On the north-western edge of Berlin, the city dissolves into water and woods. Around Konradshöhe and Heiligensee, villas and gardens run down to the shores of the Havel and the Tegeler See, Berlin's second-largest lake, with islands, sailing boats and a long promenade at Alt-Tegel. Across the water, the Tegel forest stretches away, a dense area of pine and oak that hides walking paths and small lakes.
Schloss Tegel, on the southern shore of the lake, was the family home of the Humboldt brothers, Wilhelm, the linguist and educational reformer, and Alexander, the naturalist and explorer, whose travels in South America changed the way people saw the natural world. The house, remodelled by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, is still privately owned by descendants, and the family burial ground lies in the park. On the other side of the forest, the old Tegel airport, closed in 2020, is slowly being transformed into a new urban quarter.
The rides that finish here come back from the Barnim and the Märkische Schweiz, regions of forests, lakes and rolling hills north-east of Berlin. The Werbellinsee, a long, clear lake in the Schorfheide forest, may be the loveliest lake in Brandenburg, and the Märkische Schweiz around Buckow is a small area of hills, valleys and lakes, where Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel had a summer house that is now a museum. The roads there are winding and quiet, with cobbled sections and avenues of old trees.
Coming back into Berlin, the northern suburbs are generally calmer than the south and east, and the roads along the Havel are pleasant, lined with trees and houses. Fuel is on the main roads, and beer gardens and restaurants along the lake shores, where you can sit with a cold drink and watch the boats. Summer evenings by the Havel are long and gentle, a very Berlin way to finish a ride.