Werner was born in Affinghausen a bit south of Bremen - and grew up there. His sister-in-law and his niece and her family still live there on the old homestead and the connections are forever....and we have wanted to do a little bike trip there with our friends for some time, so the time was finally here.
The weather was not so very wonderful but also not awful. A bit coolish - the predicted high was only 20C (69F) and cloudy, but that's fine. No sun blinding you, no heat exhausting you. But here in the middle of July, we wore our little fleece jackets the whole day!! Remember please that one week ago it was in the upper 80s. Our bodies are a bit stressed from all the changes.
Underway we were with Gerd, Renate, and Hartmut - our bestest folks for taking bike tours from our center in Vegesack.
Avoiding the stress of a short connection, we stated our trip with a 7K trip from Vegesack to Burg where we caught the train to Bassum where we have been before and for some reason, and for some reason, we could not go 10 minutes before we needed a caffein infusion!
In our other visits to Bassum, we had never visited the convent, established in 853. Yes, the year 853 CE. Good lord, that is OLD. Originally, it was a place for noblewomen who had never married, not necessarily women who decided to devote themselves to the church. But of course they got put there and of course there was nothing else to do but serve the church.
We have our own issues in this day and time, but I am grateful that I didn't live in 853.
The current church building isn't from 853, but it is pretty old. There were several devastating fires of course, and buildings need renovation now and again. Of course, at the time of the Reformation, it shed its Catholic identity and became Protestant.
Unlike many no-longer-Catholic churches, we were able to visit. We so appreciate that communities and the state are interested in preserving these cultural icons.
We headed off toward Affinghausen, but before long had to stop for our picnic lunch in Albringhausen! I was beginning to wonder exactly how much riding we would actually do....
Lunch was ample, as always. Lots of veggies and fruit and some lemon chicken and cole slaw and bread. Picnics are simply the best.
Hey! We found little alpaca cuties along the way! They have the happiest smiles and they all need braces.
Off again to find the "Scheunenviertel," in Neubruchhausen. (Lots of "-hausens" around here!) The "Scheunen" are storage barns and "Viertel" is a proscribed area. In some villages, the farmers put all of their storage barns together in one smallish area since fires in hay lofts and such were too common. If you put those potential hazards a bit away from the homes and stalls for the animals, you could limit the damage. This area wasn't very well preserved, but there were a few of the Scheunen still around.
And the wheat fields! They are being harvested, now. But they are so beautiful.
Keep going! We were getting a little close to our planned arrival time, so we pedaled a bit faster. That is a lot easier for me and Werner since we have our e-bikes. Our (slightly younger) friends are more athletic and still have their "analog" bikes. I make no apologies. Without our e-bikes, I would be sitting at home.
We finally found a sign to Affinghausen in the village of Bensen, established 800 years ago. Really?? I asked Werner, When was Affinghausen established? No idea, he said, but I think it wasn't so long ago.
Wrong. Affinghausen was officially recognized as a community over 900 years ago. They even did a little book.
So very many of these small farming communities have been vital for centuries. Sadly. the baker, the butcher, the flower seller, the general store have all closed in the last 10-15 years. The only viable business still in Affinghausen is Bensemanns the place where parties and such are held.
But at the Wichmanns in Affinghausen, you can still get amazing and tasty and wonderful treats! Susanne made two great desserts for us, the coffee was flowing and the conversation was easy. What a lovely visit.
Then, it was back to Bassum, a good 10K shorter than heading to Twistringen, for our trip back to North Bremen.
What a great little trip! Friends and food and family are an unbeatable combination.
(54K, 33 miles)
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