Why this ride
From Gettorf it runs 231 km to Wendtorf; allow about 4 h 15 of riding. The stops in between: Eckernförde bay, Schwansen villages, Kappeln Schlei stop and Gettorf road.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kiel · Schwansen Villages and Schlei Coffee Loop + Kiel · Probstei, Hohwacht and Eutin Flow
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 231 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 15
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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
Hohwacht bay → Lütjenburg reset
16 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
- 15 km
Lütjenburg reset → Eutin lake
Water arrives beside the road and stays for 44 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go. Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 40 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Gettorf road
Gettorf is a small town on the Schwansen peninsula, a few kilometres inland from the Baltic, with about six thousand inhabitants and all the basics a rider needs: fuel, a bakery, a supermarket and a handful of cafes. Everything here is gentle, rolling and green, and the sea is never far away.
Read the complete Gettorf road write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gettorf road is where the day begins. Next is Eckernförde bay.
2. Eckernförde bay
Eckernförde Bay is a long, narrow arm of the Baltic that cuts into the coast of Schleswig-Holstein between the Danish Wohld and the Schwansen peninsula, and the little port of the same name sits at its head. The water is shallow, the beaches are wide and sandy, and the whole place has the relaxed air of a north German seaside town, with a promenade, a harbour full of boats and a smell of smoked fish. The altitude here is a modest eight metres, and the horizon is all sea and sky.
Read the complete Eckernförde bay write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Eckernförde bay comes up 47 km in. Next is Schwansen villages.
3. Schwansen villages
Schwansen is the little peninsula that sticks out into the Baltic between the Schlei inlet and Eckernförde Bay, and it is one of the quieter corners of Schleswig-Holstein. The land is low, rolling and green, at only a few tens of metres above the sea, and the villages of Damp, Waabs and Rieseby are separated by fields, small woods and hedgerows. It was once part of the old Danish duchy of Schleswig, and the mix of Danish and German history shows in the names and the architecture.
Read the complete Schwansen villages write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
94 km in you reach Schwansen villages. Next is Kappeln Schlei stop.
4. Kappeln Schlei stop
Kappeln is a small Baltic port on the Schlei, the long narrow inlet that cuts forty kilometres into Schleswig-Holstein, and its harbour has the busy, salty feel of a working fishing town. Wooden boats line the quays, nets hang to dry, and gulls wheel above the fish stalls. The town sits at the point where the Schlei narrows, so a bridge crosses it, and from the quay you can watch it lift to let tall-masted sailing ships through.
Read the complete Kappeln Schlei stop write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kappeln Schlei stop, about halfway at 8 m. Next is Back to Gettorf road.
5. Back to Gettorf road
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gettorf road write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Back to Gettorf road. That is the ride. Next is Probstei villages.
6. Probstei villages
The name comes from the provost of the convent at Preetz, who once held the land and drew rent from its farmers. The villages are strung along the lanes at the edge of the fields, with brick farmhouses, village churches and long avenues of trees.
Read the complete Probstei villages write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Probstei villages comes up 234 km in. Next is Hohwacht bay.
7. Hohwacht bay
Hohwacht Bay is a wide curve of the Baltic coast in eastern Holstein, with a long, sandy beach, low dunes and shallow, gentle water that warms quickly in summer. The land here is flat and green, with the sea on one side and the rolling hills of Holstein Switzerland on the other, and the light has that clear, northern quality that painters love.
Read the complete Hohwacht bay stop write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
281 km in you reach Hohwacht bay. Next is Lütjenburg.
8. Lütjenburg reset
Lütjenburg is a small, tidy market town on the Baltic side of Schleswig-Holstein, a few kilometres from the sea in a rolling country of fields, lakes and low hills. People here call the region Holstein Switzerland, a joke that is half serious, because by the flat standards of northern Germany the landscape counts as dramatic, with hills of a hundred metres or so and lakes in the hollows. About five and a half thousand people live in the town, and it has the feel of a place that has been a local centre for a long time.
Read the complete Lütjenburg fuel gate write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lütjenburg, late in the day at 35 m. Next is Eutin lake.
9. Eutin lake
Eutin is a town with a lake, a castle and a composer. The lake, the Großer Eutiner See, is a broad stretch of water at the heart of the Holstein Switzerland region, with wooded shores and a slender island, and the castle stands at its edge, a moated palace of the old prince-bishops of Lübeck, surrounded by a landscape park. The composer is Carl Maria von Weber, who was born in the town in 1786, and the summer opera festival here is held in his honour on an open-air stage by the lake.
Read the complete Eutin lake write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Eutin lake sits at 374 km, late in the day. Next is Back to Probstei villages.
10. Back to Probstei villages
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Probstei villages write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back to Probstei villages closes the day.
Leg by leg
Gettorf road to Eckernförde bay
Gettorf road → Eckernförde bay is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Eckernförde bay to Schwansen villages
Eckernförde bay → Schwansen villages is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Schwansen villages to Kappeln Schlei stop
Schwansen villages → Kappeln Schlei stop is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kappeln Schlei stop to Back to Gettorf road
Kappeln Schlei stop → Back to Gettorf road is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Back to Gettorf road to Probstei villages
Back to Gettorf road → Probstei villages is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Probstei villages to Hohwacht bay
Probstei villages → Hohwacht bay is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hohwacht bay to Lütjenburg reset
Hohwacht bay → Lütjenburg reset is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lütjenburg reset to Eutin lake
Lütjenburg reset → Eutin lake is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Eutin lake to Back to Probstei villages
Eutin lake → Back to Probstei villages is 77 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Kiel · Selent Lake and Hohwacht Short Day + Kiel · Boknis, Schlei and North Loop · 216 km
- Kiel · Holstein Switzerland Lakes and Coffee Roads + Kiel · Rendsburg, Schleswig and Viking Roads · 217 km
- Hamburg · Holstein Switzerland Lakes + Kiel · Schlei, Kappeln and Eckernförde Arc · 319 km
- Kiel · Baltic Quiet Villages Loop · 88 km