Harburg, on the southern bank of the Elbe, is the part of Hamburg that visitors usually skip, which makes it a good place to leave from. The district grew up around an inner harbour and a long tradition of industry, and today it holds a mix of old brick warehouses, a technical university and the modern bridges and motorways that thread over the great river. A short way north, the port of Hamburg, one of the largest in Europe, spreads over islands and docks, with cranes standing against the sky and container ships passing so close to the river's edge that they seem to float over the roofs. On the far side, the Elbphilharmonie, a glass concert hall built on a brick warehouse and opened in 2017, shines like a crystal wave.
South of the river, the land begins to rise, but only gently, into the Harburg hills and then onto the Lüneburg Heath, a sandy plain of heather, juniper and birch woodland. The heath is at its best from mid-August to mid-September, when the heather blooms purple across the open ground, and flocks of Heidschnucken, the grey, horned heath sheep, graze between the trees. The highest point is the Wilseder Berg, at 169 metres, a modest summit by any standard but a favourite with walkers. The roads that cross the heath are quiet and gently curving, shaded by oaks and pines, and the little brick villages have thatched farmhouses and old stone walls.
Further east, the Göhrde forest and the Wendland, a region near the old inner German border, have unusual round villages, called Rundlinge, in which farmhouses stand in a circle around a central green, a layout inherited from Slavic settlers of the Middle Ages. The Elbe valley here is wide and quiet, with dykes, meadows and the occasional ferry across the water. Riding on these small roads is slow, pleasant and rewarding, though the surfaces can be rough after winter, and deer are a constant danger.
Services around the start are no trouble, with large stations in Harburg and the neighbouring town of Seevetal, plenty of food options and parts shops. Once into the heath and the Wendland, stations are rarer, so fill up beforehand. Weather off the North Sea can change quickly, with wind and showers, so keep a waterproof handy. In autumn, early morning fog on the heath is atmospheric, though it deserves caution.