Corona-diary: Where the pedestrian zone is missing

Christina/ August 25, 2020/ The daily grind

On my latest tour within the Braunschweiger Land I discovered a cycle path to Schladen. According to the distance marker Schladen is only 13 kilometres away from Wolfenbüttel and thus can be reached within a day trip from Braunschweig. However I did not take two things into account: On the one hand the very strong contrary wind that day. On the other hand I did not realize that Schladen is very small and does not have a pedestrian zone. My equation did not work out: if they have a snake farm that should also have a down-town pedestrian zone as well. Maybe I should have taken a look in advance on this website Schladen?

However underway we enjoyed the encounter with the past: the landscape park Kaiserpfalz Werla. Moreover I did not expect neither elephants nor King Kong at Heiningen. At the end we finally discover that live is really a pony yard – well things cannot go better than this.

Full broadside
The cycle path from Braunschweig to Schladen is not really difficult or challenging – it just should not be stormy. The steep long climb just before Werlaburgdorf is quite something. Again and again we are hit by a full broadside. We fight against the wind, that demoralizes us after two hours. But no matter we have a goal in front of us and by now we do not know that there will be no chance for a cup of coffee in the city centre of Schladen.

Having arrived in Werlaburgdorf we are amazed about the information sign “Lady’s Island”, that might belong to a fan of Ireland. Just behind the village we are in for a big surprise. Hm, is not that a castle on the horizon? We are cycling towards the tower and reach the Geopark Schladen-Werla. Shortly before the main castle spot the first information boards. Ah, Barbarossa has been here as well.

We have a look at the main castle and continue afterwards towards Schladen. At the next information board we see two couples on E-mountain bikes. I ask for the way. On of the guys gives me directions and a hint. In Schladen he tells me there is the best ice cream parlor of Northern Germany. Wow, can this be true? The “place to be” is to the left at the first traffic light.

The mill road of Lower Saxony
Said and done. We reach the city limits and come across the community centre of Schladen. The frame house and the former mill are part of the mill road of Lower Saxony. Interesting. And just around the corner there is more history: A memorial stone reminds of the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire in 1871.

You can also visit the Rewe
However that’s it for Schladen. We take a left turn at the traffic lights and actually there is the recommended ice-cream parlor. Well, we are a little bit disappointed. It is visually very unattractive, the café is right at the main street, the seating is made of plastic. It is not really tempting. There should be more to it. I approach some elderly man on a bike and ask whether there is something like a pedestrian zone. He looks at me with astonishment: “No, there is no such thing. You can go to the supermarket over there to have a coffee.” Oh that’s the cruel truth.

We make a u-turn and give the ice-cream parlor a break. In short: we are not going to love it but are happy though to have found a place for a coffee. After the break we hop onto our bikes again and start our way back. However the hope that we might have tailwind on our way home does not come true.

Gorillas in the mist
We are in for another surprise near Heiningen. In a garden we see an elephant family of plastic as well as a King Kong sculpture. What is this? Serengeti of the Northern Harz foreland? We have to smile. Back in Braunschweig we witness a petting zoo atmosphere close to the Südsee: A couple of young horses are romping around a paddock. A nice finish of a challenging but interesting tour.

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