Through the Greens of Hamburg by Bike

To experience Hamburg, it is advisable to move a little outside the city centre for this Hamburg tour. We therefore meet with the bikes at the HSV football stadium, the Volksparkstadion. We cycle around the park that gives the stadium its name while you learn about the history of the Altona Volkspark and the stadium. If the weather is good and the season is right, we will also visit Europe’s oldest dahlia garden, but on foot.

Back on our bikes, the route takes us to the nearby Lise-Meitner-Park. This is somewhat hilly and has no fixed cycle paths, so a good bike and some strength are not a disadvantage. Of course, the bikes can also be pushed on certain inclines. After a detour to Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale world in the park of the same name, we head south past the EEZ and the International School of Hamburg to the Loki-Schmidt-Garten, the botanical garden of the University of Hamburg. We then discover Hamburg’s greenery after a short stretch of road in Jenisch Park.

In the ‘most beautiful landscape park in Hamburg’ we drive or walk through the landscape architecture and Baron Caspar Voght. We also have the opportunity to visit the Ernst Barlach House and/or the Jenisch House at our own expense. From the Flottbektal nature reserve, we cycle on our Hamburg cycle tour more or less parallel to the Elbe through Wesselhöfts Park, past Nienstedten cemetery, along the Elbchaussee to the next large Elbe park, Hirschpark.

Depending on the time of day, you can take a break here for coffee and cake in the Witthüs or a lunchtime snack in the Knusperhaus. After refreshments, we watch the fallow deer in the game reserve for a moment and then get back on our bikes to cycle back into town along the Elbe. We will have to push our bikes from time to time, perhaps even carry them up the odd flight of stairs, but with our combined strength we will certainly manage. Passing the two former English gardens, Hindenburgpark and Schröders Elbpark, we reach the Övelgönne museum harbour on Hans-Leip-Ufer. Depending on the time of day, you can stop here for lunch or a coffee break.

From the Rose Garden, Donnerspark and Heinepark and finally the Altona Balcony, we enjoy the view of Hamburg’s lifeline, the River Elbe. We continue along the Große Elbstraße to the St. Pauli fish market, where we head north past the main church of St. Trinitatis in Altona and the Jewish cemetery to reach the Neu Altona green corridor. This wasteland, which was redeveloped after the Second World War, consists of Walter-Möller-Park, Wohlers-Park and Bertha-von-Suttner-Park. Find out from me which personalities are behind these namesakes. Our Hamburg cycle tour ends at the Holstenstraße S-Bahn stop.