While planning Operación Verano Fresco, I stumbled on a region that looked intriguing: bogs, purple-flowered heath, charming hotels & lots of hiking trails. Lüneberger Heide looked like it would be a relaxing getaway after so many city days, but little did I know it would turn into one of the most memorable stays of our Germany vacation…
Scarce info in English led me to believe that this place wasn’t on everyone’s bucket list & catered to a more German crowd —exactly what we wanted. About a half hour south of Hamburg by train, this area of over 1,100 square kilometers has two separate, protected nature parks: Lüneberger Heide proper & the aptly named Südheide (shown in green above). Many train connections run through the northern town of Buchholz, Lüneberg sits in the east while Munster (not to be confused with the big city of Münster!) lies directly in between both Naturparks. Hanover & Celle close off the south. Access from whichever direction, even via Bremen a bit further west, is easy.
We chose to stay in Schneverdingen due to its location within the nature park on a train line. Handeloh might have been a good choice as well, & while there we discovered a large network of circular bus routes that would have expanded our options. But that was difficult to decipher from home. The official website could certainly be better organized.
Landhotel Schnuck
Regular readers know I never, ever write about hotels, but this one is special…
A 15-minute walk from the train station through a beautiful residential neighborhood, the Landhotel Schnuck had it all: on-site restaurant, bar, biergarten, pool, sauna & the occasional deer wandering through. I wanted to splurge on an all-inclusive experience, especially if we needed to rest. Staff spoke good English & even when someone didn’t, communication was no problem. In fact, when they saw I was willing to use my broken German they let me practice. More fun for me.
All facilities were impeccable. We got hit by a surprise downpour while in the biergarten along with a few other guests. I’m glad we weren’t out hiking with no cover! We’d been looking at the online menu to get a head start translating for dinner, but as luck would have it there was a special summer buffet. Sign us up! We laughed about being the only non-Germans at the hotel, how everyone looks at me then immediately speaks German, & just how friendly & accomodating everyone was.
Highlights: Rafa enjoying the sauna & pool, meeting an Argentine woman working at breakfast who told us about her time living in Hamburg, the cook who gave Rafa the largest serving of roast pork ever, an automatic butter slicer/dispenser, & feeling pampered even though lots of people were staying there. I can’t wait to return!
Hiking thru heath
We’d found a somewhat circular, 12-ish km route that could be done from the hotel, so off we went after breakfast. The first section was a beautiful stroll through a pine forest. Morning light, cool temps & only a few hikers/bikers made exploration magical. My phone had died the previous day, but we ventured off the marked path using Rafa’s connection. What a beautiful spot:
Purple everywhere greeted us as we exited onto the heath. It only blooms once per year around August/September & perhaps we missed the peak by a few days, but again, just gorgeous. Photos can’t really do it justice:
Crowds grew while approaching Pietzmoor. A large car park encouraged families to explore, but honestly I don’t understand why anyone would consider bringing a stroller, toy bikes & all that extra stuff on a long walk. Anyhoo, the bog is one of the more popular excursions because of its accessibility via boardwalks:
Used to extract peat for fuel until the 1960s, the area has undergone extensive work to return the landscape to its former state. Judging by Rafa’s comment that the landscape seemed almost prehistoric, I’d say the recovery is going well:
We’d only rested on a bench for a few minutes during the whole trek, so when we had a lovely beer break a relaxing kiosk/bar. If only I could remember the owner’s name! He was a nice guy & took time to chat with everyone who stopped by. We finished by walking into town to Edeka, buying a light picnic lunch & heading back to the hotel. Perfect weather, perfect hike, perfect day.
We had such a wonderful time that Rafa wants to rent a place in Schneverdingen next summer. I’m all for it because there is a lot to explore that we didn’t have time to see. Anyone need housesitters? 😉