Why this ride
637 km from Bernau bei Berlin to Strausberg, about 10 h 06 of riding. On the way it passes Chorin monastery, Werbellinsee shoreline, Schorfheide forest roads and Bernau. The coast is the point of it.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Berlin · Schorfheide and Werbellinsee + Rheinsberg Lakes and Castle Sweep
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 637 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 10 h 06
- 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
Back to Bernau → Rheinsberg Lakes and Castle Sweep fuel gate
36 km on Back to Bernau → Rheinsberg Lakes and Castle Sweep fuel gate.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 36 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Bernau fuel escape
Bernau is the gate to the north-eastern forest, and the way to use it is to be out of Berlin before the city notices you have gone. The B2 and the A11 both start here, with the S-Bahn line running alongside, and the stations around the edge of town are where commuters and weekend riders cross paths. With almost thirty-five thousand people, Bernau has everything a rider might need: fuel, bakeries, supermarkets and a bike shop or two.
Read the complete Bernau fuel escape write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bernau fuel escape is where the day begins. Next is Chorin monastery.
2. Chorin monastery
Few ruins in Germany are as quietly impressive as Chorin. The monastery was founded in the late thirteenth century by Cistercian monks, who moved here from a less suitable site nearby, and they built it in the red brick that is the signature of north German Gothic. The west gable is a masterpiece, a tall wall of brick with delicate tracery, blind windows and slender pinnacles, standing against the sky. The roofless church, the cloister and the remaining monastic buildings sit beside a small lake, the Amtssee, and the setting among woods and meadows feels remote even though Berlin is only an hour away.
Read the complete Chorin monastery write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chorin monastery comes up about 53 km into the recorded legs. Next is Werbellinsee shoreline.
3. Werbellinsee shoreline
The Werbellinsee is a long, deep, glacial lake in the Schorfheide, about ten kilometres from end to end, and its shoreline is one of the loveliest in Brandenburg. Beech forest comes down to the edge, the water is clear and dark, and the road runs along it in places so close that you can smell the water. Joachimsthal lies at its northern end, and Eberswalde, a good-sized town of about forty-two thousand, is a short ride to the south.
Read the complete Werbellinsee shoreline write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 80 km into the recorded legs you reach Werbellinsee shoreline. Next is Schorfheide forest roads.
4. Schorfheide forest roads
Schorfheide is the forest that has hosted more rulers than any other in Germany. Hohenzollern electors hunted here, Hermann Göring built a vast estate called Carinhall in the woods, naming it after his first wife, and the leaders of East Germany kept their own hunting lodges, all in the same pine and beech. Carinhall was blown up in 1945 and little remains, but the forest itself is intact, and it is one of the largest continuous woodlands in the region.
Read the complete Schorfheide forest roads write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Schorfheide forest roads, early in the day. Next is Back to Bernau.
5. Back to Bernau
Bernau keeps its medieval wall. Most German towns lost theirs to the nineteenth century, but here a long stretch of the brick-and-fieldstone circuit survives, with the Pulverturm, the Steintor and the grim little Hungerturm still standing, and you can walk almost the whole circle in half an hour. Legend says the wall saved the town from the Hussites in 1432, and an annual festival with costumes keeps the story alive, whatever the historians say. About thirty-five thousand people live here now, and the old centre, with its large Gothic church of St Marien, sits quietly behind a commuter-belt outer ring.
Read the complete Bernau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Back to Bernau. That is the ride. Next is Rheinsberg Lakes and Castle Sweep.
6. Fuel stop in Strausberg
Strausberg is the last proper town before Berlin turns into Brandenburg, and it knows how to be useful. It sits on the shore of a long lake, the Straussee, about thirty kilometres east of the capital, with the S-Bahn running straight in, and about twenty-six thousand people live here. The medieval centre kept a stretch of its town wall and the brick gothic Marienkirche, and the little ferry across the lake, the Strausberg ferry, is one of the nicest short crossings in the region. The town also runs one of the smallest tram networks in Germany, a single line that has served for a century.
Read the complete Strausberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rheinsberg Lakes and Castle Sweep is the fuel stop for this leg. Next is Berlin motorcycle escapes return.
7. Near Templin, on the way back
Planning note
about 271 km into the recorded legs you reach Berlin motorcycle escapes return. Next is Food stop near Neuruppin.
8. Food stop near Neuruppin
Two of the most important figures in Prussian culture were born in Neuruppin: the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel in 1781 and the novelist Theodor Fontane in 1819. Fontane went on to write the Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg, a multi-volume account of his travels through the region, and the first volume opens with the county of Ruppin. Reading even a few pages before riding these roads gives them a depth they might otherwise lack.
Read the complete Food stop near Neuruppin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Somewhere to get off the bike, about 344 km into the recorded legs. Next is Photo stop near Borkheide.
9. Photo stop near Borkheide
Planning note
Photo stop near Borkheide sits at 402 km, about halfway. Next is Rheinsberg Lakes and Castle Sweep checkpoint 8.
10. Near Lichterfelde
In 1881, Werner von Siemens opened the world's first electric tram line in Lichterfelde, a short track connecting the railway station with the cadet academy. Thirteen years later, Otto Lilienthal, the pioneer of human flight, had an artificial hill built in the same suburb so that he could launch his gliders from it, whatever the wind direction. The mound is still there, now a small park with a memorial. For a quiet residential district in south-western Berlin, Lichterfelde has a surprising place in the history of technology.
Read the complete Lichterfelde write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rheinsberg Lakes and Castle Sweep checkpoint 8 closes the day. Next is High point near Halbe.
11. High point near Halbe
Planning note
about 561 km into the recorded legs you reach High point near Halbe. Next is Scenic stretch near Bestensee.
12. Scenic stretch near Bestensee
Planning note
Scenic stretch near Bestensee, late in the day. Next is Back to Rheinsberg Lakes.
13. Back to Rheinsberg Lakes
Strausberg is a lakeside town at the eastern edge of Berlin's commuter belt, and the last stop on one of the city's suburban railway lines. It is set on the Straussee, a long, narrow lake that bends through the middle of the old town, and its medieval centre keeps some stretches of town wall and a church, with a pleasant promenade on the waterfront. A little ferry in summer crosses the lake, a pleasant way to see the town from the water. Rehfelde, a smaller village nearby, and Petershagen add a few pretty corners.
Read the complete Rheinsberg Lakes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back to Rheinsberg Lakes closes the day.
Leg by leg
Bernau fuel escape to Chorin monastery
Bernau fuel escape → Chorin monastery is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chorin monastery to Werbellinsee shoreline
Chorin monastery → Werbellinsee shoreline is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Werbellinsee shoreline to Schorfheide forest roads
Werbellinsee shoreline → Schorfheide forest roads is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Schorfheide forest roads to Back to Bernau
Schorfheide forest roads → Back to Bernau is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Back to Bernau to Fuel stop in Strausberg
Back to Bernau → Fuel stop in Strausberg is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fuel stop in Strausberg to Near Templin, on the way back
Fuel stop in Strausberg → Near Templin, on the way back is 108 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Food stop near Neuruppin to Photo stop near Borkheide
Food stop near Neuruppin → Photo stop near Borkheide is 104 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Photo stop near Borkheide to Near Lichterfelde
Photo stop near Borkheide → Near Lichterfelde is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point near Halbe to Scenic stretch near Bestensee
High point near Halbe → Scenic stretch near Bestensee is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Scenic stretch near Bestensee to Back to Rheinsberg Lakes
Scenic stretch near Bestensee → Back to Rheinsberg Lakes is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.