Mawhorter Sabbatical 2013: Bicycling in Hannover

Except for the weather and broken glass, Hannover is a biking paradise. Repeatedly, I've been biking along prepared to slam on my brakes for a car that is turning right across the bike path and instead the car has stopped to give me the right-of-way. Afterwards, I ride on with jubilation and the feeling that I've just witnessed a miracle.

We had a very nice bike ride on Sun. We rode to church, and then after the church potluck rode around a nearby lake, the Altwarmbüchener See. It was the bike ride we'd planned for Easter day, but it snowed then and was very cold. In contrast, this Sun. the snow was almost all gone, crocuses were coming up, and it was ~8-9 grad (46-48 Fahrenheit).

Sailboats on the Altwarmbüchener See

The bike paths here are absolutely wonderful: separated from traffic with their own signals and signs, great coverage of the city. It's also flat as a pancake, so, except for wind, it's pretty easy to ride a long way. I think our bike ride Sun. was 30 km. (19 miles). Plus there are constantly interesting things to stop and see: Tons of outdoor sculpture (see attached pictures), dogs (we're missing Iona), horses, interesting houses. All the pictures below are from our Sun. ride, and I could send a dozen more.