With the rail bus through the country | NDR.de – Television – Broadcasts AZ

Landscapes and places of longing, original characters, lifestyle and culture: with the North Tour you will discover the beautiful sides of Northern Germany.

The topics at a glance

Almost 60 years of railway history are marked by the glowing red rail buses. Railway worker Malte Jessen has lovingly restored two of these trains, built in 1956 and 1960, with former employees and enthusiasts and uses them to take excursions through the landscapes of Schleswig-Holstein from Easter to the annual trip. The trips take you back to the days of the railways. With the whirring sound of the MAN bus engine in your ears and at the bar or at the tables on the train, you can feel the charm of the 1950s while eating and drinking.

More information

Schleswig-Holstein also offers attractive destinations away from the North Sea and Baltic Sea, for example on the Kiel Canal or on the Elbe. more

The Braunschweiger Land round trip covers almost 500 kilometers, which can be easily cycled. In the sprawling Salzgitter you can visit the Lichtenberg castle ruins with their old blide, a medieval catapult. If you like sports, you can try water skiing and wakeboarding on the Salzgittersee or just drink a cocktail and watch the pros glide across the lake. In Salder Castle in Salzgitter there are exhibitions on topics such as mining and the Ice Age. And in Wolfenbüttel you can make yourself comfortable in the beach club.

More information

The varied round trip covers around 450 kilometers and takes you to cities such as Goslar and Wolfenbüttel, to museums and bathing lakes. more

For Stefan Fischer and his colleague Zbigniew Stanczak, known as “Krümel”, it is high season on Germany’s second largest island, Usedom. The ramp agents from Heringsdorf Airport instruct pilots and aircraft from Mannheim, Frankfurt am Main, Kassel and Luxembourg. After landing, it’s time to get the passengers and luggage out, the cleaning staff in, and check the plane. Stefan and “Krümel” take care of refueling and reloading.

More information

Long beaches, magnificent resort architecture and the picturesque location between the Baltic Sea and the Achterwasser are what characterize Usedom. more

The new museum building is spectacularly made entirely of wood. Germany’s wild animals can be experienced immersively and interactively on more than 2200 square meters: with video, audio and hands-on stations and theme islands on movement, senses, living and family. A new art of the natural history museum.

More information

The new permanent exhibition covering around 2,200 square metres has been open to visitors since Friday. Everything there revolves around local wild animals. more

The anniversary exhibition for the 250th birthday of Caspar David Friedrich has a star guest: the romantic painter’s most famous work, “Chalk Cliffs on Rügen”. The painting is being shown for the first time in Friedrich’s birthplace, Greifswald. In conjunction with other masterpieces such as “Greifswald Harbor” and “Eldena Ruins in the Giant Mountains”, the exhibition shows places of longing in Swedish Pomerania. The exhibition is supplemented by a Friedrich homage by photographer Volkmar Herre. His trademarks are mystical images of Pomeranian places of longing, which he took with the camera obscura.

More information

Brick churches dominate the cityscape. This year marks the 250th birthday of Caspar David Friedrich. more

Alexander Siebrecht and his son Timon travelled from Hameln to drive an excavator for the first time. After a successful debut on the mini excavator, they worked their way up to the 21-ton large excavator. The trip together was a complete success and the father-son duo planned to come back to further improve their skills.

More information

When you hear Hamelin, you think of the Pied Piper. But the city has more to offer: a beautiful old town and an attractive surrounding area. more

Urban gardening, this trend is not all that new. Until well into the 20th century, it was a matter of course to grow crops in the city and provide for oneself with them. The passionate Hamburg gardener Yasmin Maddi has now written a book about the phenomenon, from tips on sowing to green city life. She has shown two extraordinary Hamburg garden projects.

More information

Port metropolis, city of bridges and waterways, green city: Hamburg has a lot to offer for locals and tourists. Tips for interesting tours. more

Matthias Berndt runs a coffee roastery in Labenz in the Herzogtum Lauenburg district. He spent two years converting a cowshed in an old farmhouse into a small farm roastery. “It’s rather untypical for village life. Coffee roasters like mine are often only found in cities. I wanted to do the opposite: to show that something like this is possible in the village too.” He got his coffee himself from the port of Hamburg. “You need a keen nose for roasting and you have to learn the hard way,” says Matthias Berndt. At first, not every test roast was successful. But he is now a roasting professional.

More information

Dozens of lakes, a nature park and the Elbe-Lübeck Canal make the region near Hamburg a popular destination. more

More information

Cycling, hiking or city trip: The north offers many destinations. Simply select your desired criteria and get tips. more