If you drink bock beer, you owe Einbeck a toast. In the Middle Ages this small Hanseatic town became rich on exporting its strong, dark beer, which was carried by wagon all the way to Munich, where brewers later copied it. In the Bavarian accent the name Einbeck turned into Oanbock and then simply Bock, which is how a town in Lower Saxony ended up giving its name to one of the great beer styles. The town still brews, and the smell of malt sometimes drifts through the streets.
The old centre is one of the best preserved half-timbered towns in the north. A great fire in the sixteenth century destroyed most of the earlier buildings, and the rebuilt streets show off carved beams, painted panels and the sort of sturdy gables that only a rich burgher class could pay for. The market square is lined with fine houses, with a tall church tower above, and you can spend a pleasant hour just walking around and reading the inscriptions on the old timbers.
For a rider, Einbeck is a practical gate between the Leine valley and the hills of the Solling and Harz edge. It has almost twenty-eight thousand people, with fuel stations on the ring roads, supermarkets and no shortage of places to eat. Parking a bike near the centre is easy, but the old streets have cobbles that are slick when wet, so walk the last bit. If you want to eat something local, look for dishes with beer in the sauce, or sausage and potatoes with a glass of the local brew, within sensible limits for a person who still has to ride.
The roads around Einbeck are mostly quiet and agricultural, running over low hills with long views of fields and woods, then climbing gently into forest toward Dassel and the Solling. Traffic is light apart from commuters near the town. Weather comes from the west and can change quickly, so it is worth watching the sky. Late summer, when the grain is gold and the light low, makes this country look its best.