Spreewald Canals and Forest Roads · short arc

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Fuel stop near Bernau bei Berlin

   Planning note

   Spreewald Canals and Forest Roads is where the day begins. Next is Berlin motorcycle escapes return.

2. 2. Near Lindow, on the way back

   North of Berlin the Brandenburg countryside dissolves into lakes, and Lindow sits between three of them, a small town of cobbled streets, brick houses and old trees. The ruins of a Cistercian nunnery stand on the shore, and Theodor Fontane, the great chronicler of the Mark Brandenburg, wrote about the nuns of Lindow in his travels through the region. It is a quiet, slightly melancholy place, and on a summer evening, with the light on the water, very beautiful.

   Read the complete Near Lindow, on the way back write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Berlin motorcycle escapes return comes up about 90 km into the recorded legs. Next is Food stop near Nauen.

3. 3. Food stop near Nauen

   Tall masts rising out of the flat Havelland meadows mark Nauen's claim to fame. The transmitting station here, founded in 1906, is considered the oldest radio station in the world still in operation, and in its early days it sent messages to German colonies and ships across the oceans. Its main building, designed by the architect Hermann Muthesius in the 1920s, is a fine example of brick modernism. Guided tours are offered occasionally.

   Read the complete Food stop near Nauen write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   A break here. Next is Photo stop near Trebbin.

4. 4. Photo stop near Trebbin

   Planning note

   Photo stop near Trebbin, about halfway. Next is Spreewald Canals and Forest Roads checkpoint 8.

5. 5. Marienfelde

   Between 1953 and 1990, more than a million people who had fled or left East Germany passed through a camp in Marienfelde, in the far south of West Berlin. The Notaufnahmelager, the emergency reception centre, was where they were registered, questioned by Western intelligence services, housed and sent on to new lives in the West. Part of it is now a museum, with exhibits and personal stories that bring the divided city vividly to life, and it is one of the more moving places in Berlin to spend an hour.

   Read the complete Marienfelde write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Finish at Spreewald Canals and Forest Roads checkpoint 8. That is the ride. Next is High point near Spreenhagen.

6. 6. High point near Spreenhagen

   Spreenhagen is a scattered rural municipality south-east of Berlin, where the River Spree winds through forests and meadows between Fürstenwalde and the capital. The villages here are small and quiet, with old churches, farmhouses and modern homes for commuters, and the landscape is a typical Brandenburg mix of pine forests, wet meadows and lakes.

   Read the complete High point near Spreenhagen write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   High point near Spreenhagen is the summit of this stretch. Next is Scenic stretch near Petershagen.

7. 7. Scenic stretch near Petershagen

   Planning note

   Scenic stretch near Petershagen closes the day.