Stade has a harbour that looks like a painting. The old Hanseatic port, with a basin surrounded by tall, narrow gabled houses, a wooden crane and old warehouses, is the heart of the town, and the long, still water reflects the buildings so well that photographers return again and again. The town lies on the Schwinge, a small tributary of the Elbe, about forty kilometres west of Hamburg, in a flat landscape of marshes, orchards and dykes.
For about seventy years from the 1640s, Stade was part of Sweden, and the Swedish period left traces in the architecture and the street plan. The Schwedenspeicher, a large brick warehouse on the harbour, is now a museum of the town's history, including the Swedish period and the Bronze Age finds of the region. With about forty-five thousand people, Stade has all the services, with fuel stations, supermarkets and many cafes and restaurants, and a cobbled old town that is a pleasure to walk.
East of the town begins the Altes Land, the largest fruit-growing area in northern Germany, a strip of orchards along the Elbe with timber-framed farmhouses decorated with brick patterns and carved gates. In spring, the apple and cherry blossom turns the whole area white and pink, and the roads through it are among the most beautiful in the north, though they are narrow and busy with cyclists. In autumn, the farm stalls sell apples, plums and cider.
The riding here is flat and relaxed, with the wind as the main challenge. The roads along the dyke give views over the river, with big ships gliding past on their way to Hamburg. The best times are the blossom season, in late April and early May, and early autumn, when the light is soft. In summer, weekends can be busy, so aim for a weekday, and finish with fish and a glass of beer on the harbour.