Wiesenburg lies on the northern edge of the Hoher Fläming, a ridge of low hills, forest and heath south-west of Berlin that counts as the highest ground for a long way around. The town has about five thousand people and a small palace with a landscape park, laid out in the English style, where old and unusual trees stand in wide lawns and a stream winds through. The park is open to visitors and is a pleasant place for a short walk.
The Fläming is a quiet landscape. Pine and oak woods cover the slopes, sandy fields and heaths lie in the hollows, and villages are small and far between. The ridge was shaped by glaciers, which left behind a pattern of hills and valleys that rolls gently to the horizon. Avenues of old trees line many of the roads, and cobbled sections are common near villages. The area is a nature park, popular with walkers, cyclists and riders on horseback.
For a motorcyclist, the roads are some of the best in this part of the country. They are narrow, winding and well surfaced, with bends that are gentle enough to flow and tight enough to keep you awake. Traffic is very light, especially on weekdays, and you may go a quarter of an hour without seeing another vehicle. Watch for gravel and leaves on the corners, and for farm machinery in harvest season.
Fuel and food are in Wiesenburg, which has stations and a few restaurants and bakeries. A railway runs through the town, and the old station is a reminder of its past as a junction. If you need a larger town, Bad Belzig, about ten kilometres away, has everything, including a hospital and a medieval castle.
Autumn is a good time here. The beeches and oaks turn red and gold, and the heath is purple in late summer. In spring, the fields are green and the forests fill with birdsong. It is a place that rewards a slow, unplanned ride, with a stop wherever the view or the smell of the woods tempts you.