Bodenfelde is a small town on the Weser at the southern tip of Lower Saxony, where the river is still young, having been born a little way south at Hann. Münden from the meeting of the Werra and the Fulda. From here it flows north through the Weser Uplands, between the Solling on the west bank and the wooded slopes on the east, and the valley is one of the quieter and prettier river landscapes in the region.
The river is the reason to stop. A path along the bank gives you a view of the water, which is broad, olive-green and slow, and on a warm day you may see canoes drifting past and families sitting on the grass. Swimming in the Weser is something locals do in places where the current is gentle and the bank is easy, but it is a working river and has barges and unpredictable currents, so ask before you do it, and do not leave your boots on the bank unattended. Most riders will be content with a sit and a look.
The riding along the valley is easy and soothing. The road follows the river, passes through farm villages with big timbered houses and orchards, and rises now and then over a low spur on gentle bends. Surfaces are good, the traffic is thin outside weekends, and there is rarely a reason to hurry. A short way upstream lies Bad Karlshafen, a tiny planned town laid out in the early eighteenth century for Huguenot refugees, with white baroque houses around a harbour basin. It is an unlikely thing to find on the edge of Hesse, and worth a detour of a few kilometres.
Services in Bodenfelde itself are modest, a bakery or two, a shop and perhaps an inn, so do not count on a long list. The nearest larger town is Uslar, about six kilometres away, and it has a proper fuel station and supermarkets. Take water and a snack, and use the river stop as a pause, not a destination. Early morning, with mist lifting off the Weser and the sound of birds, is the time that suits it best.