Distance: 25.8km

Duration: 5.5h with 2.5h breaks

Weather: initially a bit cooler and hazy, then sun came out and up to 31C

My last day of the trip! It was with mixed feelings that I started the day. On the one side, I was looking forward to seeing Andreas and Livio, friends and family again and have the comfort of my ‘normal’ life back. On the other side, I was also sad that this great experience would come to an end. Until now, I always had an immediate goal of the daily distance, the ultimate goal to reach Hamburg and the sense of accomplishment. I will have to look for something else then 😃

This morning, I could start right across the road on the dyke where two shepherds and their herd of sheep were walking. Through them, I learned why there is always one goat amongst the sheep. It’s pretty simple – the sheep eat the grass and the goat eats the thistles. And one of them is apparently enough to cover it.

For the last trip, I prioritised a scenic walk over the most direct way which meant that it was another ambitious 25km but it was worth it. It took me along the dyke all the way into the center. And like before, there are always three versions to walk when there is a dyke. You can either walk right on top of it and have a great view, a breeze but no shade. You can walk to the right on the cycling path if you want to have it more lively or you walk on the left where there is nobody, you are right next to the water and it’s quiet and sometimes with shade. So I swapped in between to prioritise the shade or the wind and the view. It amazed me again how different the worlds are just separated by this little elevation of the ground.

As the end goal of the trip, I chose the Elbebrücke which are quite prominent bridges over the river with the Hafencity right next to it. I wanted to stay with the theme of the river Elbe since I had started my trip in Dresden at a big bridge crossing the Elbe. Like this, it felt like I could be closing the loop.

When I reached the bridges in the afternoon, it felt so surreal that I accomplished what I have set myself as a target about six weeks ago. I was tired but extremely happy and a little proud that I managed it in the time that I had. From there, I went to the hotel, freshened up and treated myself to one of the best coffees I had in the Speicherstadt. It was an absolutely beautiful summer evening with many people out and about. The city spoiled me with a wonderful sunset and I couldn’t have wished for a better finale of this journey. ❤️

Distance: 19.7km

Duration: 4.5h and 2h breaks

Weather: hot with 32C

Leaving Geesthacht was a bit painful as I had to walk along the road in the industrial area for a long part with a lot of trucks passing by. The good side was that I came past a supermarket to fill up my water supplies.

Once, out of town I saw the first Hamburg sign indicating the border of the county. If I would have gone lazy, I could have stopped there as I formally reached Hamburg but my ambition was to walk right into the City. Hence, I would have to continue for another 35km.

What followed was another very sunny stretch on the dyke and only little wind. On the search for some shade for a break, I walked into a group of trees not knowing what to expect. How lucky was I – the space opened to the river with a sandy patch and a small beach! I would have never expected that when looking at it from the path. So I stayed on my little paradise beach for a bit to cool down and rest. The tricky bit was that afterwards, I couldn’t leave out another group of trees without checking if they covered another treasure like that beach. And in fact, there were quite a few of them which are only visible from the water.

With the temperatures and the sun, I was thankful that I had a shorter distance of just under 20km.

When I arrived at the guesthouse an elderly lady was sitting there with a cappuccino while waiting for her take-away food. She asked me to join her until my room was ready and we got into a conversation. She was such a lovely woman who really wanted to understand my motivation behind the walk and if I wouldn’t be scared. When she was younger, she did skiing trips on her own but back then it was even more unusual to travel alone as a woman. Another thing that stood out to me was her love for water and especially the Elbe. She could never live anywhere else and needs the daily trip to the river to feel alive. When she was about to leave, she leaned over and slipped a note of money in my hand in case I would want to take the taxi the next day for the final trip. We had a bit a backward and forward as I didn’t want to take the money. However, I felt it was important to her. In return, I paid the next cappuccino and her meal in advance when I checked out the following morning. When listening to my story she probably thought ‘Poor little thing. She wants to go to Hamburg and probably can’t afford a train ticket. Let me help her’ It was such a heart warming interaction with her and I will never forget how her eyes lit up while talking about ‘her’ Elbe!

Distance: 29.8km

Duration: 6.5h and 2h breaks

Weather: hot with 32C, no clouds, light breeze

Leaving Boizenburg was a typical example how important it is to find the right path quickly. After I got lost in the maze of the local forest park, the way indicated on Google maps was closed due to construction work. So I found myself walking through the acres along the fence for about 30min to finally reach the cycling path. From there, it was straight forward. Always along the road but on a separate path and with shade. This allowed me to progress quickly on my 11km distance into Lauenburg which was my target for lunch.

