Day 8: Off through the amazing Lüneburg Heath!

After a nearly bike-free day, today we went from Soltau through the Lüneburg Heath to Lüneburg. We were back on our bikes shortly after 10am, having fortified ourselves with a fruit muesli made from the self-picked apples. To catch glimpses of the Lüneburg Heath, we had set the village of Tütsberg in the middle of the Heath as an intermediate destination in our navigation app. We already passed several beautiful areas with purple heath and green juniper bushes, and even more so afterwards. The highlight was the heath village of Wilsede. There, on a hill, the heath presented itself in all its beauty. The yellow-green grass areas, combined with the blooming purple heather and the green bushes and trees in the background, shone in an impressive way in the sunshine. Although the heath hardly smells like a lavender field, you don't have to travel so far for it either. There are also many bees here. In addition to this visual delight, a former tank bridge used by the British military could also be seen in the distance. A beautiful landscape and a bit of history :)) Later, we discovered a flock of moorland sheep on our way, with a shepherd and two sheepdogs keeping watch over the flock. The sandy soils were quite challenging for us as they were more suitable for hiking. There were designated bicycle paths, but they were not on our route.

After visiting the heath, we continued towards Lüneburg, the paths became greener again and the purple disappeared. Lüneburg itself seemed to have a chic old town. In any case, a bridge with an old harbor crane served as a significant photo motif! Near there, we bought our dinner: vegan kebabs and wraps, which were very delicious!

Our accommodation "Uma Rosa" was located in an eastern industrial area of Lüneburg. The accommodation (room: "Tiger") was beautifully designed and impressed us with a great garden, bathroom, and breakfast! The rippling stream in the garden was a drinking source for birds and wasps. In this way, the wasps did not seem so aggressive and rather curious as we ate our dinner in the garden :) Late in the evening, we tried to spot a few shooting stars from the hammock. Jörg was able to spot two or three, but satellites were more present.

Data for stage 7 (navigation with Naviki, mode: leisure)

Start: Soltau

Destination: Lüneburg

Distance: 68.8 km

Travel time: 4h 51min

Average speed: 14.2 km/h

Maximum speed: 38.6 km/h