There is a particular bend of the path at the water's edge in Plön where the whole lake seems to open at once. The castle stands on its hill to one side, white against the trees, the great lake spreads out in front with its islands and reed beds, and the sky sits large over it all. In the morning, with a light mist on the surface and swans moving slowly along the margin, it is a picture that needs very little help from a camera.
The town is hemmed in by water on several sides, and that is the point of its geography. Plön lies on a neck of land between the Great Plön Lake and a string of smaller lakes, and every street seems to end in a glimpse of blue. The lakes are the legacy of the last ice age, when the ice left behind a landscape of hollows that filled with meltwater, and the largest of them is the biggest lake in Schleswig-Holstein. The depth varies and the water is clear in places, and in winter hard frosts sometimes allow skating.
A walk along the promenade is the best way to see it. The path is flat and well kept, with benches and small jetties, and it runs along the shore past boathouses, reed beds and a small beach. You can hire rowing boats in season, and passenger boats run tours of the lake, stopping at several landings. Birds are easy to see, with coots, grebes and cormorants on the water and herons standing in the reeds, and in winter a surprising number of ducks gather on the open surface.
Riding to the water is simple. The approach roads run through gentle farmland and beech woods, with smooth bends and light traffic outside the weekends. Plön has about thirteen thousand people, and fuel stations, supermarkets and cafés are close to the centre. Parking near the lakefront is easy on weekdays, and the cobbles are short. Bring a camera, and give yourself half an hour for the light. Sunset over the lake in late summer is a good time, when the sky turns pink and the water takes on the colour.