The Soviets called it the Forbidden City. At Wünsdorf, east of Sperenberg, the high command of the Soviet forces in Germany had its headquarters until 1994, a vast garrison town hidden in the forest, home to tens of thousands of soldiers and their families, with schools, shops and theatres, closed to ordinary Germans. Before that, the German army had its own headquarters here, with huge bunkers built in the 1930s. Guided tours of the bunkers and the old garrison offer a fascinating glimpse into the military history of the twentieth century.
Today, Wünsdorf is slowly being reinvented, with new homes, a book town of second-hand bookshops and a museum. The surrounding landscape is a mix of pine forests, lakes and villages, with the Mellensee and the Großer Wünsdorfer See popular for swimming and boating in summer. The forests are quiet and empty, home to deer, wild boar and birds.
The roads are flat or gently rolling, long forest straights broken by the odd bend at a lakeshore. Traffic is light, apart from the B96, which runs north and south through the area and can be busy with commuters. Blown sand, crossing game and the odd cobbled village street are the only real hazards. Some former military areas are still closed or contain unexploded munitions, so stay on the marked roads.
Fuel and food are available in Zossen and Wünsdorf, and a café in the book town makes a pleasant break. The ride towards Lehnin Abbey continues west through the forests, past more lakes and villages.