September 14, 2025 - Lüdinghausen, Germany

Today was a 40km (25mile ride) from Dortmund to Lüdinghausen, a town on the Dortmund Ems Canal.  My plan was to ride the canal paths, but I changed plans five minutes into the ride. I rode out of Dortmund through the suburbs and stayed in the country.

This was my path out of Dortmund. I rode through the suburbs for about eight km. About five miles. It was mostly Apartments shores and a few price home. I following a street car line going in the same direction.

The streetcar is to your right. It went much faster than I wanted to go. It did not stop more than I wanted to stop. Dortmund had lots of streetcars but less underground than I have seen in other cities.

Abruptly the city ended and I was in the middle of agriculture. I had been missing the sights and aromas of the farm life.

The bike paths have become better over the years. Most all seem to asphalt and separate from the road. I am on a two lane country road between two small towns, very much similiar to Troy in size.

Along the way I passed this country inn.  It was by itself at this intersection.  There are no other building within two km. It seemed to have a lot of life to it. The side of the complex just was a surprise.

I arrived in Lüdinghausen after about a 40 km ride (25miles). Lüdinghausen is an old town with history and building dated to the 1200s. It once was a moated town. All of its buildings were in clusters with each cluster surrounded by a moat.

There are two of the building clusters left today. This is the oldest of the two. The bottom of this structure dated to the 1200s. Through the centuries it was added to many times.  The front actually had a drawbridge. 

The other structure was a home belonging to the bishop Münster. It was not as old as the first structure. It also was added to through the centuries. They were both in a large park of about 40 acres. The town was separated from the park by moats. 

The picture above is a section of a moat still left in town.

On sundays most all shops and many restaurants are closed. My choices for food was not great  I went to a restaurant bar that a choice between hamburgers and schnitzel. I chose schnitzel again. Hopefully not again for a few days. I find that the beer was excellent so I am posting the beer picture.

Tomorrow I go to Münster, a larger city about 40 km away by taking the canal pathways. I think.