The Cheese Route ( KäseStraße) in Schleswig-Holstein this year is 10 years old. It has a length of more than 500 kilometres and on it you can travel around Schleswig-Holstein from one cheese dairy to the next.

In many cheese dairies you can buy cheese and many of them are also open to the public and you can learn about how to make cheese.

Especially this year there are many events to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Cheese Route.

On May 9, 2010 there will be a cheese market at the open-air museum Kiekeberg south of Hamburg.

On May 13, 2010 (Ascension Day) there will be a farmyard feast at the organic Dannwisch farmyard near Elmshorn.
From 22 through 24 May, 2010 (Whitsun) there will be a farmyard feast at Gut Behl near Plön. There will be lots of entertainment like a children’s zoo, bull-riding and guided tours of the farm. You can also see how chees is being made and learn about the local cattle breeding. About 20,000 visitors are expected.

From 16 through 18 July, 2010 there will be a cheese and wine feast in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein. It is called “Käse trifft Wein” (cheese meets wine) and here you can not only buy but also taste cheese and wine. And of course Kiel is worth a visit too.

July 24, 2010 you can learn in the Ostenfelder Meierei, the Ostenfeld dairy farm how cheese is made. Ostenfeld is west of Husum.

And last but not least there will again be a farmyard feast at Dannwisch farmyard on September 11, 2010.

And the Cheese Route of course has more to offer than just cheese as the landscape of Schleswig-Holstein really is magnificent and you will not only see the Baltic Sea but also the Schlei Fjord and the North Sea. One of the cheese dairies is on the island of Föhr on the German coast of the North Sea.

Cheese©flickr/CoreForce

Spring in the North of Germany in Husum, Schleswig-Holstein means to get a “blue surprise”. More than 4 million crocuses are blooming in the Schlosspark.

crocus blossom©flickr-southgeist

A legend says that Franciscan monks planted them in the 15th century to get saffron. The monks wanted to dye their grey cowls orange. Another legend tells about the duchess Maria Elisabeth in the 17th century who seemed to have loved saffron pastry. It doesn’t really matter which legend is true because of the fact that you can’t get saffron out of the “crocus neapolitanus” anyway.

It seems almost incredible that this south European plant seems to feel comfortable in the north German climate. Thousands of visitors come each year to see this colourful event. On the 20th and 21st of March 11, 2010 even craftspeople show their works in the Schlosspark and the Krokusblütenkönigin (crocus blossom queen) will be nominated.

Besides that the “grey town by the sea” (die graue Stadt am Meer) of course has a lot more to offer. It is the home of the German poet Theodor Storm. The house he had lived in is in a condition as if he had left it only yesterday. You can visit it in “Wasserreihe 31-35” and you can even see the poet’s corner where he wrote the famous novella “Der Schimmelreiter”.

Husum 1©Julia Höfer-v. Seelen

Another attraction is the inner harbour that was built during the Middle Ages. The western border is a railway balance bridge and on the northern quay wall you will find the MS Nordertor, a restaurant ship where you get good food. On the other side there are railtracks leading directly to the modern guild hall. They belong to an old shipyard.
Right at the port you will also find the North Friesland shipping museum, where you can learn about the history of whaling and fishing. A special sight is the “sugar ship”, the wreck of a sailing ship from the 16th century. You can even see some of the personal belongings of the ship owner there.
In the Nordsee Museum in the Nissenhaus you can learn about the tides and the development of dyke construction and of course about the people of the town and their life between high tide and low tide. One part of the museum is dedicated to its founder Ludwig Nissen, the son of a tradesman, who became a wealthy jewellery dealer in New York.

The true landmark of the town though is the “Trine”, the sculpture of a fisherman’s wife with typical clogs.

When you visit Husum you should also try the typical brown bread with shrimps and fried egg, called “Halligbrot” or the Matjes herring.

Husum 3©Julia Höfer-v. Seelen

Schleswig-Holstein

Flensburg:

Phänomenta
Here you may touch things you see and do little experiments yourself. You will learn a lot about technical and natural scientific things. www.phaenomenta-flensburg.de

Husum:

Schiffahrtsmuseum
Ship models, about how to build ships, shipyards, fishery and whaling, and the history oft he sailors and their families is shown here. www.schiffahrtsmuseum-nf.de

Kappeln:

Historisches Sägewerk

In 1900 work started in the old saw mill which now is a working museum. The saws are powered by a windmill.www.kappeln.de/workingmuseum.html

Kiel:

Kieler Schifffahrtsmuseum

Here you can see ship models of all times, learn about the maritime history of Kiel, and you can even see a model of the first German submarine. www.kiel.de/kulur/museen