Königs Wusterhausen has two claims on history, one to do with a soldier king and the other with a radio mast. In the early eighteenth century, Frederick William I of Prussia, the Soldier King, used the hunting lodge here as his favourite retreat, and it was the setting for the Tobacco Collegium, an all-male evening society where he smoked pipes with his generals and played rough jokes. The squat little palace still stands beside the Dahme river and is open as a museum. His son, who grew up to be Frederick the Great, hated the place.
The radio story is more modern. On the Funkerberg, a low hill at the edge of town, Germany's first radio broadcast went out in 1920, a Christmas concert transmitted from the transmitter station, and over the following decades the hill became the centre of German broadcasting, with a forest of masts. Part of the site has been preserved as an industrial monument, and the old transmitter hall is open for tours. The town has about thirty-two thousand people, a pleasant historic core and a river harbour.
For riders, the area south-east of Berlin is easy, open country. The roads follow the Dahme valley and run through pine forest and fields, with lakes appearing between the trees and avenues of old trees lining the lanes. The surface is generally good, with rough patches where the old concrete peeks through, and the bends are gentle. Weekend traffic from Berlin can be heavy on the main road, so take quieter routes via Zeuthen and Schulzendorf. The ride south into the Spreewald is flat and easy, and mist hangs over the river in the early morning.
Practically, Königs Wusterhausen is a proper town, with fuel stations, supermarkets, bakeries and many cafes, and the S-Bahn line runs to Berlin, which makes it a handy place to finish a day. The palace has a cafe in its courtyard, and the harbour has restaurants serving fish. Parking near the station is easy, and the town centre is compact. Summer evenings by the river are lovely, with boats and swans drifting by and the smell of grilled sausages in the air.