North-east of Berlin, the last ice age left behind a landscape of hills, hollows and lakes, shaped by glaciers that advanced and melted back again. In one corner of it, between Angermünde and Joachimsthal, lies the Grumsin forest, a beech wood that has been left largely undisturbed for a long time. It is part of the UNESCO site of Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, inscribed as one of Germany's contributions in 2011. Old beeches tower above a forest floor scattered with fallen trunks, small ponds and bogs, and in spring the canopy glows a fresh, translucent green.
The Grumsin lies within the Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve, a vast area of forest, lakes and farmland that was once a royal hunting ground and later a favourite retreat of the East German elite. Today it is a haven for wildlife: cranes breed in the wetlands, their calls echoing across the fields in spring and autumn, white-tailed eagles nest near the lakes, and beavers have returned to the rivers.
Chorin Abbey, a few kilometres south, is a beautiful ruin of red brick, a Cistercian monastery built in the Gothic style typical of northern Germany, and in summer it hosts concerts in its roofless nave. Nearby, at Niederfinow, two enormous boat lifts raise and lower ships between the Oder-Havel canal and the Oder valley, one of them built in the 1930s and a newer one opened recently. Watching a ship rise in its giant water-filled tank is strangely mesmerising.
The riding here is relaxed. Roads run through forests and farmland, past lakes and villages, many of them lined with old trees forming long avenues, beautiful but unforgiving if you leave the road. Some minor roads are still cobbled, which can be rough and slippery when wet. Traffic is light, but wildlife, especially deer and wild boar, crosses frequently, particularly at dawn and dusk. Summers are warm and dry, winters cold, and autumn brings beautiful colours and morning mist.
Angermünde, about nine kilometres away, has fuel, shops and restaurants. Try fish from the lakes, smoked or fried, or a plate of local potatoes with quark and linseed oil, a Brandenburg classic, in a village inn.