Day 7 Soltau to Wietzendorf - 19 km. Total km: 157

Today was dominated by artillery fire - it did have a peaceful start and finish though.  

Last night we stayed in a small pension in Soltau and our hosts told us that they would serve breakfast for us. When we said that their breakfast time would be too late as we start walking early they simply asked what time would suit us. 

And supply breakfast they did. Coffee was ready for Jeff and a jug of hot water for me as well as orange juice; jams and conserves of every sort; large selection of meats & cheese; salad things, breads & buns - even perfectly soft boiled eggs waiting in insulated containers. Plus ziplock bags were provided for us to make a picnic lunch to take with us. Wunderbar. 

Just some of our breakfast table goodies. 

Our walk out of Soltau was lovely. A beautiful soft track, a grandmother and granddaughter duo picking up rubbish along the way, and lady, with her dog running along beside her, biked past us singing a beautiful song. We even saw beautiful large snails.

This lady was singing so beautifully.

Lilacs of every shade are in full flower.

Not long after that though we heard a series of booms, and the booms continued all day until late in the afternoon. We were walking alongside a massive military zone. 

We then realised just what we were hearing. 

There were barrier arms across several entrances into the military zone in the forest. We walked past one barrier that was being guarded by armed soldiers and just after that there was a massive artillery explosion incredibly close to us. The volume of the fire is indescribable - it almost made both of us fall to the ground. It really was frightening and intimidating. 

One of the barriers into the military zone. 

We continued on way and the booms continued, although none as loud as the one that nearly flattened us.

We appreciate the reasonably frequent bench seats.

Farm work continued all day. 

Nearly into Wietzendorf, our destination for today, we had to walk three sides around a massive campground. Mostly filled with caravans, just a few motorhomes and tents. We've not seen caravans before, just motorhomes and campervans. It wouldn't be a peaceful place to camp though because of the military activity. 

Then we arrived in Wietzendorf.

Old farm buildings are now museums. 

Wietzendorf is on a sculpture trail.

A farm shop kiosk.

St Jakobi Kirche - St James Church in Wietzendorf.

We went to a stall selling strawberries and asparagus to see just what was there and while we were deciding whether to buy some strawberries or not a lady standing next to me asked if I was Marilyn Young. What a surprise. It turns out that she is our host for tonight. 

The strawberry & asparagus stall - our host is in the blue top talking on her phone. 

Frau Christa Herder-Euhus, our host, offered us a ride back to her place in the countryside, as it's about 2 or 3 kilometres from the village, but we declined as we wanted to go to the supermarket to get a few things. We did get her to take our packs and poles in her van though  

We had a visit to an Eiscafe before going to the supermarket. It opened at 1 o'clock and very soon there was a long line of customers. One man told us that the whole village had turned out. Eiscafes sell Italian ice creams. They certainly were fantastic. 

Our home for tonight, Ferienhof Steinbruch.

We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting outside enjoying the peacefulness - in between the booms. 

We asked Christa, our host, about the military activity and she spoke to us for quite a while about everything. The military activity we heard today is constant as it is NATO training of Ukrainian military. 

Christa said that a huge munitions factory has been built in Wietzendorf, with 300 people working there. She is very saddened about the whole situation. She said Ukrainians need help but she doesn't like anything to do with war.

Christa said that this area has an horrific war history as the Bergen-Belson concentration camp is nearby and during the war trains carrying people to the camp came through Wietzendorf. She said that many of the older village residents who lived through that time still deny that it ever happened. She said, 'How can they when the camp is just down the road.' 

Until 1943 the Bergen-Belsen camp was a prisoner of war camp. British troops liberated the concentration camp on 15 April 1945. 

Our day ended as peacefully as it started, all military activity had finished for the day. We went for a stroll up the lane and ate our picnic style dinner outside under some of the many apple trees.

The lane by our house for the night.

