May 1st & the Return of Bike Season in Germany

Yesterday marked the 1st of May and in Germany that means everyone gets a mid-week holiday to commemorate "Tag der Arbeit" or Labor Day. Some parts of Germany and Austria also raise Maypoles with long streams of silken ribbons to dance around while enjoying the delicious beer that is at the heart of Tradition for all German speaking countries. Here in Gütersloh though Thomas and I chose to mark the occasion with our first all-day bike ride of the season.

This year we chose the beautiful and elegant town of Detmold, some 40 kilometers to the east, which boasts a magnificent Residenzschloss or "Residents Palace" surrounded by water on three sides; the fantastic Freilichtmuseum of German Culture; one of Germany's finest Music Universities; as well as some of the loveliest 18th and 19th century style homes throughout Germany.

All of this is surrounded by the grand Teutoburg Forest in which you can find
the mammoth Hermannsdenkmal or "Herman's Monument," Germany's equivalent of the Statue of Liberty, which commemorates the Germanic people's repulsion and defeat over the Romans in 9 AD. Though forgotten after his murder in 21 AD after trying to forge an alliance with the Southern Germanic tribes, Hermann was rediscovered and eulogized in art and poetry by the Romantic movement, who later saw him as a great liberator and the first man to envision a unified Germany.

But our bike journey, which began on a sun-drenched morning, only an hour later than intended, (it is a holiday after all), took us through wooded areas and along quiet streams, near giant brown crops and grassy filled meadows speckled with munching sheep and cattle, and through the occasional small town  which always contains a Turkish Donor Kebab Shop.

But the highlight for us was the three tiered, bright yellow, baroque water palace that just happened to show up in the middle of our ride. Once the possession of a rich count, it is now used as apartments for those lucky enough to secure one. It is three golden Baroque suns rising proudly out of the waters.

After three hours and a little stop near the Hermannnsdenkmal to enjoy our homemade sandwiches, we coasted into wunderschönes Detmold and made our way to the Altestadt or the "Old City Center," which are the town center and heart for most European towns, usually containing a plaza, a church and the ever important cake and ice cream shop. Something I enjoy about German towns, and of which I wish the US had more, are the long outdoor Fußgangzones or "Footpath Zones" which keep the shops and the shoppers out-of-doors and on wide, attractive, car free boulevards. Somehow you don't feel small and trapped in a disconnected shopping mall but rather like you are part of your community with one heartbeat.

At the Altestadt we found a large stage with Union Members entertaining audiences with silly stand-up comedy, as well as Union organized booths scattered about the plaza, along with several trucks pouring Detmold beer and offering plenty of delicious Würst. This was Labor Day after all, and though there wasn't a Maypole in sight, there was still plenty of celebrating to be had. After we watched the festivities for a time, Thomas and I rode off to explore Detmold's sights, including an extended ride to a nearby town called Heilige Kirche which is almost completely dedicated to bikes and includes plenty of sheep farms right in the middle of town. Though modern in most respects, one can still sense the medieval world underneath it all.

Riding through Detmold I was struck by the beauty and order of everything. There were carved waterways cutting through the town, immense mansions with decorative surfaces and elegant statuary, tree lined paths, romantic parks and lots of families with children. And yet it never felt stuffy or pretentious, it just felt relaxed and happy, comfortable with its beauty and completely joyful to be sharing it with anyone who happened to live there or perhaps was simply passing through. It is the type of atmosphere that is nearly impossible to find in a large city and causes some of us to long for a return to village life when we get to taste it.

Eventually we found two seats at the Schokolade Café and Konditerei (Pastry Shop) to  indulge our tastebuds in homemade Apple Pie, Pear Mousse Cake and tall glasses of coffee macchiatos, a veritable trinity of temptation of which "no" was simply not an answer. But by 5pm it was time to bid goodbye to this village oasis and make our way back to Gütersloh. And yet as the sunlight waned and the emerging twilight began to cast long shadows around us, our wooded ride home took on an almost fantasy-like quality as the newly emerged leaves, light green in color and so delicately suspended in the air, seemed to float around us, silhouetted as they were against the dark pine trees. It made one acutely aware of the sources for the Grimm's Fairytales as well as the Romantic music of Schumann, Schubert and Beethoven. You could almost see the fairies dancing in circles to the strains of piano music from one of these Romantic giants.

85 kilometers later, and a little detour in Verl for some of the best pizza I have ever tasted in Germany, we were back home at Frankensteiner Strasse 23 at last. This May Day was truly one of my most memorable experiences and one which I shall recall always. It also captures, like a perfect snapshot, the ideal experience one can have while traveling, be it in Germany or anywhere. All that is required is a bike, a map and a good friend with whom to enjoy the journey! Happy May Day to everyone!