Lauenburg itself was an absolute highlight and the old town is fantastic. So many different charming, quirky houses that are rich in character. You can feel that it is a harbour town as there was a lot of trading in the past and it has a little rough touch which I liked. I spent an hour lunch break in a beautiful café overlooking the Elbe from its terrace.

Fully strengthened and feeling rich from seeing this little gem, I continued my trip for another 19km. Despite the long distance, the walk was absolutely stunning! It was always right next to the water and a lot of parts were through forests with refreshing air. At some point, I was quite high up and an approx. 30m deep cliff would go right into the water. As I was walking away from the cycling path, I only met a handful people, mostly dog owners that walked their dogs and had them swim in the river.

The last four kilometres were tough with the increasing exhaustion and the way into town just felt like an endless stretch along the road. There were a lot of beautiful spots and recreation areas along the water front. Geesthacht was another place where I could get a sense how much the locals love their river. Well preserved natural areas that are being enjoyed and looked after.

One thing that surprised me where the amount of spider nets! I’ve never seen anything like this before. All street signs, traffic lights, fences etc were completely full of it and it seemed that the people gave already up on it as the nets would be back the next day after removing them. From the ladies at the hotel, I learned that this has been a problem for a while in the region. It must be a spider that was imported and doesn’t have any natural enemies and therefore completely takes over in the area. Good aspect of it must be that there can’t be many mosquitos or flies left. But it felt a bit like a setting for a horror movie if I am honest.

The accommodation was a very cute little hotel and I really enjoyed my stay there without having to go out for dinner as they served great food in their garden.

Accommodation: http://lindenhofgeesthacht.de/

Distance: 26.4km

Duration: 5.5hrs and 2hrs breaks

Weather: first hot with up to 32C and light wind, at 4pm sudden thunderstorm

Knowing that I had a long distance to walk and also being aware that the second part will be in full exposure on the dyke, I started with a good pace and only two small breaks to have water until I reached Bleckede after 14km. There, I bought water and apple juice for the day. With temperatures over 30C, I made sure that I always had 2l of liquids on me.

At Bleckede, set over to the right side by ferry. This time, the conductor was a woman which was great to see! On the other side of the river, I took a break in a very charming café which was family run with homemade food. My plan was to recharge batteries for the second half of the trip which I expected to be tougher due to the sun exposure. While having my coffee, I started talking to a young woman from Heidelberg who was doing a similar trip on her own on the bike, she just went the opposite direction. It was great to exchange experiences and laugh about some typical moments of the trip. Time passed by too fast and I had to rush to get back on the path again with another 12km to go.

Surprisingly, this part didn’t feel as exhausting as I expected it and I believe that it made a difference to have one good break a day, roughly at mid point. When it was around 3pm, the air turned much more humid and I could see the skies turning dark at two points in the distance. I am not sure why but somehow, I felt certain that they won’t impact me. Boy, was I wrong. About an hour later, I was right in the middle of a heavy summer rain. Thankfully, no lightnings as there wouldn’t have been any shelter close by. As it was still warm, I just took my rain jacket and had to learn the hard way that the rain trousers are not only useful to keep your legs dry. Even more important – they prevent the rain from running into your shoes! So with only 15min heavy rain, I had a foot bath in my walking boots and the water wouldn’t go out. Even after 2 attempts to wring out the socks, I still had quite some water and with each step, I felt the water moving along inside the shoe. Thankfully, it was only 2km to go and I was desperate to get the boots off and my feet dried.

The evening was fairly uneventful with a trip to the supermarket and dinner from the shop in the kitchen. Normally, I wouldn’t mind making a 1km trip one way to the shops but with already over 26km walking, the trip there and back felt a bit like a torment. On the other side, I was all set for the next day with food and drinks.

Distance: 17.5km

Duration: 4hrs and 2 hrs break

Weather: hot with 35C and a breeze

In the morning, Andreas and I went to the train station together as he had to head back and go to work the next day. After some confusion around the train times, we figured out the right one to run on that Sunday. I don’t think I’ve ever been 90min before departure at a train station. There wasn’t really much going on either apart from one other confused couple and a conductor showing up after an hour. It made me wonder if the station is really operating until a train stopped after approx. 45min.

At first, it felt strange to continue on my own again as it was nice to have Andreas’ company and the option to talk or weigh up options. But as I walked by myself for quite a while beforehand, I got back into my routine after a bit. Having spent a few days with me, it was also easier for Andreas to picture it when I was describing my day.

