South of Brandenburg an der Havel the land breaks into a quiet patchwork of pine forest, heath, small lakes and farm villages, the transition between the Havel lowlands and the Fläming hills. Golzow is one of those villages, a cluster of farmhouses and a church where you will rarely see more than a few cars. It is the sort of place where you stop because it is peaceful rather than because of any particular attraction.
This country was shaped by glaciers. The ice sheets of the last cold period left sand, gravel and lakes, and the result is a landscape of sandy soils, dry pine forests and wet hollows. The forests smell of resin on warm days, and in late summer heather blooms on open areas, some of which were military training grounds during the Cold War. Lakes in the area offer clear water for a swim on hot days, and the shores are often lined with reeds and alders.
History is never far away. Not far north is Lehnin, with a Cistercian monastery founded in the twelfth century, one of the oldest in the region and an important site in the early history of Brandenburg. To the south, the town of Bad Belzig has a medieval castle and a thermal spa. The roads between them are quiet and pleasant, with gentle curves and long straights through forests, but some are narrow, lined with trees, or paved with old cobbles.
Golzow itself has no real services, so plan fuel and food in Brandenburg an der Havel, Lehnin or Bad Belzig. A picnic by one of the lakes is a good alternative. From here, routes lead south-east towards the Lusatian lakes, where former opencast mines have been flooded to create a new landscape of water and sand.