National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen and Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
282 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 52
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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
282 km from Nordholz to Nordholz, about 4 h 52 of riding. On the way it passes National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen, Wadden Sea, Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of and back through Wadden Sea. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Scenic road chapters
Wadden Sea → Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 72 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Chapter facts
Length
72 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen
Here the Wadden Sea comes right up against the dyke. This is the coast of the Wurster Nordseeküste, between the Weser and Elbe estuaries, a country of low sea walls, drained farmland and wide skies, and the mudflats outside the dyke are part of the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park. Together with the Dutch and Danish parts of the Wadden Sea, the area is a UNESCO World Heritage site, valued above all for the sheer scale of the tidal flats and the millions of birds that pass through on migration. When the tide goes out, it goes a very long way.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen is where the day begins. Next is National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen.
2. National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen
At low tide, the sea simply leaves. Twice a day the North Sea withdraws from the Wadden Sea, exposing vast flats of mud and sand, channels and banks, where birds feed by the hundreds of thousands and seals haul out to rest. The Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park protects this coast, and together with the Dutch and Danish parts it forms the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2009.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen comes up about 40 km into the recorded legs. Next is Wadden Sea.
3. Wadden Sea
Where the Weser river widens into the North Sea at Bremerhaven, the land and water merge into one of the strangest landscapes in Europe. The Wadden Sea, a shallow stretch of sand and mud flats running from the Netherlands past Germany to Denmark, is the largest unbroken system of tidal flats in the world, and UNESCO protects it as a World Heritage Site. Twice a day the sea retreats, leaving a gleaming plain that birds, seals and worms use as a feeding ground, and twice a day it comes back, quickly and quietly.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 70 km into the recorded legs you reach Wadden Sea. Next is Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of.
4. Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of
In 1404 the merchants of Bremen put up two statements of independence in their market square, a Gothic town hall and a stone statue of a knight, Roland, standing five and a half metres tall with a sword in his hand and a shield at his feet. The town hall was later given a Renaissance front in the Weser style, rich with arcades and sculptures, in the early seventeenth century, and the great hall inside has a ceiling hung with model ships. Roland, who looks out over the square towards the cathedral, symbolised the city's freedom from the archbishop, and a local saying holds that as long as Roland stands, Bremen will remain free. Both were inscribed by UNESCO in 2004.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen closes the day.
Leg by leg
National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen to National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen
National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen → National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen to Wadden Sea
National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen → Wadden Sea is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wadden Sea to Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of
Wadden Sea → Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of to back through Wadden Sea
Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of → back through Wadden Sea is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Wadden Sea to back through National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen
back through Wadden Sea → back through National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen to National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen
back through National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen → National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.