The town of the Sykes! Never before have I regretted so much not having a black marker pen to hand… The town of Syke is, alas, not one of Germany’s most attractive destinations. A little run down and in need of investment (insert your own joke at this point). Pausing to take a picture of the Syke Bierhaus I was offered help by a bemused local. He didn’t seem to understand my connection with my name and the place where he lived but he did recommended a good restaurant a little further down the street. The two local police officers – Sandra (who has only worked here for six months) and Olaf (who is a Syker by birth!) were of more use; 45,000 people live in Syke, it has no industry to talk of and most people commute to Bremen to work. The ‘S’ in Syke is pronounced like a ‘Z’ and, according to Olaf (translated by Sandra), the word in German refers to the bottom bit of a valley. A โฌ1 shop, McDonalds, kebab outlets, Aldi… You can imagine the kind of place it is. It redeems itself, however, by having two bike shops. Onwards!
UPDATE:
I’ve just discovered this on the edge of Syke. Can someone explain what it refers to in 1809 and what’s the connection with Great Britain?
Categories: Cycling
did you get the address of that lady police officer?
Not sure how well it works on an IPhone (translating photographs, or directly through the camera) but here it is, in case you dont already use it ๐
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/google-translate/id414706506?mt=8
Ran the photo through google translate on my phone and got this:
‘Monument Black Count tour Aqua-tour dedicated to the legendary Duke Friedrich Wilhelm von Braunschweig-Oels and its approximately 2,000 guerrillas. On August 5, 1809, Herzog held with the bulk of the volunteer corps under the trees in Krendl lunch. The struggle of Schwarzunifor- occupiers and their attempt at a folk-optimized uprising against Napoleon h to kindle, had failed. When the troops reached Syke, she had only one goal: the flight into reliable UK. The 1863 unveiled monument is the iilteste the Hachestadt.’
Not a great translation but then found this on wikipedia: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_William,_Duke_of_Brunswick-Wolfenbรผttel
When the War of the Fifth Coalition broke out in 1809, Frederick William used this opportunity to create a corps of partisans with the support of the Austrian Empire. This corps was called the Black Brunswickers because they wore black uniforms in mourning for their occupied country. He financed the corps independently by mortgaging his principality in Oels, and made his way from Austrian Bohemia through the French-allied states of Saxony and Westphalia to the North Sea coast.
Frederick William briefly managed to retake control of the city of Braunschweig in August 1809, which gained him the status of a local folk hero. He then fled to England to join forces with his brother-in-law, later to be King George IV. His troops were taken into British pay and the Duke was granted the rank of lieutenant general in the British Army on 1 July 1809.[1] His corps of originally 2,300 soldiers was largely destroyed in battles in Spain and Portugal during the Peninsular War.’
Simon
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