Wandlitz is the kind of place that has a famous lake and a notorious past. The Wandlitzsee, a clear glacial lake on the Barnim plateau north of Berlin, draws Berliners for swimming and sunbathing in summer, and the lakeside has a beach, cafes and a path around the water. But for forty years, a small enclosed settlement nearby, the Waldsiedlung, housed the leading members of East Germany's Politburo, behind a fence in the woods, with their own shop and doctor. The East German people called it the ghetto of the leaders.
The countryside here is the Barnim Nature Park, a low plateau of forests, lakes and fields left by the ice sheet, with pine plantations and old beech woods. It is a pleasant mixture, with sandy paths, meadows and wet hollows where cranes feed. Bernau, with its medieval town wall, lies a few kilometres east, and the villages in between have field-stone churches. The old Schorfheide forest, a former royal hunting ground, stretches further north.
The Märkische Schweiz, named in this stop's label, is a hilly district further east around Buckow, where the playwright Brecht kept a summer house. Here, closer to Berlin, the riding is simpler but enjoyable. Roads run through pine forest with long straight sections and gentle curves, and some stretches have avenues of old trees. The surface is smooth on main roads, uneven on minor ones, and cyclists are everywhere on summer weekends. Take care at junctions with bicycle paths. Wildlife is a hazard at dawn and dusk, and the forest roads can be damp and covered with needles.
Practically, Wandlitz has fuel stations, supermarkets and bakeries, with a cluster of cafes around the lake, and Bernau, with about thirty-five thousand people, has a full range of services. Gasthäuser serve local food, including smoked fish from the lakes, and in summer ice cream stands do a roaring trade. The lake is a good place for a break, with benches and a shaded promenade. The S-Bahn reaches Bernau, and Wandlitz has a regional train to Berlin, so a one-way ride and train return is easy.