Bad Bederkesa - and the whole Elbe-Weser-traingle - is the place I call home. And here I’m not a politician, I’m just “David” or “Mac”. When I’m out and about here, there’s always a reason to stop for a chat: how the children are doing, or the youngsters in the sports club, or how safe the dyke warden thinks the dyke is, or the hopes for a new cycle path, or - of course - all that went on at the latest local dance. Talking together, laughing together, openly addressing problems and jointly solving them - that’s what I especially cherish about my home region.

When I return, it doesn’t take long until I feel truly at home again and like a perfectly normal citizen and consumer - once I’m standing in the supermarket queue after finding everything on my shopping list (which sometimes takes a while!), it’s like I’ve never been away.

Window-shopping in Hemmoor, where a street has now finally been put in to link the shopping amenities in Bahnhofsstrasse with the centre. Going for a walk in the picturesque Wingst area. Discovering the broad expanses of the Sietland region as you travel on the narrow-gauge Moorbahn railway; tasting the invigorating forest air in Wingster Wald and relaxing on the Elbstrand beach at Otterndorf - my constituency has so much to offer, and I enjoy making the most of it when I get the chance.
The flat belt of land between the rivers Elbe and the Weser is quite beautiful; especially when you drive through the villages with their green meadows, fields of canola and sunflowers as far as the eye can see. It’s not for nothing that they say, “Why not live where others spend their holiday!”
But you don’t by any means have to be a local to appreciate the beauty of the region and grow attached to the land and its people. Whether it’s in Beers, in Loomst, in Osterbrok or in Otterndörp - these places are colourfully known here in the Low German dialect - it’s a “feel-good” place for everyone, young and old, locals and newcomers to the area, and of course tourists.
The annual Dobrock tournament in Wingst is a highlight for tourists, but also of course for all equestrian enthusiasts and an “absolute must” for me personally. The “Dobrock” is a meeting place for people from Hadeln, Cuxhaven, Wesermünde and of course abroad. As are the “Elmloher Reitertage”, an equestrian event that attracts thousands of horse fans.