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Out and about in Northern Hesse
Out and about in Northern Hesse
Beyond Kassel
The leaves are falling, the last tour of the year: one more overdose of sloping positions, soaking up the landscape and honoring streets that are full of memories. A reminiscence of the hills between Edersee, Diemelsee and Kassel.
Markus Biebricher
December 18, 2008
It’s not just any streets up there in Northern Hesse. Rather tingling rows of asphalt meters. Each one full of memories, each one a pearl on the chain of possible mobility. On foot, on roller skates and on my bike, I used to work off these tar compounds with burning lungs. A love of discovery that wasn’t in vain; a collision of a folding bike with a Deutz tractor meant two weeks in the hospital in Volkmarsen. Every day the doctor named Maus came into the room and promised: “You will come out tomorrow.” He promised for two weeks. Fourteen days without enjoying the roads and fields in the Waldecker Land. Forever in a child’s life.
Then leaving the asphalt and working with the farmers in the fields. Beet harvest. The earthy aroma of the Waldecker Boden has not only dug into my consciousness through falls. When I was sixteen, the first two-stroke engine was screeching below me, my buttocks were squeezed together, my heart was pounding wildly. 17 naughty Yamaha horses made me break the sound barrier, it was forbidden. 120 on the small road from Kulte to Volkmarsen, at the end of the 90-degree left bend. Braking early was vital, not cowardly.
The narrow band of plaster was a baptism for all the many others out there. Roads that lured with fewer cow dung, promised more curves, inclines and declines. Those who lifted the motorcycle out of its springs, crushed it, which allowed me to better understand the almost Tuscan-looking hilly landscape and the forests. Now I was able to divide the expanse of the Waldecker Land into speeds and gear changes, discover the countless circuits and discover my own limits.
Nothing has changed to this day. Endorphins patter again and again when I tackle the bends from Leckringhausen to Ippinghausen or the sensational asphalt worm from Vohl to Herzhausen, time and again I discover new phenomena along the way on countless routes, and the familiar hairpin bends feel different with every motorcycle. It is as if they secretly move around from time to time. North Hesse remains exciting, and that’s why I go there again and again.
So today too. The sun sends the last rays over the hills, the adrenaline of the last bend ebbs, the forest opens up, and the front wheel points straight into a fjord landscape. Rocky cliffs, a touch of the Grand Canyon, like liquid gold, the Edersee shines in between. The picture is better than the next asphalt loop, so let the brakes glow and find a place to soak up this magnificent lake landscape while standing.
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Beyond Kassel
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The Edersee attracts with impressive panoramas and curves. Motorcyclists meet here all year round.
The stimuli are varied. Even in late autumn, there are still many motorbikes on the popular quayside. Hardly scratching with the notches, strolling rather low-revving. Signs limit the speed, which is not bad, because the visual impressions can definitely compete with the lean endorphin. The water level of the lake is low, a peace lies over the scenery, here the blessed painter Caspar David Friedrich would have immediately unpacked the easel and colors. Perhaps even the “Atlantis” of Waldeck emerges from the floods: the ruins of those old villages that sank into the dammed up water almost 90 years ago.
A 1:40 scale model of the dam could also appear. Engineers tried out the water drainage on it during the construction period from 1908 to 1914. The chimneys of an old steel works, in which iron ore had been processed since 1755, ancient cobblestones of the village streets, the history of the Edertal could suddenly come to light again, covered with mud.
Detach from the lake, let the two-cylinder whistle up the serpentines to Waldeck in cheeky inclines, switch off the ignition in the old town and fall into a cafe, all of this feels like a fluid, uninterrupted movement. I immerse myself in a few minutes of aimlessness and timelessness. Until someone speaks to me. It is Paul Neuhaus, former mayor, who offers himself to me as a tour guide and wants to tell me about it. About the old city fountain, the ossuary and the bank of lies. He also witnessed the bombing of the barrier wall. When the British Lancaster bombers flew in on the night of May 16-17, 1943, Paul was outside with his father. “They were so deep that we could see the pilots.” Three of the bombs specially designed for the dam attack fell from the shafts. Only the third tore the huge hole in the dam. The Waldeckers on their mountain were unharmed. In contrast to the people in the valley who were hit by a devastating tidal wave that killed 70 people and destroyed countless buildings.
