Uckermark Lakes Quiet Day

A 349 km loop

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Why this ride

A rider’s loop: clean exit, memorable middle, calm return. A 349 km loop that starts and ends near Potsdam, about 7 h 15 of riding. The stops in between: in Werder, Wilhelmstadt, Scenic stretch near Wandlitz and near Marienwerder.

Roadbook

1. Fuel stop near Potsdam fuel

   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.

   Potsdam has more history packed into it than almost any German city. In the summer of 1945, the leaders of the United States, the Soviet Union and Britain met at the Cecilienhof Palace to decide the future of Germany. During the Cold War, the Glienicke Bridge, between Potsdam and West Berlin, became known as the Bridge of Spies, where captured agents were exchanged. The city is surrounded by lakes and forests, and the Havel winds through it, forming a chain of blue.

   The riding in Potsdam itself can be challenging, with heavy traffic, cobbled streets, tram lines and cyclists. But the roads around the city, along the lakes and through the forests, are pleasant and scenic. The roads towards Werder and the Havelland are popular with riders, with gentle curves and views over the water.

   Potsdam has plenty of fuel stations, shops, cafés and restaurants. A coffee in the Dutch Quarter, a neighbourhood of red brick houses built for Dutch craftsmen in the eighteenth century, is a pleasant break. The Uckermark lakes lie to the north, a long ride around Berlin.

2. High point in Werder swim

   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.

   The area around Werder has been a fruit-growing region for centuries, supplying Berlin with apples, cherries, pears and plums. The orchards cover the hills around the town, and in spring, the blossom is a wonderful sight. The town also has one of the northernmost vineyards in Germany, on the Wachtelberg, and its wines have a small but loyal following. From the hills above the town, the view stretches over the Havel and its lakes, with Potsdam and the towers of Berlin on the horizon.

   From the saddle it is relaxed and pleasant. The roads wind through the orchards and along the lakes, with gentle curves and occasional hills. Traffic can be heavy in the town and during the festival, and the old centre has cobbled streets. The roads towards the Havelland and the Zauche, to the west and south, are quieter and offer more open riding.

   Werder has fuel stations, shops, cafés and restaurants, and many places serve local fruit wines and juices. A coffee on the island, followed by a walk to the windmill, makes a lovely break. The Uckermark lakes lie far to the north, on the other side of Berlin.

3. Near Wilhelmstadt finish

   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.

   The Spandau Citadel, a few kilometres north, is one of the best-preserved Renaissance fortresses in Europe, a star-shaped stronghold surrounded by water, built in the sixteenth century around an older castle. Its medieval Julius Tower once held the imperial war treasure, a hoard of gold coins from French war reparations. The citadel is now a museum and cultural venue, with exhibitions, concerts and a large colony of bats wintering in its vaults. Spandau Prison, where Rudolf Hess was the last inmate, was demolished after his death in 1987 to prevent it becoming a shrine.

   The old town of Spandau has a pleasant market square, a Gothic church and narrow streets, and the Havel, here wide and slow, is lined with boats, houses and green spaces. To the south, the river widens into a chain of lakes, the Havelseen, bordered by forests, with beaches and footpaths along the shores.

   Coming back into Berlin from the west and north, Spandau is often your first contact with the city, and the roads can be busy, especially on Sunday evenings. The Heerstraße and other main roads are wide and fast, while the side streets are quieter, with cobbles in places. There are fuel stations, supermarkets and restaurants throughout Spandau. A walk along the Havel at dusk, with the light reflecting off the water and the boats coming home, is a fine way to end the day.

4. Scenic stretch near Wandlitz swim

   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.

   Wandlitz itself is a pleasant lakeside community north of Berlin, set in the Barnim nature park, with the Wandlitzsee and other lakes surrounded by forests. The lakes are clear and popular for swimming in summer, with beaches, boat hire and cafés. The landscape is part of the Barnim plateau, shaped by the glaciers of the last Ice Age, with gentle hills, forests of pine and beech, and many lakes.

   The riding here is relaxed and pleasant. The roads wind through the forests and along the lakes, with gentle curves and occasional hills. Traffic can be heavy on summer weekends, when Berliners come out to the lakes, and the roads near the motorway can be busy. Keep an eye out for sand on bends, animals at the edges of the day and stretches of old cobblestone.

   Wandlitz has fuel stations, shops, cafés and restaurants, making it a convenient stop. A swim in the lake or a coffee by the water makes a pleasant break on a hot day. The Uckermark lies to the north, a land of rolling hills, lakes and empty roads.

5. Photo stop near Marienwerder swim

   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.

   The forests around Marienwerder are part of the Barnim plateau, a region of moraines and lakes left by the last Ice Age. Pine dominates, but there are also stands of beech and oak, and the lakes are clear and quiet. To the north, the Schorfheide, once a royal and later a political hunting ground, is a vast forest home to deer, wild boar and eagles. In autumn, the trees turn gold and the air is filled with the calls of cranes.

