Nauen is a small town in the Havelland, on the flat country west of Berlin, with a secret claim to fame: radio. In 1906 a transmitter station opened here, among the fields, and it became one of the first in the world to send signals across the globe. The station grew into a huge installation, with steel masts and long wire arrays, and parts of it are still preserved, making it the oldest radio station of its kind still standing. A museum tells the story, and the old masts rise above the fields.
The country around is gentle and wide. This is the Havelland Luch, a low, damp plain of meadows, ditches and reed beds, drained in the eighteenth century under Frederick the Great, and today a haven for birds. White storks nest on rooftops here, and the nearby village of Linum, some twenty-five kilometres to the north, has long been known as a stork village, with dozens of nests every spring. In autumn, thousands of cranes stop to feed in the fields on their way south, and their calls carry far across the open land.
The label points to Scharmützelsee, a big lake south-east of Berlin, so the route ends here at the other side of the city, a long loop. Roads in the Havelland are straight and quiet, with avenues of old lime and chestnut trees, and the surface is mostly good, with some cobbles in villages. The wind can be strong across the open plain, particularly in autumn. Brieselang and Paulinenaue, small places nearby, have a few shops and cafes.
Nauen has about seventeen thousand people, so fuel, groceries, bakeries and rooms are easy to find. Local farm shops sell asparagus in spring and potatoes and apples in autumn. Early summer mornings, with mist over the meadows, are the best time to be here. Beware of tractors on the narrow lanes and of deer at dusk.