Just between the city of Osnabrück and Oldenburg is Steinfeld (Oldenburg) — a place of brightly colored houses, a Japanese Garden, and plenty of sports. Sounds like a great place to visit, no? Yeah, I think so, too.
It’s been said that bicycling is the best way to see Lower Saxony. But, in the case of Steinfeld I’m going to have to say that horseback riding is a very close second. In fact, the area of Steinfeld is known for horse riding. So, if you’re not afraid, giddy up! ;-)
Riding isn’t the only sport around Steinfeld. There’s bicycling (of course!), as well as swimming, tennis, Nordic Walking, and cricket. Yeah, you don’t hear that one everyday, do you?
If you’re not the animal loving or sports type, maybe a visit to the quiet and serene Japanese Garden is a better idea. Open on Saturdays from May to October, the Japanischer Garten, as it’s called in German, was the vision of a man after a trip East — including a tea house!
Over at the Heuer Haus is a museum looking into the rural life right here in Steinfeld, right down to the house’s original utensils. Another museum is the Mill Museum, and the Meyers Mill is one of the oldest in town (built 1556). No wonder Steinfeld finds itself on the Lower Saxon Mill Route.
There are two more museums in Steinfeld. One is the Carriage Museum filled with all sorts of carriages from various centuries (including “firetrucks”); and the historic tannery. Not so much a museum as it is just a look into the tanner, leather, and fur trade that goes back to around the mid-18th century.
And interestingly enough, there’s a Maritime School here in Steinfeld. Now, it’s not like you’re totally seaside here — so this is a pretty unique place to have a sailing school, which has been here for the last 180 years.
Another unique site here is the replica of Da Vinci’s Last Supper. No, I don’t mean someone repainted the Last Supper… this is carved from wood and the largest of its kind. You’ll find it at the Church of St. John the Baptist.
Pretty cool, huh? I told you Steinfeld was a great place to visit. I guess my work here is done. Now I can ride off into the sunset, just as soon as I can find my horse. ;-)
