Enjoy Bike Paradise | Stage 02 | Schöppenstedt - Wernigerode

We start our tour in the park at Schöppenstedt market square and cycle south past the train station. At the town exit, we turn left and follow the dirt roads to the village Watzum. Passing the manor and park, we follow Warler Weg to Warle and from there cycle on dirt paths through the Hahntal nature reserve to Watenstedt and then continue southwest to Gevensleben. Afterwards, we cycle straight south on a perfectly straight dirt road, then turn right at the end and travel parallel to the Großer Graben. We directly encounter the former inner-German border and follow it a short way south. A memorial site and a border monument remind us of fortunately past times. Via dirt roads we cycle to Hessen, where we pass directly by Hessen Castle. This castle was already mentioned in documents in 966. From the medieval water castle, a princely castle in Renaissance styles was built in the 16th century. We leave this historic site and cycle relaxed to Veltheim, where we pass through the village, keep west, and at the next junction cycle south towards the Großer Fallstein. The highest point of this forested ridge lies at 288 meters and signals the hilly Harz foreland. We pass the summit to the west and cycle along the Wilhelmshöhenweg. Via Kirchbergweg, coming from the north, we reach the historic half-timbered town Osterwieck. The half-timbered ensemble with over 400 houses has earned the town the nickname "Pearl of Saxony-Anhalt", which also has the Straße der Romanik running through it. We cross the Ilse river and then cycle through the small village Berßel, from where we continue always along the Ilse southwards on the Ilseradweg cycle path. In Veckenstedt, we turn sharp left, pass St. Paul's Church and continue through the fields and gently hilly Harz foreland to Wernigerode. There we pass the Bürgerpark, cross the Holtemme and finish the stage at the market square with its historic half-timbered town hall.