2021 - September - Lüneburger Heide - Heidschnuckenweg

The ideal time to visit the Lüneburger Heide? That depends on your preferences. If you want to see the heath in purple, I have a simple phrase for you: From 08.08. to 09.09., the Lüneburger Heide blooms!

Now, since the biggest secret has already been revealed, I could actually end this report. Because of course, the flowering season is probably the most attractive for visitors. However, and this is no secret either, it is also the busiest time. But there are also real hotspots, like Undeloh, where it gets even busier and it's like a coffee trip.

That's why we didn't just take a trip to the Lüneburger Heide, but combined it with a hiking vacation over several days. This was organized in such a way that our luggage was transported, but we only hiked by ourselves. This is pleasant because we could walk at our own pace.

We always followed the Heidschnuckenweg, which is well marked with a big white 'H'. If you want, you can start directly from Hamburg Fischbek, because that's where the first stage begins.

We joined in one stage later, in Buchholz. The town of Buchholz itself doesn't offer much excitement, so one night's stay before the hike is completely sufficient.

But if you think that you only walk through the heath on the Heidschnuckenweg, you're mistaken. First, you go through suburban areas and then through the forest for a long time. But the route is always nice and straight. Overall, the Heidschnuckenweg is very suitable for beginners. It's easy to walk and everyone can decide on the length of the stages themselves. Ours were between 12 and 22 km long (according to the pedometer longer because we always had over 30,000 steps).

At Brunsberg, then the surprise: The forest cleared and the heath shimmered in enchanting purple!

Of course, such a hike is also worthwhile without the heath blossom. We actually enjoyed the forest very much. Especially since this year is an absolute mushroom year. My pictures show a few of them, because I could have taken endless pictures. After initial hesitation, we also collected some. Such great chestnuts, porcini mushrooms, birch mushrooms... they are rarely found in such quantities. But what should we do with them if we stay in a different hotel every night? Taking the mushrooms with us was absolutely thoughtless. So what did we do?

Actually, in the evening at the hotel, we always asked for a kitchen knife, an old newspaper, and a sewing kit (!). And then we cut our mushrooms, put them on a string, dried them overnight on the radiator, and the next morning we packed them between newspapers in our suitcase. Transported like this, there were no problems. In the evening, our mushroom garlands hung on the radiator in the next hotel.

But now back to the Heidschnuckenweg: We only left it a few times, for example to hike through the Totengrund near Bispingen. This valley is particularly beautiful and probably very atmospheric in winter and fog. However, during our visit, we had full sun and still found the valley, covered with heather and conifers, impressive.

And now what about the namesake Heidschnucken? We actually only saw them face to face once briefly. It just so happened that we were sitting in a carriage at that moment. Fortunately, the coachwoman stopped briefly for us so that we could take a few photos of the Heidschnucken.

So now we have reached the end of our hiking trip. Our last stop was Schneverdingen. However, this small town is not actually the end of the Heidschnuckenweg, that actually comes in Celle.

For those who are now inspired to come to the Lüneburger Heide, here are a few extra tips and recommendations:

1. We had the best food at the Fuchs restaurant in Handeloh. The price-performance ratio is simply right here and the food is super delicious!

2. You can find excellent cake in unexpected sizes at the Schäferhof in Schneverdingen. You can also stay there very well and it's right next to the Pietzmoor. That's absolutely worth seeing!

3. There are horse-drawn carriage rides, especially from Undeloh. They are cheaper if you ride in a large group, and more expensive if you rent one privately.