Day 5: After visiting the world bird park, only the 'small' dinner...

Today, on Monday, August 10th, after a short 39 kilometers from Steimbke to Walsrode, we visited the world bird park. The weather was still hot and sunny, although slightly cooler in the morning. We started shortly before 10 am. The 'breakfast' was Spartan and had to be made up for :) We had freshly picked apples and pears. Apple and pear trees would cross our path many times! Very practical and delicious, as long as their fruits were not infested. The path led pleasantly through woods and meadows. At one point, we even discovered the first piece of purple heath landscape! Just as Janina needed a moment to take a photo, a horsefly used the opportunity to leave a souvenir on Janina's thigh. The bite remained swollen for the next two days. We crossed a small wooden bridge passing by an old but still functioning water mill. Luckily, we didn't have to pay anything, as we didn't have any pennies with us :) We spotted some cows cooling off in the Aller river. We would have liked to join them! Since there was no café on the way so far, we had to endure a slight hunger until Walsrode. In the city center of Walsrode, we tried out a baker and a café that offered very tasty baguettes and bagels. Finally, we were able to satisfy our hunger :)) After that, we checked into Hotel Pescheks Luisenhöhe, which was directly connected to the bird park. We found a room with a terrace and a beautiful view of two ponds.

At 3:30 pm, we finally started our tour through the world bird park. We saw many interesting birds such as pelicans, owls, and eagles. A highlight was the hummingbird house, where we were able to observe hummingbirds in action for the first time. The free-flight hall was beautifully designed, with red spoonbills and roseate spoonbills being the most active, along with other ducks, guinea fowl, and swallows. There was even a mini wave pool imitating the sound of the sea. Colorful birds with distinctive plumage were the collared doves and, for example, the sulphur-crested tyrant. Overall, the park was interesting and educational, sometimes surprising and funny. The enclosures were almost completely appealingly designed, although some could have been larger. The somewhat sad-looking pelicans, who tried to feel the wind in their trimmed wings, made one thoughtful. Each enclosure had a small information board, which also indicated the endangerment status. Unfortunately, we couldn't see the birds of paradise, the lories, or visit the parrot house, as the park's closing time (7 pm) was reached faster than planned. The kiwi house, which was unfortunately closed, or one of the bird shows would have been interesting as well. We have to mention that there was heavy rain and thunderstorms in between, which temporarily restricted our exploration. But hey, this was the first rain since the start of our bike tour! However, it only cooled down marginally after that...

In the evening, we were deciding whether to order something from a delivery service or go to the hotel's restaurant, as the hotel was located outside of the city. The sweet potato bowl on the menu caught our attention, and we decided to go to the restaurant. But then there was 'only' a buffet... But what can we say? We opted for the small menu with a plate of appetizer, main course, and dessert, instead of the all-you-can-eat option. And that was a good choice! Although the restaurant was sparsely populated, the buffet was well-stocked and, oh dear, delicious. The chef, behind the buffet counters, was convinced of that too, as he piled huge amounts of various delicacies onto our plates. Apparently, there were too few guests who could devour the buffet. When we finished the main course, or rather when the main course finished us, we could roll into our room... At that point, we were worried about the stability of our bikes: frame breakage due to excessive buffet consumption, that's what the report to our insurance would say ;-) But we could still have some dessert!

Data for the 5th stage (navigation with Naviki, leisure mode)

Start: Steimbke

Destination: Walsrode

Distance: 39.2 km

Travel time: 2h 22min

Average speed: 16.5 km/h

Maximum speed: 28.6 km/h