The Great Lake of Plön is the biggest lake in Schleswig-Holstein, and from this spot at the edge of the town you can see how much water the last Ice Age left behind. The glaciers that retreated from here some twelve thousand years ago scraped out hollows, dumped hills of gravel and clay, and left behind a landscape of lakes and rolling ridges that locals call Holstein Switzerland. It is a bit of a joke to anyone who has seen the Alps, since the highest hills are barely above a hundred metres, but the name stuck, and the landscape has a gentle charm of its own.
The town of Plön, with some thirteen thousand people, sits on a narrow neck of land between two lakes, so its streets run up and down and every turn opens a view over the water. The point itself lies at twenty-eight metres above the sea, just above the shore, with the castle on the hill above you. Early morning, with mist rising off the lake and the first swans moving across it, is the time to be here.
The roads around the lake are some of the best in the district, with long, easy bends through beech woods and past fields of rape, which flowers a startling yellow in May. Surfaces are mostly good, though some of the lanes are narrow and patched, and cyclists and families make them busy on summer weekends. Tractor mud and the occasional rain shower will keep you honest. Autumn brings low golden light and quieter roads.
For fuel and food you are in luck, since Plön is large enough for stations, supermarkets and several cafés, and the lakeside has places to sit with a coffee and a smoked fish roll. Ascheberg and Bösdorf are smaller villages on the lake, with their own swimming spots and marinas. Be aware that swimming is popular and the water is clean, though shallow shores can be muddy, so bring flip-flops. It is a gentle, easy place to ride, and a good one to linger in.