Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
When travelling by bike there are different options to cross a river like the Fulda. The most often used and most boring are obviously bridges. My most favourite one are ferries like the nice Weserfähre between Hemeln and Veckerhagen. But there is also a rather exotic one south of Melsungen, Germany: a manually operated funicular. It is connecting the two villages Beiseförth and Binsförth. Never heard of? Don’t worry.
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If you managed the trip downstream from Kassel to Hann. Münden by bike you might be ready for the trip in the reverse direction: upstream to Melsungen. The way is a bit more hilly and sometimes you’ll have to ride on ordinary streets which are also used by cars. This route might be one of the good reasons to buy an e-bike (which everybody in Kassel except me seems to have done already). The trip is 37 kilometres long in each direction and you can do it in two to three hours depending on your speed and the number of breaks you take. You’ll end up in a nice old city with lots of half-timbered houses which is definitely worth the effort.
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If you’re visiting Kassel, Germany or are travelling throughout the villages along the river Fulda you should look out for hand-painted stones: the Fullesteine. ‘Fulle‘ is the name of the river Fulda in the local dialect. A group of people takes stones, paints them and writes the name ‘Fullesteine‘ on the reverse side. They distribute them somewhere in the region and you’re invited to participate in the game.
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The Eder is a 176 kilometres long river – the longest that flows into river Fulda. It originates from the Rothaargebirge in North Rhine-Westphalia and is best known for the artificial lake Edersee with many touristic attractions next to it – like Schloß Waldeck, the Wildtierpark and a treetop walk. The river Eder ends close to Kassel, Germany. It runs into the Fulda near a village called Grifte belonging to Edermünde. This geographical situation became a problem in 1943 when during the British Operation Chastise the dam of the lake was bombed and a massive flood wave reached Kassel via the Eder.
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German motorways are known throughout the world as you can drive on them as fast as you want. Whether this makes sense and how often you can really go fast (because of speed limits and massive construction works) are other discussions. A common myth is also that the Autobahn is a legacy of Adolf Hitler – in fact the motorways were planned before his time and his regime only accelerated the construction works. On the other hand, his war also stopped the construction of different parts of the motorway network – a good example is the Strecke 78 which should have connected Kassel to Eisenach and Erfurt. A road that doesn’t exist even today.
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The Leisel is a small river at Baunatal, Germany. Between the city quarters Altenbauna and Kirchbauna it runs into river Bauna (giving the city its name) – and exactly there you can find the Leiselpark, the local recreation zone of Baunatal. It is a nice long-stretched park with different paths to stroll around and a big playground. At one end of the park you can find the Leiselsee – an artificial lake created from the waters of the river.
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If somebody would ask me about my most favourite local beer, I would always answer ‘Hütt naturtrüb‘, a delicious non-filtered Pilsener brewed by the Hütt-Brauerei located at Baunatal, Germany. Since 1752 they brew beer at a location called Knallhütte close to motorway A49. In former times carriages needed additional horses to get on top of the hill and signalled this using their horsewhips – the sound of this gave the place its name (‘knallen‘ = banging). Today you can take a tour at the brewery, buy some beer at their shop or enjoy good food in the restaurant.
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The Warteberg is a 229 meters high mountain in the city quarter Philippinenhof-Warteberg of Kassel, Germany. Living there must be nice and painful at the same time: because of the great views you can have, but I wouldn’t want to climb up this mountain every day; I totally underestimated it. It is located in the north of the city directly at the border to Vellmar. On top, you will find a small park where you can sit down between trees and have a relaxed look at the valley of the river Fulda.
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People living abroad tend to create a desire for food they know from home. Germans always search for typical German bread and beer. It seems to be the same with the large Russian community at Kassel, Germany. At the city quarter Süsterfeld-Helleböhn you can find a special supermarket that fulfils their needs: the Rhönmarkt. A supermarket full of Russian products, articles from Eastern Europe and a very small amount of German and Turkish supplements.
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The most beloved racing track for cyclists at Kassel, Germany, seems to be the one from Kassel to Hann. Münden along river Fulda. It is one of the few tracks that is rather flat and long, it leads to a beautiful town with a city centre full of half-timbered houses and you will pass a valley with nice forests next to the water. One way the length is about 25 kilometres which you can do within 1.5 hours if you’re going fast or about 2 hours if you’re riding more relaxed or have a break in between. It is a good option to easily spend a day on tour.
Continue reading “Downstream”