Kropstädt is a small village in the forests north of Lutherstadt Wittenberg, on the southern slopes of the Fläming, a low ridge of sand and gravel left by the glaciers of the penultimate Ice Age. The village is quiet, with farmhouses, a church and fields stretching to the edge of the forest. It is the kind of place you pass through on your way to somewhere else, but the surrounding area is full of interest.
Wittenberg, a short ride south, is where Martin Luther is said to have posted his ninety-five theses on the door of the Castle Church in 1517, sparking the Reformation that changed Europe. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with Luther's house, the town church where he preached, and the house of his colleague Philipp Melanchthon. The painter Lucas Cranach also lived and worked here, and his workshop produced many of the famous portraits of Luther.
The Fläming itself is a gentle landscape of forests, heaths and fields, with villages of fieldstone churches built by the Flemish settlers who gave the region its name in the twelfth century. The roads here are quiet, with long straights through the forests and gentle curves through the villages. Watch for sand on the road at the forest edges, for wildlife at dawn and dusk, and for cobbles in the villages.
Kropstädt has next to nothing for travellers; fuel, groceries and restaurants wait in Wittenberg, which has plenty of choice. A meal in one of the old town's restaurants, perhaps with a local beer for the evening, is a fine way to round off a visit. The Scharmützelsee lies to the north-east, a long ride across the forests of Brandenburg.