Teterow is a small town beside a lake, and among motorcycle people it has a bigger reputation than its size suggests. The Bergring, a hilly circuit just outside the town, has hosted motorcycle racing since the 1920s and 1930s, and it was one of the best-known tracks in East Germany, drawing crowds to watch grass track and speedway on the steep slopes. It is a place where riders from across the region come to watch, and the local pride in it is real. If you ride through when a meeting is on, the roads fill with bikes and the air smells of two-stroke.
The old town is pleasant. Two medieval gates, the Rostocker Tor and the Malchiner Tor, survive from the town walls, and the market square has a mix of brick and half-timbered houses. The Teterower See, a lake beside the town, has an island and a path around it, and in summer people swim and fish from its shores. Locals have a nickname, the pike, and the fish appears on coats of arms and in stories, a bit of humour the town wears with pride.
For a rider, Teterow works well as a food window, a place to pause between the lakes and manors of Mecklenburg Switzerland. The roads to the town are tree-lined and gentle, with pleasant curves, moderate surfaces and little traffic. The land is rolling farmland and forest, and the manor houses that appear along the way are reminders of the great estates that dominated this part of Germany for centuries. Early summer, when the rapeseed blooms and the beeches are bright green, is the best season.
Teterow has about nine and a half thousand people, so fuel is available at stations along the main roads, and there are supermarkets, bakeries and a few restaurants. The market square has cafés with outdoor seating, and the local menus feature fish, game and potatoes, with regional beer. Many places close in the afternoon, so aim for lunch before two, and expect modest prices.
Parking for motorcycles is easy near the centre, and you can walk to the lake in a few minutes. If you have time, take a short ride up to the Bergring and look at the slopes, even when there is no racing.
In the evening, the lake is quiet and the sky turns pink, and the road home through the fields is gentle.