I left Hitzacker later than usual and therefore picked a shorter distance. The walk was really good as it took me through the forest, past some overgrown lakes and alongside a massive corn field. The forest had a very different feel to it than the ones that I had passed through in the last weeks. It was much more airy and mainly with beechwood trees whereas the forests further in the East were more overgrown with higher density and primarily oak or pine trees. Like this, I felt much more at home as it reminded me of the forests we have in the South of Germany.

My goal was a real nice bar that was located right on the Elbe meadows and in close proximity to my accommodation. I wanted to have early dinner there as there was no other food option close by.

Today marked also an important milestone – I crossed the 500km threshold which makes the final goal of 600km sound much more achievable.

My accommodation was with a family and it must have been the parents’ place when they needed looking after. So I had a spacious flat all by myself with breakfast on the terrace the next morning.

Distance: 24.3km (+14km in taxi)

Duration: 5.5hrs and 2hrs breaks

Weather: extremely hot with 36C, no wind, no clouds

We left the accommodation without breakfast as we tried to walk the first 10km before it would get too hot. Dömitz was the next town where we had the opportunity to buy some food and water. The walk there was mostly pleasant as right on the dyke, surrounded by beautiful landscape. Just the last part walking into town was a long a busy road with very hungry mosquitoes. We reached the place in the late morning and the sun was already extremely strong and burning down on us. Our breakfast was a real treat with an ice cream on the super market parking lot as there was otherwise no place in the shade.

We continued our walk but we got more and more worried about the distance we had to do that day with the unbearable heat. We still had another 26km in front of us which is already an extreme stretch and with those conditions far from healthy. Hence, we started looking for options. However, there were no busses on the weekend as they only do school runs, the option of calling a bus would have taken another 2.5hrs. So we only had the possibility to book a taxi as there is no Uber in the area. I felt a bit defeated in my mission to walk all the way to Hamburg but looking back, it was absolutely the right decision. Under different circumstances, we would have adjusted the accommodation but since Andreas had a train on Sunday morning from Hitzacker, we needed to stay there for the night. The taxi ride was great and we nearly didn’t want to get out of the air conditioned Mercedes! He dropped us off next to the dyke and we continued for another 12km. The walk took us across enormous fields and there was hardly any shadow. During this trip, I learned that I can cope quite well with high temperatures as long as there is shade. But I can’t cope at all with direct sun as it makes me feel like my brain is getting a deep fry.

The last part of the trip was by ferry for pedestrians which took us right into Hitzacker. The town is super beautiful as the old town is located on an island that has the shape of a heart (ok, it requires some imagination). They have the best ice cream I had in a long time and the city is perfect for a relaxed stroll in the evening.

Our place was a very cute B&B which was decorated with good taste. Hitzacker is definitely a stop on route that one must see!

Accommodation: http://www.schillers-hitzacker.de/

Distance: 20.5km

Duration: 4.5h with 2.5h break (including dinner)

Weather: sunny, no wind, no clouds, up to 35C

The walk out of Schnackenburg was great as the B&B was only a few minutes away from the dyke. It took us along some beautiful houses and stunning sandy bays. It nearly seemed that every house has their own bay which of course would be perfect! An old man crossed our path, just a towel wrapped around his hips, to go for a swim in the river in Eastern German style. What a great quality of life is that?!

Further down, we crossed a cow’s pasture that looked like it would be right out of a fairy tale. With a beautiful big lake in the middle and surrounding fields and trees. If there’s such a thing like a cow spa resort, that’s how I pictured it.

From there, we took the ferry in Lenzen to cross to the right side of the Elbe again which is in Brandenburg. On the other side was an old watch tower which was memorial and observation tower in one. It was a very unsettling feeling to imagine what scenes must have taken part there during the Cold War and if people that tried to escape were spotted and maybe even shot from there. In my opinion, it’s important to have those reminders to not forget history and appreciate what we have now.

Our way took us past a nice restaurant next to a lake which we used to have dinner. Our accommodation in Wootz would be very simple with no possibility to have any food for dinner or breakfast, so we had to fill our stomachs for the night and beyond. The place for our stay was another old school which was converted for accommodation. This time however, it was very simple with shared bathrooms but it didn’t matter as we had the entire house for ourselves. Only the next morning did I learn that the lady with whom I had discussed all logistics for the stay was actually the mayor of the village. She had jumped in as the point of contact while the responsible person was on holiday. That’s what I call supporting each other on all levels.

