Gettorf is a small town in the rolling country between Kiel and Eckernförde Bay, and the road that leads from it back toward Kiel is a pleasant, easy way to end a day. The landscape is the classic hummocky farmland of eastern Schleswig-Holstein, shaped by glaciers: low hills, hollows filled with ponds, hedgerows and patches of beech wood. It is a gentle country, rich in birds, and the lanes follow the curves of the land.
The town is old, with a church and a number of brick houses, and it grew as a market centre for the surrounding farms. Today it is mostly a commuter town for Kiel, with a pleasant centre and a few cafes. The Gettorf area belongs to a region known as Dänischer Wohld, the Danish Forest, a name that recalls the long centuries when this land was part of the Danish realm, and the district is still dotted with old manor houses with parks and farm shops.
The ride toward the city is calm. The road runs through villages and fields, with moderate bends and a good surface, and the traffic is light on weekends and heavier at commuting hours. As you approach Kiel the view opens toward the fjord, with ferries and ships in the distance, and the sense of arrival is satisfying. The coast of the Baltic is only a few kilometres away on either side, and on a clear day you can smell the sea.
For fuel and food the town has what a rider needs, with stations, a supermarket, bakeries and a few restaurants. Gettorf has about six thousand people, so it is large enough to be self-sufficient, and it makes a sensible last stop before the city. Farm shops along the road sell eggs, honey and apples in season.
The best light comes in the late afternoon, when the sun is low and the fields are golden. In May the rapeseed turns the landscape yellow, and in August the grain is ripe. A slow ride with the visor up is the way to finish.