Welcome to Lower Saxony’s Road of Mills

One of the first “European Roads of Culture” Mister Benz has driven so far is the so-called Via Molina – Lower Saxony’s famous Road of Mills.

And as pictures often speak for themselves (and if like us you happen to love these old mills) I would like to keep my comments fairly brief this time.

After all – there are more than 600 ‘mill locations’ in the Northern German county of Lower Saxony alone and we have randomly picked out a few for this trip.

Highly recommended are also the pretty museum villages in Hösseringen and Cloppenburg (allowing us to delve back into the past and a bygone age of rural life).

These beautiful mills are mainly water- or windmills which are either still operating or now used as museums; some have been converted into very cozy private homes or transformed into quirky hotels and cute cafés.

You can visit the International Wind- and Water Mill Museum in Gifhorn – featuring a rare Ship Mill.

A fun journey back into my childhood was enjoyed at the wonderful Museum Village of Cloppenburg:

Of all the various different types of mills the one that springs to mind is Ross Mill as it is a very “rare beast” these days:

Unique to Germany is the five-sailed windmill in Wendhausen:

One of our first mill stops was the charming little spa town of Bad Zwischenahn – their imposing mill overlooks a big lake with sailing boats:

And here’s a lovely scene on an old picture postcard from the Luneburg Heath:

The friendly East-Frisians are often the butt of jokes… but a Windmill Café like this one in Leer is definitely a smart idea:

East Frisia became part of Lower Saxony’s Road of Mills in 2010 – and quite rightly so!

One of the most impressive visits was to the picturesque Twin Mills in Greetsiel, in the Aurich Region:

Also included were the areas Aurich, Leer and Wittmund as well as the small town of Emden and in the Oldenburg Region the Ammerland, Friesland and Wesermarsch - not forgetting atmospheric Wilhelmshaven:

Mills are great to look at any time of day!

For us this is the best the North Sea coastal area has to offer:

We drove back via Heiligenthal near Luneburg; this former water mill is now an attractive hotel:

Our appetite for travel has certainly been stimulated!

So now off for more travels…

Next Stop: The Land of 1000 Windmills!

Groetjes from famous Kinderdijk in Holland.

Benz Meister is enjoying his time ‘aan de grachten’: