Gettorf is a small town on the Schwansen peninsula, a few kilometres inland from the Baltic, with about six thousand inhabitants and all the basics a rider needs: fuel, a bakery, a supermarket and a handful of cafes. Everything here is gentle, rolling and green, and the sea is never far away.
Schwansen is the land between the Eckernförde Bay and the Schlei, a low peninsula of farms, manor houses and hedgerows. The hedgerows are the local trademark: the Knicks, earth banks planted with hazel, hawthorn and blackthorn, which divide the fields and give the landscape a patchwork look. They shelter birds and small animals and break the wind, and in spring the blossom along the lanes is lovely. The roads between them are narrow, winding and well shaded, and a ride along them is pleasantly slow.
The surface is generally good, but expect agricultural traffic, especially at harvest time, and keep an eye out for mud on the bends after a farm vehicle has passed. The bends are gentle and blind, with the hedges close, so it pays to ride a little cautiously. The best time is a calm morning in early summer, when the rapeseed is in yellow bloom and the air smells sweet. The wind off the sea can be strong, and the weather changes quickly, so carry a jacket.
Nearby Eckernförde has a fine harbour and a long beach, and is known for its smoked herring, the Kieler Sprotten and other fish dishes. A little way inland, the Hüttener Berge, a low range of wooded hills, is a nature park with small lakes and forest tracks. The Kiel Canal, one of the busiest artificial waterways in the world, runs not far to the south, and the great ships that glide past the fields look strangely out of place. Kiel itself, a short ride south-east, is the region's capital, with a big harbour and a lively waterfront.