Why this ride
178 km from Kiel to Kiel, about 2 h 51 of riding. It goes by way of Zone 3: Marienkirche, Hanseatic City of Lübeck, Zone 1: Burgkloster - Aegidienstrasse and Zone 2: Petrikirche - Dom zu Lübeck.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kiel long day · Zone 2: Petrikirche - Dom zu Lübeck
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 178 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 51
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Baltic Coast Scenic Road
For 1 km this is Baltic Coast Scenic Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 3 km
- Named road
- Baltic Coast Scenic Road
Baltic Coast Scenic Road
1 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it. Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 1 km
- Named road
- Baltic Coast Scenic Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Kiel
Kiel is a city that faces the water in every direction. It sits at the head of the Kiel Fjord, a long inlet of the Baltic, and at the eastern end of the Kiel Canal, which cuts across the base of the Jutland peninsula to the North Sea and is the busiest artificial waterway in the world by ship traffic. Cargo ships, tankers and ferries pass in a line, and from the high bridges you can watch giant vessels slide past apparently at roof level. The canal was opened in 1895, and for its size and importance it deserves more visitors than it gets.
Read the complete Kiel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kiel is where the day begins. Next is Zone 3: Marienkirche.
2. Zone 3: Marienkirche
Walk into the Marienkirche in Lubeck and your neck tips back without any instruction. The nave rises to a brick vault nearly forty metres above the floor, among the highest brick vaults in the world, and the whole church is a statement from the merchants who paid for it, built in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as the main church of a city that considered itself the equal of any bishop. It became the model for brick Gothic churches all round the Baltic, from Stralsund to Tallinn.
Read the complete Zone 3: Marienkirche write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zone 3: Marienkirche comes up about 80 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hanseatic City of Lübeck.
3. Hanseatic City of Lübeck
Lubeck was once the queen of the Hanseatic League, the medieval trading network that dominated the Baltic and North Sea. From the twelfth century, merchants here shipped salt from Luneburg, fish from Scandinavia, grain and furs from the east, and the wealth they made went into brick: huge churches, tall gabled houses, warehouses and a city gate that still leans slightly under its own weight. The Holstentor, built in 1478, with its two round towers and sagging central block, has been the symbol of the city ever since.
Read the complete Hanseatic City of Lübeck write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least about 83 km into the recorded legs you reach Hanseatic City of Lübeck. Next is Zone 1: Burgkloster - Aegidienstrasse.
4. Zone 1: Burgkloster - Aegidienstrasse
Lübeck's old town is an island, wrapped in the arms of the river Trave and its canal, and you cross water to reach almost every part of it. The island was the capital of the Hanseatic League, the trading alliance of north German and Baltic cities that dominated the sea for centuries, and the wealth of those merchants is visible in the seven great church spires that fill the skyline. UNESCO listed the old town in 1987, and unlike many cities, it has the feel of a place still in use rather than a museum.
Read the complete Zone 1: Burgkloster - Aegidienstrasse write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zone 1: Burgkloster - Aegidienstrasse, about halfway. Next is Zone 2: Petrikirche - Dom zu Lübeck.
5. Zone 2: Petrikirche - Dom zu Lübeck
Lubeck's old town is a compact island, and Zone 2 is where its religious and civic heart lies. The Petrikirche, the church of St Peter, is a brick Gothic hall church that now serves as an exhibition space, and its tower has a lift that takes you up to a viewing platform with a view over the red roofs, the Trave river and the silhouettes of the other churches. It is the best way to understand the shape of the city, an oval island ringed by water.
Read the complete Zone 2: Petrikirche - Dom zu Lübeck write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zone 2: Petrikirche - Dom zu Lübeck sits at 85 km, about halfway. Next is back through Zone 1: Burgkloster - Aegidienstrasse.
6. back through Zone 1: Burgkloster - Aegidienstrasse
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Zone 1: Burgkloster - Aegidienstrasse write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Zone 1: Burgkloster - Aegidienstrasse comes up about 96 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Hanseatic City of Lübeck.
7. back through Hanseatic City of Lübeck
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hanseatic City of Lübeck write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 97 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Hanseatic City of Lübeck. Next is back through Zone 3: Marienkirche.
8. back through Zone 3: Marienkirche
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Zone 3: Marienkirche write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Zone 3: Marienkirche, late in the day. Next is Kiel.
9. Kiel
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kiel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 178 km.
Leg by leg
Kiel to Zone 3: Marienkirche
Kiel → Zone 3: Marienkirche is 80 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Zone 3: Marienkirche to Kiel
back through Zone 3: Marienkirche → Kiel is 78 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.