in the restaurant. Double room from approx. 125 euros. Alte Dorfstraße 8, www.landhotel-bauernwald.de
- Celle: Ringhotel Celler Tor. Large, cosy 4-star hotel on the outskirts of the city. Double room from 130 euros, Scheuener Str. 2, www.celler-tor.de
Food and drink
The speciality par excellence is Heidschnucke - whether as Heidschnucke roast, Heidschnucke ragout, bratwurst or Heidjer Knipp. It is served with heather potatoes. The extremely dark and very low-fat meat resembles game rather than lamb. Traditionally a poor man's food, buckwheat dishes such as buckwheat pancakes and buckwheat cake are now a speciality. Many catering establishments cater for vegetarians and vegans.
Schneverdingen: Hotel Ramster. The Heidschnucken dishes at this award-winning restaurant are of the finest quality. www.hotel-ramster.de
Celle: Taverna & Trattoria Palio in the noble Hotel Fürstenhof. First-class Italian cuisine. www.althoffcollection.com
Worth seeing
In the salt and Hanseatic town of Lüneburg, the oldest medieval town hall in the north, the fish and stint market on the Ilmenau, the German Salt Museum and the largest concentration of pubs in Germany are all worth a visit. In the village of Wilsede, a visit to the heath museum "Dat Ole Huus" is well worthwhile. Celle is home to the largest half-timbered ensemble in northern Germany; the Boman Museum presents the town's history.
Bike service
- Buchholz: cycle-team: www.cycle-team.de
- Schneverdingen: Pedalo bikes: www.pedaloshop.de
- Wietzendorf: Wietzendorf bicycle barn: www.fahrrad-scheune-wietzendorf.de
- Hermannsburg: Knoop bicycles: https://knoop-fahrraeder.jimdosite.com/
- Celle: Fire Bicycles: www.brand-fahrraeder.de
Route of the cycle tour through the Lüneburg Heath
Tour data Heidschnuckenweg:
- Total length: 192 kilometres
- Total altitude difference: 1100 metres
The individual places along the route:
- Fishbek
- Langenrehm
- Buchholz
- Wörme (Büsenbachtal)
- Handeloh
- Undeloh
- Wilsede
- Niederhaverbeck
- Schneverdingen
- BehringenBispingen
- Wietzendorf
- Wietzer Berg
- Müden (Örtze)
- Lutterloh
- Misselhorn Heath
- Eversen
- Wolthausen
- Celle
MYBIKE tip: Michael Poliza's guided e-bike tours around Wilseder Berg at sunrise or sunset start either at Stimbekhof in Oberhaverbeck or in Sudermühlen. High-quality Riese & Müller bikes are on offer. www.mp-ebike-adventures.de
Map and literature
- The first sections from Fischbek onwards are missing, otherwise the ADFC regional map of Lüneburg Heath Good for orientation. Scale: 1:75,000, 9.95 euros (www.fahrrad-buecher-karten.de).
- The same applies to the bikeline cycle maps Lüneburg Heath North and South. Scale: 1:75,000, € 6.90 each (www.esterbauer.com).
- Travel guide Lüneburg & Lüneburg HeathMichael-Müller-Verlag, 18.90 euros (www.michael-mueller-verlag.de).
further information under
- www.lueneburger-heide.de
- www.heidschnuckenweg.de
