BE 2 - On the trail of our ancestors

Although this tour could start anywhere, the charming half-timbered village center of Bad Essen is the perfect starting point. This way, the tour will definitely end where a delicious refreshment can be enjoyed in an attractive setting.

The path first leads past the sports boat harbor and along the Mittelland Canal out of Bad Essen. Almost directly on the canal is Meyers Buchsbaumgarten, a former display and sales facility that now showcases the entire variety of shapes that can be achieved through boxwood pruning. In addition to variations of spheres, visitors can discover crowns, baskets, birds, hearts, and a roughly 2000 square meter large labyrinth. Shortly after the canal bridge and the change of direction to the south, the path passes Burg Wittlage and the Wittlager Mühle.

Although the wooded crest of the Wiehengebirge forms an almost continuously attractive background along the way, the path does not lead up very high. At times, it follows the natural course of the Hunte River to the exciting stage destination in the district of Barkhausen: the petrified dinosaur tracks. They are hard to miss. Life-size replicas of prehistoric animals mark the entrance to the abandoned quarry where workers found the tracks in 1921. They originate from at least eleven different animals that walked over the then soft sandbank of the long-gone sea 150 million years ago. How the sand and tracks turned into stone, why the former beach now stands almost vertically, can be read on detailed information boards of the TERRA.vita Nature and UNESCO Geopark.

After the excursion into Earth's history, it's almost a direct way back to Bad Essen for a well-deserved refreshment. The selection is vast because as a Cittaslow community, the brine spa town is particularly committed to seasonal and regional cuisine. After indulging, it's worth taking a stroll through the community. For example, to see the former sheepfold of the Meierhof just below the water mill. Since the 1990s, the half-timbered building has been a popular cultural center. And of course, to stroll through the extremely attractive spa park with its elegant SoleArena. Breathing deeply here, you can catch a glimpse of the fresh sea breeze that blew around the eleven dinosaurs' noses 150 million years ago.

One more tip: From Bad Essen, Schloss Hünnefeld with its beautiful park is just a few pedal strokes away. The Café Alte Rentei is open on summer weekends, and the castle museum can be visited by appointment.