Scharmützelsee Water Loop
A 521 km loop
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Why this ride
Built for flow, views and useful stops rather than navigation busywork. 521 km round from Nauen - plan on about 9 h 39 of riding. It goes by way of near Nennhausen, near Kropstädt, Lübbenau and Scenic stretch in Buckow.
Roadbook
- Fuel stop near Nauen
fuel
Fuel at 0 km.
- High point near Nennhausen
swim
High point near Nennhausen comes up 74 km in.
- Food stop near Kropstädt
food
Kropstädt is a small village in the forests north of Lutherstadt Wittenberg, on the southern slopes of the Fläming, a low ridge of sand and gravel left by the glaciers of the penultimate Ice Age. The village is quiet, with farmhouses, a church and fields stretching to the edge of the forest. It is the kind of place you pass through on your way to somewhere else, but the surrounding area is full of interest.
Wittenberg, a short ride south, is where Martin Luther is said to have posted his ninety-five theses on the door of the Castle Church in 1517, sparking the Reformation that changed Europe. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with Luther's house, the town church where he preached, and the house of his colleague Philipp Melanchthon. The painter Lucas Cranach also lived and worked here, and his workshop produced many of the famous portraits of Luther.
The Fläming itself is a gentle landscape of forests, heaths and fields, with villages of fieldstone churches built by the Flemish settlers who gave the region its name in the twelfth century. The roads here are quiet, with long straights through the forests and gentle curves through the villages. Watch for sand on the road at the forest edges, for wildlife at dawn and dusk, and for cobbles in the villages.
Kropstädt has next to nothing for travellers; fuel, groceries and restaurants wait in Wittenberg, which has plenty of choice. A meal in one of the old town's restaurants, perhaps with a local beer for the evening, is a fine way to round off a visit. The Scharmützelsee lies to the north-east, a long ride across the forests of Brandenburg.
- Near Lübbenau, on the way back
swim
The Spree river does something strange in the Spreewald: instead of running in one channel, it splits into hundreds of small streams and canals that thread through a low, forested wetland southeast of Berlin. This spot lies near Lübbenau, the main town on the edge of this watery labyrinth, which has been a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 1991. For centuries, people here lived on small islands of dry land, travelling by flat-bottomed punts, and some farms are still reached only by water.
The Spreewald is also home to the Sorbs, a Slavic minority who have lived in Lusatia for over a thousand years, with their own language, traditions and colourful costumes. Signs in the area are bilingual, in German and Lower Sorbian. And it is famous for gherkins: Spreewald pickles, marinated in vinegar, dill and spices, are sold everywhere, and they were one of the few East German products that survived reunification as a favourite brand.
For the swim, the canals of the Spreewald are not really for swimming; they are shallow, slow and busy with boats. But to the south lies the Lusatian Lake District, a chain of lakes created by flooding old open-cast lignite mines, and many of them now have sandy beaches and clear water. Lakes near Lübbenau and toward Senftenberg are popular on hot days, with bathing areas and cafes. The water is clean, though some lakes still have restrictions while the banks settle.
Riding here is flat, gentle and green. The roads cross fields, forests and small villages, with long, straight stretches and occasional cobbled sections in the villages. Traffic is light except on summer weekends, when tourists flock to the Spreewald. Watch for cyclists, as the area has excellent cycle paths, and for tractors and deer. The A13 motorway runs close by toward Berlin, but the smaller roads are more pleasant.
Lübbenau has fuel, cafes, restaurants and boat trips through the canals. A punt ride, with a picnic of pickles and local beer, is a classic Spreewald experience. Lübben, Luckau and Cottbus, all nearby, have more services. Then follow the quiet roads north toward Berlin, past the Scharmützelsee and the lakes of the Dahme valley.
- Scenic stretch in Buckow
swim
Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel spent their summers in Buckow in the 1950s, in a house by the lake, and it was here that Brecht wrote the Buckow Elegies, a series of short poems tinged with disillusion. The house is now a small museum, with Weigel's old covered wagon from Mother Courage in the barn. The playwright was not the first to fall for Buckow; the novelist Theodor Fontane praised the area, and the doctors of the nineteenth century prescribed its air for the nerves.
Buckow is the heart of the Märkische Schweiz, the Brandenburg Switzerland, a name that makes Swiss visitors smile but captures something real. After the flat lands around Berlin, the landscape here is surprisingly hilly, with steep wooded slopes, ravines, streams and clear lakes, all left by the glaciers of the last Ice Age. The Schermützelsee, on which Buckow sits, is surrounded by beech forests, and walking trails lead through the hills to viewpoints and springs.
The riding here is a delight by Brandenburg standards. The roads climb and descend through the forests, with real curves and gradients, and the views over the lakes and hills are lovely. They are narrow in places, with tree-lined avenues and cobbled village streets, and they can be busy with cyclists and walkers on weekends. Watch for wildlife and for leaves on the road in autumn.
Buckow has cafés, restaurants and a few shops, but fuel is more easily found in Müncheberg or Strausberg. A cake on a lakeside terrace, followed by a short walk to the Brecht-Weigel house, makes a perfect break. The Scharmützelsee, a larger and busier lake, lies to the south.
- Photo stop near Neulewin
swim
Photo stop near Neulewin comes up 372 km in.
- Konradshöhe
finish
At the northwestern edge of Berlin, where the city gives way to forest and water, Konradshöhe is a quiet residential area in the district of Reinickendorf, on a gentle rise above the Havel river and the Tegeler See. It feels more like a village than part of a capital: tree-lined streets of villas and small houses, sailing clubs and boathouses along the water, and the Tegeler Forst, a large forest of pine and oak, on its doorstep.
The Tegeler See is the loveliest of Berlin's big lakes, with wooded islands and sailing boats, and a promenade along the shore in Tegel. Nearby, Schloss Tegel was the home of the Humboldt brothers, Wilhelm and Alexander, the scholar and the explorer, and the family still owns the house and park. The Havel flows south toward Spandau, with its citadel, one of the best-preserved Renaissance fortresses in Europe.
Riding into Konradshöhe is easy and green. The roads from the north pass through forests and fields in Brandenburg, then enter the city through Heiligensee or Hennigsdorf, with the Havel and lakes alongside. The roads are generally good, though some streets have cobbles. Traffic is light compared to the city centre, but you will meet cyclists, buses and the occasional tractor near the edge of town. The ferry across the Havel from Konradshöhe to Spandau is a pleasant way to cross by foot or bicycle.
Fuel, supermarkets and cafes are close by in Tegel and Heiligensee. There are beer gardens and restaurants along the water, perfect for a drink in the evening sun after a long day on the Scharmützelsee loop. The lakeside paths are great for an evening walk, with views of the sunset over the water.
You come back to Berlin from the Scharmützelsee, a long lake in the Brandenburg woods southeast of the city, known as the Märkisches Meer, the sea of the Mark, and the contrast between that open water and this sheltered corner of the Havel is pleasing. Both are reminders of how much water and forest surround Berlin, and how quickly you can leave the city behind.
- Back to Scharmützelsee
finish
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.