ヴェスターカッペルンのおすすめランニングルート

On the Mittelland Canal, the waves so gentle, the boats glide, daydreams in splendor. A small boat puffs "Hello" with its chain flag fluttering, the ducks grin broadly: "Well, who can miss us?" The bridge winks wisely, the wind quietly calculates where the waterline is leading today. A sailboat chases sausages from the grill out of the night, and the neighbors tell stories by daylight. The locks nod kindly, sometimes open, sometimes closed, playing hidden water Tetris. A chorus of crows on the quay practices their researcher's garb: How long is a meter when you plan it on Sundays? Grass and little jokes grow on the canal bank, a paddler asks the seagulls: "Which direction is the priority now?" They quack: "The main thing is that you learn the word 'gravel'," and the canal laughs softly – the world becomes fresh again. And so it flows on, the Mittelland Canal, connecting cities, dreams – and sometimes even a ball. And whoever rolls by with their eyes on the water takes a story with them: “Today it wasn’t booze, just fun.”

The Mittelland Canal is Europe's longest artificial waterway in Germany. It connects the Weser, Ems, and Rhine-Palatinate-Danube Canal, traverses flat, predominantly rural landscapes, and serves both commercial and recreational purposes. Ships navigate smoothly through wide canals, with locks, bridges, and green surroundings.

At 325.3 kilometers long, the Mittelland Canal is the longest artificial waterway in Germany. It connects the Dortmund-Ems Canal with the Weser, Elbe, and Elbe-Havel rivers and plays an important role in inland waterway transport in Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt. The canal stretches from Hanover to the continent's largest sea and inland ports and is a vital transport route for the economy.

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The prairie lake has long been known as an important spawning ground for amphibians. To protect the animals, the municipality has closed off a section of Sandstraße during the spawning migration for several years, which reopened on May 5, 2023. Volunteer conservationists from the Westerkappeln Nature Conservation Group erected toad fences along Sloopsteinweg, carried the toads across the road, and counted how many individuals moved within the area of the toad fence. This year, 4,328 common toads and 68 newts were counted at the fence on their outward migration, more than in the two previous years and comparable to 2019 and 2020. The animals in the closed section of the road along Sandstraße could not be fully counted. Presumably, 1,000 to 2,000 more animals crossed the road there. Given the long-standing conservation efforts, the amphibian conservationists had actually expected increasing numbers by now. A lack of food (insect mortality) and changing conditions due to climate change are suspected to be the cause of this stagnation. A significant population decline, which has been observed at many other locations during toad migration, has not yet been observed at Lake Präsie.

Just keep going straight ahead, along the water, letting your mind wander. This route is ideal for that :) And at least during the week, there's not much going on here.

A highlight: On my tour: Vinter Runde I always come over this bridge and it is always enough for a sip from the bottle and a photo of the darling

The Prairie Lake is NOT a swimming lake. Swimming is prohibited. Entry into the area is prohibited. Access is only for members of the local fishing club.