The trekking bike tour is around 300 kilometres long and leads along mainly small roads and farm tracks through the most scenic corners and along the most important sights of East Frisia, Friesland and Ammerland.
Experience East Frisia on numerous themed cycle paths
Behind the dyke there are vast marshlands with lush green pastures, which merge inland into fens, geest and raised bogs. The area is as flat as a pancake, with the toughest climbs to be mastered on the dykes. The numerous East Frisia cycle routes (Deutsche Fehnroute, Ammerlandroute, Tour de Fries, International Dollard Route and Friesenroute Rad up Pad) are well signposted almost everywhere and mostly well tarmaced. Sometimes the route runs over historic red brick paving or grey interlocking stone paving.
GPS data
You can find the GPX track for this tour in the MYBIKE Collection on komoot
Worth seeing
Greetsiel, with its harbour and shrimp boats, is something of a work of art, but is very crowded in the high season. www.greetsiel.de
At the Pilsum lighthouse (www.pilsumer-leuchtturm.de) on the tour to Greetsiel, and the church tower in Suurhusen is much more leaning than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. You can find out interesting facts about the "national drink" of the East Frisians at the East Frisian Tea Museum in Norden (www.teemuseum.de) and in the Bünting tea museum in the historic old town of Leer (www.buenting-teemuseum.de).
In the Emden Art Gallery, donated by STERN founder Henri Nannen and his wife Eske (www.kunsthalle-emden.de), mainly works of classical modernism are exhibited.
It is also worth making a detour to Papenburg, where gigantic cruise ships are built at the Meyer shipyard. Information about the tour at www.papenburg-tourismus.de.
The rhododendron parks in Ammerland are a feast for the eyes during the flowering season, especially the largest of its kind in Germany in the Petersfeld district of Westerstede (www.hobbie-rhodo.de).
Accommodation tips
Leer: Villa Leda, stylish Bed & Breakfast not far from Leer's historic city centre. www.bedandbreakfast-leer.de
The 4-star Clarion Hotel Hafenspeicher opened in January 2016, www.clarion-hotel-hafenspeicher.de
Greetsiel: High house, www.hoheshaus.de
"Crab, beer and beds" is the slogan of the first hotel on the square. Cosy rooms in a historic ambience.
Aurich: Altstadthotel Twardokus / Hotel Alte Kantorei, www.twardokus.de
Extremely charming old town hotel with tastefully furnished rooms.
Dangast: Hotel Graf Bentinck, www.bentinck.de
Elegant 4-star hotel about half a kilometre behind the dyke. Sensationally good breakfast buffet.
Bad Zwischenahn: Hotel Petersen, www.hotel-petersen.de
Quietly located hotel close to the centre.
Food and drink
If you want to embark on a culinary journey of discovery in East Frisia, you might be lucky enough to try traditional dishes such as "Bohnen un Peeren mit Duffkook" (beans and pears with dumplings) or "Peter in de Büx" (buckwheat pancakes with bacon). Other delicacies include the Deichwiesen lamb or a hearty Labskaus. The "national drink" of the East Frisians is of course tea, otherwise a freshly tapped Jever goes down well with a meal.
Trekking bike tips: The best crab sandwiches are served in the Ditzum "Fischhaus" directly at the harbour, in Greetsiel in the self-service restaurant "Greetje".
The smoked eel in Ammerland is called "Smoortaal", is a real delicacy and is served in the Spieker in Bad Zwischenahn (www.spieker-gaststätte.de) is eaten according to a fixed ritual. The rule of thumb is to sip as much schnapps as possible from a pewter spoon - before the eel, with the eel and after the eel. Of course, it also tastes good without schnapps.
And the world's most delicious rhubarb cake can be eaten at the Kurhaus Dangast (www.kurhausdangast.de).
Literature and maps
Kompass, cycle map 3032 (East Frisia, Ammerland, Papenburg) and 3031 (East Frisia West, Emden, Aurich),
each scale: 1:70,000, 7.99 euros
Marco Polo leisure map of East Frisia, East Frisian Islands (including leisure tips), scale 1:100,000, 7.99 euros.
Michael-Müler-Verlag, East Frisia - East Frisian Islands, 294 pages, 17.90 euros
Information
East Frisia Tourism, www.ostfriesland.de
Ammerland Tourist Information, www.ammerland-touristik.de
Friesland-Touristik, www.friesland-touristik.de
Wilhelmshaven Touristik & Freizeit-Touristik Gemeinschaft, www.friesland-touristik.de
Ostfriesland Touristik - Landkreis Aurich GmbH, www.mein-ostfriesland.de
Touristik GmbH Südliches Ostfriesland, www.suedliches-ostfriesland.de
The article was published in Trekkingbike issue 4/2016. You can download the individual article as a PDF here.
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Barbara Merz-Weigandt
Editor-in-Chief
