Day 114: Höxter to Hildesheim

August 26, 2025

Day 114: Höxter to Hildesheim

Yesterday, I left Marie’s place very late, after 11 AM. The good thing is that I didn’t have to be at my Warmshowers host’s place in Hildesheim until 7:30 PM.

Before I left Höxter, I stopped by the Schloss/Kloster Corvey, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s a monastery dating back to the 9th century. I wasn’t in the mood to do any exploration since I just started my bike ride for the day so I only took a couple of photographs from the outside.

The ride to Hildesheim was simply beautiful. I passed by more farms and pedaled by the Weser river. At one point on my route there were so many apple trees along the road that I just had to stop and pick a couple of apples to eat. I felt like a real traveler eating off the land.

Even though Google Maps didn’t guide me to closed roads, it did take me to a path that’s full of rocks that I couldn’t cycle on. I pushed my bicycle for a mile uphill. In the middle of it I encountered a man who was harvesting wild blackberries. He didn’t know English and I didn’t know German. Using Google Translate, I was able to figure out what he was saying. He told me about the hill ahead and about a cafe after the downhill. I also collected a few wild blackberries and they were very tasty and fresh.

After I pushed my bike to the top of the hill the most dangerous part was the downhill. I held both brake levers for about 3 miles since the downhill road was full of gravel and rocks. I knew that if I took my eyes off the road for just one second I would slide and crash.

When I finally reached the bottom of the hill and on pavement, I was able to take a deep breath and be grateful that I had navigated successfully down the most treacherous part of the ride. To celebrate, I had some desserts and a cup of coffee at the cafe that the German man had mentioned.

After this rest, I cycled a bit more to a McDonald’s two miles away from my Warmshowers host Harry’s place. I still had plenty of time before 7:30 PM so I enjoyed a vanilla shake. I noticed the prices of McDonald’s burgers are quite expensive compared to other places. A burger is around €12.

At 7:30, after cycling 52.4 miles since the morning, I reached Harry’s house.

Harry has also done some bike tours before. I asked him about the road conditions in Türkiye since I’ll be going there. He confirmed my belief that the roads are full of cars, but he also assured me that if I was careful then I’ll be fine.

This morning, I got up at 8. Harry had to work early, but he’s working from home today. He prepared some rolls and bread for us to have for breakfast. It’s almost 10 AM and I hope to get on the road by 10:30 to ride to Helmstedt.