Mölln is the town where Till Eulenspiegel is said to have died, and the town has never let anyone forget it. The medieval trickster, a figure from German folk tales who made fools of everybody he met, is supposedly buried near the church of St Nicolai, and a gravestone with an owl and a mirror is a favourite photograph spot. The tales are of uncertain origin, but the town is proud of the legend, and you will find owls and mirrors on souvenirs, fountains and signs. It gives the little lakeside town a sense of humour that many places lack.
Mölln lies on a chain of lakes in the Herzogtum Lauenburg, a gentle landscape of glacial hills and water that feels more Scandinavian than central European. The Stadtsee in the middle of town has a pleasant promenade, and the old centre climbs a small hill with cobbled lanes and half-timbered houses. Salt used to travel along the Old Salt Route from Lüneburg to Lübeck, and Mölln was one of the stations on the way, which is partly why it has such an old and handsome centre. About eighteen thousand people live here, so you will find fuel, supermarkets and plenty of places for coffee and a Fischbrötchen.
The riding around town is quietly enjoyable. Roads wind between lakes and beech woods, with many sections shaded by old trees, and the surface is generally good. The corners are short and smooth rather than demanding, and there are a lot of villages with 30 km/h zones, so patience is useful. Traffic is moderate, with the heaviest flow on summer weekends when Hamburg residents head for the lakes. Beyond Mölln the Schaalsee biosphere region lies to the east, a protected area of clear water and quiet villages along what used to be the border between East and West Germany, and the landscape there is particularly peaceful.
Early autumn is lovely, when mist hangs over the lakes in the morning and the beeches turn copper. The smell of the place is wet leaves, still water and woodsmoke, and the air always feels cooler than it does in the city, thirty or forty minutes to the west. A short walk along the lakeshore before you set off, or when you come back, is a good way to end the day. You will not need to look hard for a bench and a view.