World tour Schleswig-Holstein – that sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Because here in the north we have something very special: there are several places here that are named after faraway countries or large cities.
I’ve had the idea of travelling around the world through Schleswig-Holstein for some time. The reason for this was an article in a local newspaper a few years ago, which dealt with particularly funny place names.
Of course you know Brazil or California on the Baltic coast, but Bali and Belgrade, Tyrol or Cameroon?
I wanted to know what it looks like there and whether there are perhaps even similarities between the places and the countries or cities whose names they bear?
Specifically, there are 14 countries and cities that I have combined into a tour between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea:
- Siberia
- Greenland
- Cameroon
- Tyrol
- England
- Sweden
- Norway
- Belgrade
- Russia
- California
- Brazil
- Bali
- WideWorld
- Berlin
Most of the places mentioned are in the centre or east of the federal state. Only England is on the west side, directly on the North Sea on Nordstrand, which is why my route took a corresponding detour.
But this is not a diversion – on the contrary! The route connects both coasts, passing through Rendsburg on the Kiel Canal, close to Schleswig and directly past the Danewerk, directly through the memorial site of the Husum-Schleswig concentration camp and onto the wide and windy coast on Nordstrand before turning eastwards, crosses the beautiful town of Kappeln with its many yachts, along the Baltic Sea beaches to Eckernförde and across the Bay of Kiel to Laboe, before turning south-east and heading through Holstein Switzerland to Bad Segeberg and back to Halstenbek on gravel paths and small roads north of Hamburg.
You can find the route here. I have already adapted it and incorporated my experiences from the road. For example, there was a section of the route that led through a dense forest where it was no longer possible to cycle and I had to carry the bike through nettle forests and dense undergrowth. I took this section out. I have marked the countries/cities with a turn-off from the route. Unfortunately, Komoot doesn’t yet allow you to rename waypoints, which is why I have marked these places so that you don’t miss them while cycling.
Basically, I have planned the route in such a way that the fun on the bike is in the foreground. It is therefore mostly on surfaced paths and small roads, along country lanes and forest tracks and only a little more gravel from time to time. This means that everyone – regardless of their bike – can have fun travelling around Schleswig-Holstein. There are also plenty of supply points and the route stops at petrol stations and supermarkets time and again.
And of course there is much more to this route and it can always be improved. If you like, it’s a great way to discover some of the most beautiful corners of the state, enjoy the culture and landscape and visit the world at the same time.
The start and finish of my 560km round trip was Halstenbek. The first country after about 25km was Siberia.
Siberia
Tundra, snow and a vast country – that’s how I imagine Siberia. Siberia here is a district or farm near Elmshorn. The dominant feature here is the Café Sibirien, which surprisingly has a ‘communist architectural style’. At least it reminded me of the modern buildings from the GDR era.
In Sibirien you can play mini golf or hike around a small lake.
Greenland
It remains cool and even gets a little colder, because a few kilometres further on lies Greenland. And interestingly, Greenland is in the municipality of Summerland. Unlike Siberia, however, Greenland is actually a place with a town sign. The next larger town is Horst.
Cameroon
North to Africa: Kamerun is a farm near Emkendorf and I had to search a bit to find any indication of its existence. But the electricity box was appropriately labelled with the place name and several cows were my witnesses to having been in Cameroon.
Tyrol
It got hillier and as if we were actually going to Tyrol, this place, a district of Brekendorf, lay at the foot of a small mountain on which there is a radar installation. The German army, or at least technical personnel from the army, probably work here.
England
I rolled back down the hills and continued westwards, past the Danewerk, the impressive Viking ramparts, to Husum and from there onto the Nordstrand peninsula. It was very flat and correspondingly windy here. The North Sea and the Wadden Sea greeted us. England is a place that probably derives its name from ‘narrow land’ and it was indeed quite narrow. The houses are built on the dyke and line up along the dyke road like pearls on a string.
Now my route turned eastwards and into the headwind. However, the day soon came to an end and after a fish sandwich I camped at the ‘Deich Nah Camp’, a farm that offers a few places for tents and campers.
I continued my journey in the early hours of the morning. There was a mystical atmosphere over the landscape. The day was already dawning, but the clouds were still hanging between the wind turbines.
My route took me towards Tarp and on to the next ‘countries’: Sweden and Norway.
Sweden
Finding this country wasn’t easy, but at the end of the road was the Swedish farm. Significantly, it was a Swedish-looking farm with a stone at the entrance indicating its name.
Norway
Just a few hundred metres away was Norway. This country is a large equestrian farm with holiday flats and a dressage tournament was taking place. I couldn’t find a clear indication of Norway, but the place name I was hoping for was visible on the barrier to the tournament.
Belgrade
The capital of Serbia was no longer on my mind when I turned off onto a country lane and after a few metres suddenly found myself in front of a small courtyard with a blue gate: Belgrade. I have to say that it was beautiful here. A secluded farmstead in the middle of fields in the municipality of Stoltebüll.
Russia
Further east and towards Russia. This place is in the municipality of Holzdorf in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde. There was no place name sign here either, but there was a sign just before it. Russia consists of two or three houses and the road ended at a fence, behind which it continued into the forest. This gave the place a certain loneliness and remoteness.
California
I then travelled via Eckernförde, Gettorf and Laboe to what is probably the most famous countries in Schleswig-Holstein. California is located directly on the Baltic Sea and belongs to the seaside resort of Schönberg. California is around 2 kilometres long and did not have its own town sign. Presumably because it is stolen too often. However, I did find references to the town in the form of the ‘California Grill’. At least…
Brazil
A few hundred metres away from California is Brazil. And here, too, there was no more place name sign, but there was a big kite festival. It was impressive to see how many great kites in different shapes and colours were flying over the Baltic Sea beach.
And to make it even clearer, the toilet block was also painted in the Brazilian national colours and logo.
Bali
I had to pedal more than 160 kilometres against the wind that day, which is why it was already getting dark and I wanted to find a campsite on Lake Plön. But first I visited Bali. This is a district of Dobersdorf in the district of Plön. Particularly fitting: there is a Christmas tree plantation in Bali.
I cycled a few more kilometres, spent the night at Lake Plön and set off in the dark of the next morning for the last 100 km of my trip around the world.
Weitewelt (wide world)
No country, no place, just the world: Weitewelt (Wide world) is a small village in the municipality of Seedorf in the district of Segeberg. When I arrived there in the early hours of the morning, everything was of course still empty and quiet. Really beautiful here, beautifully remote.
Berlin
The grand finale had to be Berlin, of course. A small place, but 22 years older than our capital. And there are even more interesting details here: little Berlin also has an Kurfürstenstraße, an Heerstraße, a Lichterfelde, a ‘Unter den Linden’ and even a Potsdamer Platz.
After breakfast in Bad Segeberg, I cycled the remaining kilometres on small roads and beautiful gravel paths back to Halstenbek.
Travelling the world in one weekend
Travelling around the world in 556 km and 2.5 days – you can only experience that here in Schleswig-Holstein.
And I’m sure I’ve forgotten other places with names like countries or large cities. Little America comes to mind, for example.
But perhaps you also have suggestions and additions? Then let me know and I’ll integrate them into the route planning on Komoot. And of course you are welcome to retrace and improve this route.
