Why this ride
A 390 km round trip from Carpin - roughly 6 h 19 in the saddle. On the way it passes Grumsin, The ADGB Trade Union School, Wohnstadt Carl Legien and Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Serrahn and Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 390 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 19
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Serrahn
Between the lakes of Mecklenburg, north of Berlin, a pocket of old beech forest has been left to grow for the better part of a century, and it is now one of the most unusual places in Germany. Serrahn is a part of the Müritz National Park, a few kilometres from Carpin, and its beeches were once part of a ducal hunting reserve that was protected from logging, so some trees are two hundred years old and more. The Serrahn woods are part of the UNESCO listing of Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, a serial site that protects the finest remaining beech forests, from Ukraine and Slovakia to Germany, Spain and Italy.
Read the complete Serrahn write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Serrahn is where the day begins. Next is Grumsin.
2. Grumsin
North-east of Berlin, the last ice age left behind a landscape of hills, hollows and lakes, shaped by glaciers that advanced and melted back again. In one corner of it, between Angermünde and Joachimsthal, lies the Grumsin forest, a beech wood that has been left largely undisturbed for a long time. It is part of the UNESCO site of Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, inscribed as one of Germany's contributions in 2011. Old beeches tower above a forest floor scattered with fallen trunks, small ponds and bogs, and in spring the canopy glows a fresh, translucent green.
Read the complete Grumsin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Grumsin comes up about 95 km into the recorded legs. Next is The ADGB Trade Union School.
3. The ADGB Trade Union School
In the pine woods just outside Bernau, north of Berlin, a cluster of yellow brick buildings steps down a gentle slope toward a lake, and it is one of the purest expressions of Bauhaus architecture anywhere. The Federal School of the General German Trade Union Federation, known by its German initials ADGB, was designed by Hannes Meyer, the second director of the Bauhaus, with Hans Wittwer, and built between 1928 and 1930 as a training college for union officials. Every detail, from the arrangement of the dormitory wings in staggered blocks to the glass corridor that runs down the slope, was designed to encourage community, light and a healthy life. It was added to the UNESCO Bauhaus site in 2017.
Read the complete The ADGB Trade Union School write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least about 142 km into the recorded legs you reach The ADGB Trade Union School. Next is Wohnstadt Carl Legien.
4. Wohnstadt Carl Legien
Bruno Taut liked colour, and in Berlin in the late 1920s, he used it to make social housing feel joyful. The Wohnstadt Carl Legien, built between 1928 and 1930 in Prenzlauer Berg, is a large estate of apartment blocks arranged around green courtyards that open onto the street, with facades painted in bright, contrasting colours: yellow, red, blue and green, the balconies and window frames picking out the patterns. It was named after Carl Legien, a leader of the German trade unions, and it was built by a union-affiliated housing association to provide light, air and greenery for working families. It is one of the six Berlin Modernism Housing Estates listed by UNESCO in 2008.
Read the complete Wohnstadt Carl Legien write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wohnstadt Carl Legien, about halfway. Next is Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf.
5. Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf
Bright colours were a weapon for Bruno Taut. The architect believed that good housing could change people's lives, and in the 1920s he designed several large housing estates in Berlin for working and middle class families, with light, airy flats, gardens and shared green spaces. The Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf, better known as Onkel Toms Hütte, Uncle Tom's Cabin, after a nearby inn and the underground station, was built between 1926 and 1931 on the edge of the Grunewald forest, and Taut, working with other architects, painted the houses in strong reds, greens, blues and yellows, so that the estate glows among the pine trees. It is one of the great monuments of modern housing in Germany.
Read the complete Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf sits at 181 km, about halfway. Next is back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien.
6. back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wohnstadt Carl Legien write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien comes up about 216 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through The ADGB Trade Union School.
7. back through The ADGB Trade Union School
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The ADGB Trade Union School write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 248 km into the recorded legs you reach back through The ADGB Trade Union School. Next is back through Grumsin.
8. back through Grumsin
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Grumsin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Grumsin, late in the day. Next is Serrahn.
9. Serrahn
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Serrahn 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 390 km.
Leg by leg
Serrahn to Grumsin
Serrahn → Grumsin is 95 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Grumsin to The ADGB Trade Union School
Grumsin → The ADGB Trade Union School is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The ADGB Trade Union School to Wohnstadt Carl Legien
The ADGB Trade Union School → Wohnstadt Carl Legien is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wohnstadt Carl Legien to Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf
Wohnstadt Carl Legien → Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf to back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien
Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf → back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien to back through The ADGB Trade Union School
back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien → back through The ADGB Trade Union School is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The ADGB Trade Union School to back through Grumsin
back through The ADGB Trade Union School → back through Grumsin is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Grumsin to Serrahn
back through Grumsin → Serrahn is 95 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.