65 years later fog wafts over the same landscape, I am not allowed to exhaust all the curves on the way to Korbach. Korbach is Hesse’s only Hanseatic city, the historical center breathes 1000 years of history. In the rock cafe “Kings” at the Stechbahn, the post is off. Audiences of all ages and nationalities cavort here, consuming Korbacher Gold beer and fine portions of rock, blues, folk and jazz. Host Thomas Schacht is into music, owns an endless number of recordings and organizes live performances. His siblings, mercilessly convinced city dwellers from Berlin and Frankfurt, cannot understand how Thomas can stand it in the north Hessian province, but he feels at home here, and his cultural offerings don’t have to hide. In addition, the Waldecker Land is a good alternative to Australia, where he has always dreamed of going. It didn’t work out, but now he has everything he needs around Korbach. His voice sounds slightly melancholy.
Night falls, light rain washes the scents of the old town floor into your nose, it is not difficult to beam yourself into the deepest Middle Ages. What was in that gold beer? Next to the “Kings” is the hotel “Am Rathaus”, I better check in. The landlord also calls his house “Gold Idea Hotel”. He was inspired by the topic of gold and furnished his rooms in such a way that guests can always bask in the shine of the precious metal through the design and decoration. This is no coincidence, because the mighty Eisenberg is only a few kilometers away from Korbach. Gold reserves for 35 million euros are said to be stored deep inside it, but their mining would probably cost even more.
There are a few places in Hessen with lush half-timbered houses like here in Wolfhagen.
The next day, slightly dazed by the gold rush, I pass the Continental works in Korbach, where the manufacturer produces most of the motorcycle tires, and throw myself into the landscape towards Lake Diemelsee. Flechtdorf, Adorf, Heringhausen, Willingen, Usseln, Oberschledorn, Goldhausen, it’s like surfing on Sunset Beach on Oahu, Hawaii. The same applies to the southern circuit of Dorfitter, Immighausen, Rhadern, Dalwigksthal or the route via Altenlotheim to Frankenau and Bad Wildungen. In addition to iron-rich mineral springs, the history of the spa metropolis is closely interwoven with witch trials and craft guilds.
I let the wind heal me, lay a spider web of stretches across the Waldecker Land and drift along the edge of the Kellerwald National Park. A striking interplay of mountains and gorges opens up, one of the largest natural red beech forests in Western Europe opens up, the ideal mix between driving and enjoying nature is possible here. Who knows that dwarf, gray and pied flycatchers, red kites, black storks, tawny owls, eagle owls and bats live next door? The whiteclove lives hidden on cliffs, while the alpine vortex worm writhes in the clear spring water.
Small streets with little traffic curl through the hills, they make such a good mood that I turn and drive them again. About thirty kilometers further north I get to the Twistesee, which shines in the green like a Norwegian mini-fjord, then to Bad Arolsen. The city is the birthplace of the writer Christine Bruckner and the sculptor Christian Rauch, and the famous baroque palace is a treat for the senses.
Just like the roads in the surrounding area: the one from Arolsen via Helsen to Kohlgrund, the one from Korbach to Oberwaroldern, the stretch Sachsenhausen, Freienhagen, Ippinghausen or the smallest insider tip along the Wattertal from Neu-Berich to Landau. All of these and numerous other routes are exquisite motorcycle routes. A little time, openness, prudence, a little tolerance towards dairy cow excrement cannot do any harm, just like stopping more often for the sake of the lovely landscape. Then you get to know people like farmer Luckel, who maintains his old Massey Ferguson tractor: “The engine is like the earth. Keeps turning. “After all, the motorcycle, bicycle, hiking and water sports Eldorado Waldeck is still mostly agricultural land, even if a farmer in Dehringhausen, frustrated by milk prices and disinterested youth, yells after me:” Report to Berlin, the Germans Villages are farmer-free. “
I drive roughly the same direction, but I only make it to Kassel, where I have the technology museum and a city tour, then I have to indulge my addiction. No, don’t smoke, just head back towards the Edersee. Again the road from Vohl to Herzhausen. No, twice: first down, then up again. Brilliant. It’s not just any streets here in Northern Hesse.
Info
An insider tip in Northern Hesse is the Waldeck district and the surrounding area. There are great motorcycle lanes, green hills, lakes, forests and nice people trumps. See for yourself!
