Wunstorf has an airbase and a lake, and neither is what you expect from the name. The town, with about forty-two thousand people, lies on the Leine west of Hanover, and the nearby military airfield is home to the German Air Force's transport aircraft. The lake is the Steinhuder Meer, a short ride to the north, the largest lake in north-west Germany and so shallow that you can nearly wade across it. It is a popular place for sailing, with the little town of Steinhude on its southern shore selling smoked eel to visitors.
Wunstorf began around a convent founded in the ninth century, and the old collegiate church still stands, a plain stone building. The town is a practical stop, with fuel stations, supermarkets and bakeries, and the roads converge here from Hanover, Nienburg and the Weser. It is a good place to fill the tank at the start of a ride, with a quick coffee before you set off.
The country around the Steinhuder Meer is flat, with moors, meadows and reeds, and the roads run straight and quiet, with wide skies and wind as the main hazard. A nature park surrounds the lake, with trails and birdwatching points, and in spring and autumn the migrating birds are a draw. The ride is gentle, and it makes a good warm-up for the hills to the south and west.
Weather in the plain can be changeable, with a cold wind off the lake in spring and autumn. Summer is warm and pleasant, but weekends bring a lot of traffic from Hanover, so go early. A smoked eel sandwich at the lake, a bag of fresh strawberries from a farm stall and a quiet hour on the shore are the pleasures of a day here. Steinhude is also known for the little sailing boats called Auswanderer, flat-bottomed and low in the water, a reminder that the lake is shallow enough that hardly anyone can drown in it.