Hamburg does not end so much as thin out, and this is where it happens. Out here on the south-west edge, between the Elbe and the heath, the port's industrial yards give way to a landscape of commuter villages, motorway interchanges, fields and low wooded hills, and the town of Neu Wulmstorf, with about twenty thousand people, is the nearest place of any size. Behind you lies Harburg, once a separate town on the south bank of the river, and ahead is the flat green country of Lower Saxony.
The ground is a glacial one, a sandy ridge of moraine left by the ice age, called the Harburg Hills. Pine and beech woods, heathland and old sand pits cover the slopes, and on a clear day you can see the cranes of the harbour from the top of the ridge. To the west lies the Altes Land, the largest continuous fruit-growing area in Northern Europe, a strip of apple and cherry orchards along the Elbe marshes, and in late April the blossom turns the whole district white and pink. The old farmhouses, with their half-timbered fronts and carved gate arches, are among the finest in northern Germany.
A ride from here to the Weserbergland is a long sweep south through the plain. The first stretch is the busy road out of the city, with traffic lights, roundabouts and a lot of lorries heading for the port, and then the pace eases as the fields open up. The roads across the heath are long and straight, with tree-lined avenues and farms, and wind can be a nuisance on exposed sections, particularly from the west. The hills of the Weser, with their gentler curves, are a day's ride away.
Fuel and food are no problem in Neu Wulmstorf and the surrounding villages, and the supermarkets and bakeries here open early, which suits an early start. Try a Franzbrötchen, Hamburg's cinnamon pastry, from a bakery on the way out, and a fish roll if you have time. Late spring and early autumn are the best times, and the Altes Land is a fine detour. Check the weather, because the north German coast is changeable, and a sharp shower can arrive with little warning.