© Isabela PaciniOn the trail of the oxen
I spot the first fellow cyclist before the start of the trail in Wedel. At the Willkomm-Höft on the Elbe, where the national anthem is sung to greet ocean-going vessels entering Hamburg, there is a lone cyclist in a functional outfit, with a 20-speed touring bike, a weather-beaten face and a heavy load. “Hello!” I call over in a good mood. “You’re also doing the Ox Trail?” The man looks at me with a perplexed look on his face. It turns out that he is on his way back from the Arctic Circle; he has already covered 7,000 kilometers and is now heading home to Ingolstadt. He doesn’t have much interest in the Ochsenweg, which fills me with relief. I am a leisure cyclist looking forward to a relaxed tour on my e-bike from Wedel to Bad Bramstedt.
© Isabela Pacini
© Isabela Pacini
© Isabela Pacini
© Isabela Pacini
© Isabela PaciniThe Ochsenweg is a historic connection
Of course, the Ochsenweg also has its challenges. For example, if you cycle the entire route. It is around 240 kilometers from the Elbe to the Danish border, the southern section to Rendsburg can be cycled in two variants. You should allow five days for the full trail. TToday, I have only planned the day trip on the eastern route to Bad Bramstedt, covering 66 kilometers. What characterizes the Ochsenweg in its entirety is its gentle meandering on side roads through genuine North German country life. Across fields and pastures, through villages and right at the beginning past the stone Roland of Wedel. Standing tall, with sword and golden crown, the figure is a reminder of the market rights granted to Wedel in the 15th century so that the oxen market could take place where people were shopping for fresh flowers, regional apples and fish that morning.
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More InformationThe Ox Trail has been running through the Jutland peninsula to the Elbe since the Bronze Age
The Ochsenweg is not just a long-distance cycle route that is currently being developed into Schleswig-Holstein’s first quality cycling route. Above all, it is a historical connection and a piece of German-Danish history. It was, and has been since the Bronze Age – the central land route between present-day Denmark and northern Germany. Merchants and pilgrims walked it, as did knights and highwaymen and also cattle traders who drove their cattle to the large cattle markets in Itzehoe, Husum and Wedel. There was a lot going on back then! In 1601, 20,000 oxen were driven across the Elbe at Wedel. Audio guides and information boards along the way will soon tell you more about the past and present of the Ox Trail.
Cycling through a world shaped by agriculture
I cycle through avenues and pine forests, through blooming heath and past sand dunes blown by the wind from the banks of the Elbe. I cycle along cobbled village streets, watched by geese chattering under a pear tree. A flock of sheep appears, horses gallop across a paddock, and just before Uetersen, three black cattle stand in the pasture. Oxen? Hard to tell from a distance, at least for me as a city kid, but the feeling of cycling through a green, agricultural world is nice. Which, as the perfectly laid out fields of flowers along the way show, also includes horticulture.
In the Uetersen Rosarium, an idyllic town park with a large pond, I picnic among 900 rose bushes and watch the town gardener arrange white chairs, cushions and floral decorations. “The next wedding is coming up,” he calls cheerfully, adding that there are five on the program today. In Uetersen, the wedding town, the registrars also come to the Rosarium. Ten kilometers further on, the arboretum in Ellerhoop is also in bloom. The botanical garden with its many secluded corners is so lovingly designed that I don’t want to leave. But Bad Bramstedt awaits, a spa town with a castle, old brick houses and lovely cafés, perfect for relaxing after a long tour. In fact, I still feel fit to cycle on to Padenstedt to get a taste of the countryside at the ostrich farm or the Weide-Hardebek farm community. Best to save that for next time. Fortunately, the many stages of the Ochsenweg make for easy return trips.
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More Information ‘
You can find more information about the Ochsenweg long-distance cycle route and its stages here.