Day 27: Hipstedt to Oldenburg | 80km
25 June 2026
Luckily, the creepy campsite did not result in either of us getting murdered. But when I woke up the first time around 5 am and went outside to the bathroom, a thick layer of mist covered the large pond, and I was almost certain a murder had been committed. I managed to fall back asleep after, but awoke again less than two hours later because of the heat. Despite leaving the zipper and ventilation on the tent open, the quickly rising sun baked us as if it was an oven. By 9 am, we left the campsite, happy to leave this particular town behind us.
The first three hours of riding continued along vast fields of corn and farms before the landscape started to change. We passed many small villages, and, guessing because Germany was playing the World Cup today against Ecuador, many houses had German flags and outdoor seatings looked prepared for large crowds later in the evening.
Distances are exact, but the perception of distance changes significantly on the road. I’ve said it before, but what I considered a long bike ride before this trip is not the same. Now, about four weeks in, I can knock off 70 to 80 km without any breaks and without my otherwise constant need for fueling.
We had one very short ferry crossing today. As we were approaching, and perhaps excitement to cross another canal increased, Irene took a wrong turn and fell hard to the ground. I stopped immediately and ran over, but in the few seconds it took me to get there, she was already up. She wasn’t badly injured, but a scraped knee, shoulder, and right hand were bleeding. We cleaned up her wounds and put on some band aids. It was the first big fall of the journey, and we were lucky it didn’t end too badly. But a sore wrist can become very painful when riding 8 hours a day.
We checked into a small hotel in Oldenburg and explored the city center for a bit before meeting up with Kai, another friend from university who lives nearby, whom neither of us had seen in over six years. After a stroll to explore the city center, which definitely gave the impression of a livable city, we met Kai at a restaurant that showed the World Cup game. It was great catching up after such a long time, and seeing the cheerful German fans covered in flags elevated the sense of celebration.