Plön sits on a ridge between two lakes in the part of eastern Holstein that the locals call the Holstein Switzerland, a name that sounds absurd until you see the rolling, wooded country and the lines of blue water lying between the hills. The Great Plön Lake is the biggest lake in Schleswig-Holstein, with islands, bays and many smaller lakes around it, and the town of Plön, with thirteen thousand people, occupies a narrow strip of land between them. The altitude here is only twenty-eight metres, but the glacial landscape gives it a lot of character.
On the highest point stands the castle, a large white Baroque palace built for a duke of the Holstein-Plön line in the seventeenth century, later used as a school and still imposing today. It looks out over the lake and the town below, and the park around it has views that explain why the dukes chose the site. The old town below is small and attractive, with a street of low houses, a church and a market square that is a good place for a coffee.
The riding here is a pleasure. The roads wind around lakes and through beech woods, with gentle ups and downs, shaded avenues and glimpses of water through the trees. The surface is generally good, bends are easy and the pace is relaxed, so it is a good ride for a warm evening. The lake road is also a swimming spot, and in summer small beaches on the shores are popular with locals, with clear water and sandy bottoms in places. The water warms slowly, so it is refreshing rather than warm.
Plön has fuel, restaurants and cafés, and there are smoked-fish stands near the lake in season. You can also hire a boat or take a lake cruise if you want to see the shore from the water. The region is popular on summer weekends, so arrive early or ride on a weekday.
The best seasons are late spring, when the beech leaves are fresh green, and early autumn, when the colours turn and the lake is calm. This stop sits at the end of a ride that starts along the Elbe dikes and the Altes Land, a very different landscape of fruit orchards and flat marsh.