   Riding in this area is peaceful. The roads are quiet, winding through forests and along canals, with occasional gentle hills. Some of the smaller roads are narrow and tree-lined, and cobbles still appear in villages. Traffic is light, especially on weekdays. Be careful at dawn and dusk, when wildlife is most active.

   Marienwerder has limited services, so plan to get fuel and supplies in Eberswalde, the nearest larger town, or in Bernau to the south. The canal locks make good photo spots, and a picnic by the water is a fine way to spend a break. Onward, the way continues north towards the Uckermark, a region of rolling hills and lakes that is among the most sparsely populated in Germany.

6. Berkenbrück, on the way back swim

   Berkenbrück is a small village on the Spree, between Fürstenwalde and Frankfurt an der Oder, in the east of Brandenburg. The river here winds slowly through meadows and forests, and the village, with its houses scattered along the water and among the pines, has a sleepy, summer-holiday feel. On the way back towards Berlin, it earns its place with a swim in the river or in one of the small lakes nearby, such as the Dehmsee.

   The Spree is gentle here, with sandy banks and reedy shores, and the water is soft and slightly brown from the peat. It is popular with canoeists and anglers, and on hot days families from the surrounding villages come to swim. The lakes are calmer and warmer, with small beaches and jetties. As always with natural waters, check the depth and the current before diving in, and swim only at designated spots where possible.

   A few kilometres west, Fürstenwalde has a Gothic cathedral, St. Mary's, whose interior was rebuilt after the war with a striking modern design inside the old brick shell. South of Fürstenwalde, in the forested Rauen Hills, lie the Markgrafensteine, two huge granite boulders carried here by the glaciers of the ice age from Scandinavia. In the nineteenth century, a giant granite bowl was carved from one of them and transported to Berlin, where it still stands in front of the Altes Museum in the Lustgarten.

   The roads around Berkenbrück are quiet and flat, winding through forests and along the river, with occasional cobbles and sandy verges. Fürstenwalde, about seven kilometres away, has fuel, supermarkets and restaurants. The ride back to Berlin follows the Spree valley or the A12 motorway; the old country roads through the villages are slower but far more interesting. In summer, the forests smell of pine and the evenings are long and warm.

7. Food stop near Storkow food

   East of Storkow, a string of shallow lakes and reed beds known as the Groß Schauener Seen forms one of the most important bird sanctuaries in the region. Ospreys, sea eagles, cranes, bitterns and many ducks breed or rest here, and an observation tower gives a view over the water and the reeds. The lakes have been fished for centuries, and a traditional fishery on their shore still sells smoked fish, a delicious lunch for anyone passing through.

   The landscape around here is classic eastern Brandenburg: pine forests, small fields, quiet villages and lakes of all sizes. The soils are sandy, left by the glaciers and their meltwaters, and in places there are dunes, now covered in pine. The Dahme-Heideseen nature park stretches to the south and west, with dozens of lakes and few people. To the east, the Scharmützelsee and the Rauen hills offer a more lively scene, with spa towns, beaches and restaurants.

   The riding here is quiet and relaxed. The roads are mostly flat, running dead straight through pine forest and only bending where a lake gets in the way. Traffic is light, especially on weekdays. Watch for sand on the road at forest edges, for wildlife, and for cobbles in the villages. On summer weekends, the roads near the Scharmützelsee can be busy with motorcycles and cars.

   Fuel is available in Storkow, and the fishery and the villages offer simple meals. Smoked eel, trout or whitefish with bread and a salad is the local speciality. The Uckermark lies far to the north, on the other side of Berlin.

8. Back to Uckermark finish

   Few places make a better last stop than the quiet lanes beside Potsdam's South-Western Cemetery. Stahnsdorf, a town of about thirteen thousand people, is known for its great wooded cemetery, laid out in 1909 as a burial ground for Berliners, with winding paths, tall trees and elaborate Art Nouveau monuments.

   Many famous people lie there. The film director F. W. Murnau, who made Nosferatu, is buried at the cemetery, as are the artist Heinrich Zille, known for his sketches of working-class Berlin, and the painter Lovis Corinth. The place has the feel of a park more than a graveyard, with rhododendrons, mossy stones and birdsong, and an evening visit when the sun comes low through the pines is deeply peaceful. Entry is free, and visitors should walk quietly.

   The label points to the Uckermark, a region of rolling hills and lakes to the north-east, about a hundred kilometres away, where the ride began, so the day ends with a long return to the south-west. The roads here are quiet and tree-lined, with smooth bends through woods and past small lakes. Cobbled sections still appear in old streets, and cyclists are very common on the paths along the Teltow Canal. In autumn the forest glows with yellow and rust.

   Nearby, Potsdam is only a few kilometres away, with its palaces and parks, and Wannsee, with its big lake and beaches. Fuel, food and rooms are easy to find, and Stahnsdorf has bakeries and a few simple restaurants. A bowl of soup in a village inn after a day on the road, with the smell of woodsmoke outside, is a good end. Be careful of deer on the roads at night.

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