Barth is a harbour town on the Bodden, the shallow lagoons that lie behind the Darß peninsula, and it has the unhurried quality of a place that has been a port for centuries. Its centre is a pleasant mix of brick buildings, a church with a tall tower and a waterfront lined with boats, and from the quay you can look across the water to flat green shores and reed beds. The town's nickname, Vinetastadt, refers to a legend of a lost city called Vineta that was swallowed by the sea, and the story has become part of the town's charm.
Barth has a more serious past too. In the sixteenth century, the dukes of Pomerania had a printing press here that produced the Barther Bibel, an early Low German Bible printed in 1588. In the Second World War, the town housed a large camp for captured Allied airmen, Stalag Luft I, which held many American and British prisoners until it was liberated by Soviet troops in 1945. A museum now remembers the camp and the people who passed through it.
The roads around Barth are some of the best leisurely riding on the coast. Avenues of old trees, mostly lime, chestnut and maple, line the narrow back roads, and the tunnel of branches filters the light into green and gold. The surface is generally fair, though some of the old roads have patched asphalt and the occasional bump, and the bends are gentle. Farmland, reed and water alternate, and in the evening the Bodden turns pink and silver. Cranes pass overhead in spring and autumn, and the sound of their calls carries a long way.
Barth, with about nine thousand people, has fuel stations, supermarkets, cafés and fish restaurants along the harbour, so it is a natural place to refuel and eat. Smoked fish, zander and herring are on most menus, often served with potatoes and a cold beer. Parking for motorcycles is easy near the harbour, though it gets busy in summer.
Wind is the main factor. The land is flat, and gusts can build over the open water, so a crosswind on an exposed stretch needs steady hands. In summer, midges and gnats can be bothersome near the reeds in the evening, and a bit of repellent helps.
Take the avenue roads rather than the main highway when you can. They are slower and quieter, and they give a better sense of the land. The best light is in the late afternoon, when the sun slants through the trees.