The roads of the Altes Land are organised by water, and in Jork you can see how. The little river Este runs through the village and out toward the Elbe, and parallel dike roads follow it on both banks, with farms strung along them like beads on a thread. The orchards lie behind the farms in long, narrow strips, and a network of drainage ditches runs between them, each one marked by a footbridge to a field. It is the ordered result of eight centuries of drainage by Dutch settlers, and the pattern has barely changed.
The main route through it all is known as the Obstmarschenweg, the Fruit Marsh Road, which runs for more than twenty kilometres along the dike and passes the finest of the old farmhouses. Their ornate gates, carved with sayings and dates, stand at the roadside like the entrances to small kingdoms. Riding the dike road is slow work, with a low speed limit, a rough surface in places and cyclists everywhere in good weather, but that is the point. You do not hurry through an orchard.
The seasons here are so distinct that you would almost think of different places. In late April and May the trees come into bloom, pink and white, and the air is thick with the scent of blossom and the hum of bees. In July the cherries ripen, and farm stalls sell them by the kilo. In September and October the apples are picked, and the roads are full of tractors and trailers heaped with fruit. In winter, when the trees are bare, the landscape is stark and flat, with frost on the ditches and mist over the dike.
Roadside stalls sell fruit, juice, jam and cider, and farm cafés serve apple cake and coffee on summer afternoons. Be prepared for honesty boxes, and carry coins. The Altes Land is a tourist destination in the blossom weeks, with coaches and cars crowding the dike, so go on a weekday and early, if you can. Jork has about twelve thousand people in its municipality, and fuel stations and supermarkets are on the edge of the village. Wedel and Hamburg are a short ride away. Bring a bag for fruit, since it is hard to resist.