Duration of the trip: four days; Distance covered: 800 kilometers
General
The Waldecker Land is an old cultural landscape that lies in the extreme northwest of Hesse. Its mountain ranges, rich in forests and lakes, extend over around 1,800 square kilometers, and the proportion of forests is around 45 percent. The highest point is the Langenberg not far from the winter sports resort Willingen at 843 meters. The three reservoirs Edersee, Diemelsee and Twistesee are scenic and offer water sports enthusiasts every scope for action. Cultural attractions can be found in Bad Wildungen, Bad Arolsen, Korbach, Frankenberg and in the recreation area around the Edersee. The south and west resemble the valleys and mountain tops of the neighboring Sauerland, while the north is more beautiful, more spacious with rolling hills and fields. A dense network of partly small streets with little traffic runs through the popular holiday region, an Eldorado for motorcyclists. Even if you do without a map or navigation device and just drift, you can’t go wrong, driving enjoyment is guaranteed on most routes. The people are friendly and open-minded, a number of hoteliers offer route tips, and the number of workshops is high enough just in case.
getting there
From the south via the A 5 or the A 3 to Gieben and Marburg, then via the B 252 towards Frankenberg / Korbach. Alternative: via the A 7 to the Homberg / Efze exit, then towards Fritzlar and Bad Wildungen. From the north and west via the A 44 Dortmund-Kassel, exit Diemelstadt, from the east via the A 4 towards Eisenach, then Kassel or Homberg / Efze.
overnight stay
There are plenty of hotels, guest houses and campsites in North Hesse and especially in the Waldeck-Frankenberg district. The following hotels are recommended: “Goldflair am Rathaus”, the Zabel family, Stechbahn 8, 34497 Korbach, single rooms from 55 euros, phone 05631/50090, www.hotel-am-rathaus.de; Gasthof “Fritzes Goldener Stern”, Hauptstrasse 21, 34270 Schauenburg-Breitenbach, single room from 29 euros, phone 05601/93280, www.motorrad-gasthof.de; Hotel “Elfbuchen”, Elfbuchenturm, Fischer family, 34131 Kassel, single room from 80 euros, phone 0561/969760, www.waldhotel-elfbuchen.de; Hotel-Pension Mariann, Frohmann family, Wilhelm-Ortloff-Weg 6, 34537 Bad Wildungen, single room from 29 euros, phone 05621/4100, www.hotel-pension-mariann.de. Also: Korbach Youth Hostel, Enser Strabe 9, 34497 Korbach, phone 05631/8360. The rock cafe “Kings” in 34497 Korbach is recommended to all friends of cult music: Stechbahn 6, phone 05631/2288, www.kings-rockcafe.de.
sightseeing features
Edersee wildlife park, Greifenwarte and information center. A visit to a birds of prey flight show is absolutely worthwhile. Also exciting: experience 200 animals in their natural environment (wolf, bison, eagle owl, lynx, red deer, fallow deer, mouflon and wild boar). In the information center at the wildlife park, the “Fagutop”, the Kellerwald National Park is presented by a ranger. Info phone 05623/4370.
The Eisenberg, Germany’s richest gold deposit, is not far from Korbach. Equipped with protective clothing and a pit light, you can visit the “Lower Depth Valley Tunnel”. Info: www.goldspur-eisenberg.de.
The baroque residential palace in Bad Arolsen offers changing art exhibitions, which are almost always worthwhile (www.schloss-arolsen.de).
The Christian Daniel Rauch Museum has impressive sculptures and busts by the famous sculptor (www.bad-arolsen.de).
Sights and museums are piling up in Kassel: The astronomical-physical cabinet with planetarium is recommended for motorcycle travelers interested in technology. Information for all institutions: www.museum-kassel.de.
Castles and lakes
The Kugelsburg in Volkmarsen, the Weidelsburg near Ippinghausen and the Sababurg in Hofgeismar offer panoramic views over the country. Water sports are very important at Twistesee, Diemelsee and Edersee.
cards
Good maps are available on site, for example the Waldeck-Frankenberg leisure map, scale 1: 75000, Stadt-Verlag E. v. Wagner Mittelhuber GmbH (4.00 euros). Also recommended: ADAC map Sauerland / Hessisches Bergland, scale 1: 150,000 (7.50 euros), Allianz leisure map Kurhessen Waldeck, scale 1: 100,000 (6.95 euros). Merian Live, Northern Hesse (7.95 euros), Leisure Guide Region Northern Hesse, Wartberg Verlag (12.80 euros).
Addresses
Ederbergland-Touristik eV, phone 06451/717672, Edersee Touristik, phone 05623/999830, Touristikzentrale Waldeck-Ederbergland eV, phone 05631/954359, www.waldecker-land.de, www.schloesser-hessen.de, www.hessen-tourismus .de, www.museen-in-hessen.de, www.edersee.com.
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