Why this ride
Out of Potsdam, one way: 141 km, roughly 2 h 57 in the saddle. The stops in between: in Werder, Wilhelmstadt and Scenic stretch near Wandlitz.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Uckermark Lakes Quiet Day · part 1
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 141 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 57
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Uckermark Lakes Quiet Day fuel gate → Uckermark Lakes Quiet Day high p
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 21 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 18 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fuel stop near Potsdam
Frederick the Great wanted a place without cares, sans souci, and he built one in Potsdam: a summer palace on a terraced vineyard, surrounded by a vast park of gardens, temples, follies and more palaces. Sanssouci is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the other palaces and parks of Potsdam and Berlin, and it draws visitors from all over the world. Frederick himself is buried on the terrace, and visitors still leave potatoes on his grave, a tribute to his promotion of the crop.
Read the complete Fuel stop near Potsdam write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Uckermark Lakes Quiet Day is where the day begins. Next is High point in Werder.
2. High point in Werder
Every spring, when the fruit trees blossom, Werder throws one of the biggest parties in Brandenburg. The Baumblütenfest, the tree blossom festival, draws huge crowds to taste the local fruit wines, and the town on its island in the Havel becomes a sea of people, music and stalls. For the rest of the year, Werder is a pretty, quiet town, with an old centre on the island, a church, a windmill and views over the water.
Read the complete High point in Werder write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
High point in Werder comes up about 18 km into the recorded legs. Next is Uckermark Lakes Quiet Day checkpoint 8.
3. Near Wilhelmstadt
Spandau was a town in its own right for centuries before it became part of Berlin in 1920, and its people still sometimes say they are going into Berlin when they head for the centre. The finish is near Wilhelmstadt, a district on the western bank of the Havel, south of Spandau's old town, and it is a calm place to finish rides that have spent the day in the lakes of the Uckermark or around Bad Saarow.
Read the complete Near Wilhelmstadt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 141 km. Next is Scenic stretch near Wandlitz.
4. Scenic stretch near Wandlitz
During the years of East Germany, the name Wandlitz meant something sinister to many citizens. In a guarded estate in the forest near the lake lived the members of the ruling Politburo, Erich Honecker among them, cut off from the population behind walls and guard posts, with access to Western goods that ordinary people could only dream of. When the estate was opened after the fall of the Wall in 1989, people were surprised by its modest, almost petty privileges. Today, the houses are part of a clinic, and the forest has reclaimed its quiet.
Read the complete Scenic stretch near Wandlitz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Scenic stretch near Wandlitz, late in the day. Next is Photo stop near Marienwerder.
5. Photo stop near Marienwerder
Marienwerder is a small village north of Berlin, set among forests and canals in the Barnim district. The landscape here is shaped by water, both natural and man-made. The Oder-Havel Canal, which links the two rivers, passes close by, as does the older Finow Canal, built in the early seventeenth century and often described as the oldest artificial waterway in Germany that is still navigable. Its locks and towpaths are a charming reminder of the past.
Read the complete Photo stop near Marienwerder write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Photo stop near Marienwerder. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fuel stop near Potsdam to High point in Werder
Fuel stop near Potsdam → High point in Werder is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point in Werder to Near Wilhelmstadt
High point in Werder → Near Wilhelmstadt is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Scenic stretch near Wandlitz to Photo stop near Marienwerder
Scenic stretch near Wandlitz → Photo stop near Marienwerder is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.