28 From Rostrup to Bremen - Discoveries in & around the Hanseatic City

When I woke up in the morning well-rested in the beautiful bright apartment of my host, the first thing I heard was unfortunately the rain pattering on the roof..

I forgot to mention that there was also a super cute roommate in the form of a huge cat, self-built clever shelves and storage areas throughout the apartment, a gallery, plants everywhere and zero waste indicators to discover in every room. I would move in right away :D

After a delicious breakfast and further parallels in our lives that my host and I stumbled upon while talking, it was time to put on rain gear and have some fun. I was accompanied to the village and since you always meet at least twice in life, I was already looking forward to seeing my host again when saying goodbye ;) Many thanks again for the wonderful, enriching time! 

Afterwards, I walked along a beautiful path next to the train tracks to Oldenburg, where I warmed up and dried off in a cute café.

Unfortunately, the journey to Bremen became less and less charming, always on bike paths directly along the main road, and the rain became stronger rather than weaker.. So in Delmenhorst, I took a break for some refreshment and the last few kilometers somehow went by ;) 

In Bremen, there was a great old town and an even greater old apartment in the Neustadt waiting for me. After checking in, I could dance through the stylish apartment - soaked, but full of anticipation for a long weekend with a visit from a friend and a relatively luxurious accommodation :D 

The next day we went on an exploration tour of the city after a hearty breakfast.

Also, the day before, I took the opportunity to take my bike to a workshop for service, which I could pick up freshly serviced in the late afternoon :) 

Except for an evening walk, there wasn't much else left to do - so a very successful and relaxed start to the weekend. 

On Saturday, we had planned to join a free walking tour, but we - always a bit late :D - unfortunately missed it.. But there was a self-organized tour using QR codes, which are attached to numerous interesting buildings in Bremen. Furthermore, we felt like testing all the vegan delicacies that were available in the great Markthalle Acht and other nice cafés ;) 

Originally, I also wanted to continue cycling north on Sunday, at the latest Monday, but I was waiting for a package... Specifically, I had to send my glasses for repair to Regensburg and provided the address of my friends' parents as the return address. Instead of arriving on Saturday as hoped, the package had not yet arrived, so I was graciously allowed to stay with the aforementioned parents for another night and wait for the package. 

Before that, I used Sunday to take a short bike ride into the countryside around Bremen. First, I went to the beautiful little village of Fischerhude and then - finally - to a strawberry field, after not finding one in the Netherlands anywhere and urgently needing to raise my strawberry consumption to an appropriate level for this year ;) 

In addition, I used the day for phone calls with my family and also chatted with another cyclist on the phone, who also wants to be in Sweden in August (I discovered it on the Mitradelzentrale of the adfc). Since our rough plans seem to fit together quite well, we arranged to meet in Malmö on August 11th to explore the south of Sweden together for a while. I'm very excited to see if it works out and what it will be like to have company while cycling :) I really like traveling alone, but being able to share experiences is often missing - so it would be great to be on the road together for a while! 

In the evening, I was at my friend's parents' house - I had already visited them on my tour in Cologne and then their sister in Groningen ;) - and was warmly welcomed and treated to delicious food. 

Furthermore, there was a great tip for a bike tour the next day, in case my glasses had not arrived yet. 

In a short phone call with the optician on Monday morning, it turned out that the glasses hadn't even been sent yet... Fortunately, I could easily stay for another night and an express delivery was arranged, so I could at least resume my journey relatively safely the next day. 

But first, it was time to enjoy the sunny Monday by cycling back to the city center, treating myself to a coffee, visiting a few spots in the city, and then cycling through the Bürgerpark and Stadtwald out of town. The recommended tour led beautifully on gently curved paths along the Wümme river through an area called Blockland - crisscrossed by canals and therefore reminiscent of the Netherlands ;) Without luggage, I flew along and arrived at the highly recommended Kaemena Hof. There was super delicious organic ice cream, a courtyard with lots of pretty seating areas, the opportunity to visit the cows, and just a very beautiful farm with a great atmosphere :) 

To crown the wonderful day, I met another cyclist in the evening at the Weser river whom I had also met through the Mitradelzentrale. She wanted to be in Denmark from mid-July, which would have fit well with my plan. However, she changed her plans due to entry requirements and is now doing a tour through Switzerland instead. Nevertheless, it was great to exchange experiences and hear about her exciting adventures on long tours, for example through Canada and the USA! 

And it's always fascinating how quickly you can be on the same wavelength with complete strangers and how it's possible to get to know so many wonderful people through traveling on two wheels :)