Neustadt am Rübenberge is a town that spreads wide across the flat country northwest of Hannover, one of the larger municipalities in Lower Saxony by area, with some forty-six thousand people living in the centre and dozens of villages around it. The Leine river slides past the old town, which has a castle called Landestrost from the sixteenth century, and the broad, low plain around it is where the Hanoverian farmers grew their wealth.
This is a food stop, in the plainest sense of the phrase. The town centre has bakeries, cafés and restaurants, and you should be able to find a decent plate of schnitzel or a currywurst, a German classic, without any trouble. If you want something more local, look for asparagus in spring and for smoked fish in the shops. Do not expect the town to be pretty, because it was rebuilt in a practical way, but it is friendly, and the market square is a comfortable place to sit.
Nearby, the great moorland and shallow lake of Steinhuder Meer, north-west of here, are worth a detour. The lake is only a couple of metres deep, and it is popular with sailors, who can wade out into the water if they run aground. The old moors around it are protected and full of birds, and the villages on the shore, such as Mardorf, serve smoked eel, a local speciality.
Fuel is easy, since Neustadt has stations along the main roads, and the larger town of Wunstorf lies nine kilometres south for backup. The roads out of town are flat and straight, running through farmland, with the occasional wind-bent tree and a dusting of farm mud. Take it easy through the villages, where the speed limits are enforced, and watch for tractors. It is a modest, practical stop, and it does what it says on the label.