So in total, it was a beautiful day with outstanding and diverse landscape, some history and interesting discussions with some locals.

Accommodation: https://www.wischehof-wootz.de/

Distance: 22.4km

Duration: 5.5h and 1.5h break

Weather: sunny, no clouds, no wind, approx. 33C

The plan was to leave Wittenberge along the right side of the river, pass through a nature preservation area and cross the Elbe into Schnackenburg via ferry which would have been a comfortable distance of around 18km. Thankfully, Sandra told me that the ferry wasn’t working and the next one was another 10km further which would have been a stretch with the current temperatures. Hence, we could adjust our trip from the beginning and take the same bridge to leave Wittenberge and continue on the dyke from there. What was a bit surprising and equally adventurous was that the path made us cross a motorway. Good thing was that the traffic was not as bad as in the south of Germany and we could find a gap to cross it safely.

While the majority of the first part had a few shady parts, the last stretch of 4km went straight on, without any shade as there were no trees. The way into Schnackenburg took us through a small harbour where it was so obvious again how low the water levels were. Our accommodation was an old school building until the 1960ies and was then used by the military as the location was right on the border to the East. After the reunification, it became a cultural center and since 2013 the current owners run it as a B&B. Dinner was provided by the owners as an ‘all you can eat’ BBQ which was perfect as there was no shop or restaurant in town.

We finished the day with a beautiful sunset over the Elbe which turned everything into pastel shades.

Accommodation: http://www.cafefelicitas.de/

Distance: 10.2km

Duration: 2 1/4 h and 1h breaks

Weather: sunny and very warm with approx. 30C

Today‘s trip was a short one as I only had to go to Wittenberge as I’ll have a partner in crime for a few days to walk with me and who will arrive early in the next morning via train. The walk was pleasant on the dyke with beautiful views on the river. The last strip was via an old train bridge to cross the Elbe and get into Wittenberge. As it was hot again by lunch time, I took a break before the long train bridge and sat under a tree in the shade. While I sat there, I got a phone call. Fully engaged in the conversation, I saw a group of cyclists approach when suddenly, someone passed by in front of me, looked me in the face and shouted “Sabine!!!!” Completely puzzled, I looked up and realised that it were two friends of mine from the UK with their daughter and mother who stood in front of me. We couldn’t believe it! What a coincidence to bump into each other in this part of the world!! It was so great to see them. After a while we separated as we went into different directions but I finalised my walk with a massive smile on my face.

Walking into Wittenberge was interesting as it had the atmosphere of a workers’ town that must have been wealthy in the past. There was a massive oil mill at the entrance with an impressive brick building that was turned into a hotel end event location. Some streets were built of beautiful town houses with rich decor while other streets consisted of more simple and small houses. The train station itself is an impressive building from the second half of the 19th century. Unfortunately, it seemed fully closed and was boarded up for some parts. It was a very unique atmosphere in this town and I fear that it will also change in 10-20 years when the generation of the elder will not be there anymore that seems to represent the majority of the population right now.

I took it easy in the evening to be ready for the next few days where we’ll have some longer walks.

Distance: 19.9km

Duration: 4.5h with 1.5h break

Weather: sunny, pleasant as not too hot with a few clouds, in the afternoon thick clouds but no rain

This was one of my favourite mornings so far. I left Werben and within 5min, I was right on the dyke and in the middle of the meadowlands. It’s a protected area as birds love to bread there. And it felt like being a silent observer in a nature show: two hares were chasing each other as a game, storks were walking with their long legs through the marshland in search of food and there were hundreds of wild geese and other birds like grey heron which I can’t all name. It was so beautiful and peaceful and gave me the deepest respect how all those animals live together in a healthy balance. The area is called ‘Altmark’ (English: Old March) and is part of Saxony-Anhalt, bordering Brandenburg and Lower Saxony.

As I left the cycling path right from the beginning, I could walk in complete remote parts of the area which gave me the opportunity to spot other animals like deers, white herons and another hare.

Beuster was even smaller than Werben with only 500 people living there. There were beautiful half-timbered houses with brick stones which seems typical for the region. Unfortunately, there was no restaurant or supermarket and the bakery was only open from 6-11am. This meant that I had to eat any food that I had left. So my dinner consisted of two cereal bars, a baby bell cheese, some bell peppers and salted nuts. Not a gourmet dinner but it filled me nonetheless.

Today, I could also celebrate an important milestone – I crossed the 400km mark, yayyy!

Accommodation: https://www.zimmervermietung-lucas.de/