When we went into the kitchen to get water Christa explained that Wietzendorf has extremely good water as the whole area is heath land, with it's sandy soil acting as a massive filter.

The water is so good that it is piped to Hamburg. Christa said the pipelines to Hamburg are so big that cars could be driven up them. She said Hamburg doesn't pay for the water but Wietzendorf residents have to pay.

Seen our our walk yesterday:

An orange squirrel 

Many small deer

One snake (dead)

Seen today:

Large snails

A small frog

One snake (also dead)

Just a by the way:

In northern Germany people greet each other with the word Moin, sometimes Moin Moin. It's said all day in place of Guten Morgen and Guten Tag etc. We like it, it's an easy greeting. It'll be interesting to see how much further south it's used.

It's not unusual to see Moin at entrance ways, mailboxes, and sometimes on shopping bags.

Wietzendorf is a municipality in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, in northern Germany. It is situated approximately 14 km southeast of Soltau, and 50 km southwest of Lüneburg.

Population 4,188

Source: Wikipedia

Day 6 Bellen to Soltau - 27 km. Total km: 138

The saga of Jeff's missing jacket continued this morning.  

After a good night's sleep we woke early as usual - sunrise is around 5.50 and our room didn't have curtains. Early starts suit us and, being in a family home, we didn't want to disrupt their work and school morning routine.

When Jeff stepped out of our room he was greeted by Anna who said she had good news about his jacket. She had been told that a neighbour's daughter had found a jacket on the side of the road yesterday afternoon had taken it home. A few text messages between Anna and the girl's mother and Jeff was off on the bike again, with a hand drawn map to find the house where his jacket had spent the night. All was good again. 

Needless to say, we were a later than usual setting out. Anna had taken the children to school - school is from 7.30 until 12.30 - and Udal was already in his workshop near door. We waved out to him as we walked off.

Leaving the Wiederhold family home - wearing his jacket. 

It was another really pretty morning. Bright sunlight hitting the fresh spring-green leaves, small birds chirping, a cuckoo calling and a woodpecker busy at work. It was quite a cool start once again, around 5° but soon warmed up. 

We left without having breakfast as the family had been busy with their's so we stopped at little way down the road to eat our breakfast things. 

Our breakfast stop.

Today, once again, there was a lot of machinery work going on in the paddocks. The ground was being prepared for planting in many places and then we saw potatoes being planted. 

Potatoes bring loaded into planter hopper.

 

Then it was off planting the potatoes. Acres and acres were being planted. 

We rerouted a little, possibly saving a kilometre or two, and walked through an interesting area of old buildings.

Roughly half way through our day's walk was Neuenkirchen where we had a break. 

The information centre in Neuenkirchen where we got our pilgrim passports stamped.

We stopped for hot chocolates and some tasty treats in a cafe near the information centre.

While we were at the cafe we chatted to a German couple who were on a biking holiday. They had walked two caminos in Spain.

The 'new' church at Neuenkirchen which gave the town it's name was built in 1879-1880.

Then we were on our way to Soltau, most of the way on lovely soft tracks.

Passing through a farmyard at one stage.

We had another short stop where we ate slices of bread that Anna had buttered for us. She made the bread grinding grain in the small mill in her kitchen. She said that it was red rye. It certainly was lovely bread. 

Udal told us that the green crops we are seeing were rye and not wheat as the German ladies had told us a few days earlier. He said he grows rye and spelt on his land.

Anna's bread with the addition of a plum conserve was perfect. 

Our picnic spot.

And on into Soltau a busy spread out town.

A Lutheran church in Soltau.

We try to be in bed by 8.30 but getting off to sleep then seems odd as our rooms are always light as sunset isn't  until around 8.45 pm.

Soltau is a mid-sized town in the Lüneburg Heath in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has around 22,000 inhabitants. The city is centrally located in the Lüneburg Heath and is known nationwide especially for its tourist attractions like the Heide-Park and the Soltau-Therme.

Population 22,040.

Source: Wikipedia