Cycle tours Havelland: History and nature - 400 kilometres cycle tour through Brandenburg

After the first few kilometres on the Havel cycle path, I'm already whistling Conny Froboess' old popular song: "Pack your swimming trunks, take your little sister and then off you go to Wannsee..." I had learnt before the trip that the famous Berlin Wannsee is, in hydrological terms, nothing more than a bay of the Havel. I don't have my little sister with me, but I do have my swimming trunks, a freshly cleaned bike under my bum and a good 400 kilometres ahead of me.

The journey takes us through the Havelland region to the west of Berlin, from Rathenow in a north-easterly direction through the Ruppin Lake District and finally back southwards from Fürstenberg on the Havel Cycle Route to the capital. Past numerous waterways, glistening lakes, fields, meadows and orchards, through dark pine forests, with stops in picturesque and historic towns such as Werder, Neuruppin and Brandenburg an der Havel.

Havelland: water as far as the eye can see

As varied as the region may be, one thing runs like a red thread - or rather a blue thread - through the tour: water, water and more water. Germany's most inland water-rich region with more than 3,000 lakes and around 33,000 kilometres of watercourses was formed thousands of years ago by the effects of the last ice age. It is only logical that the Havel region is an extremely popular destination for water sports enthusiasts. But because the average holidaymaker doesn't own a yacht, but almost everyone has a bicycle in their cellar, more and more cyclists are coming to the region.

I stop whistling as we reach the building where the Wannsee Conference was once held. The conference at which the National Socialists decided on and planned the Holocaust. Today, the villa on the lake is a memorial site. The first cobbled passage snaps me out of my thoughts of those dark times. There are a few more of these bumpy stretches to negotiate on the tour. It looks nicer when the roads are made of the old-fashioned material. But on a bike it can be quite annoying, saddle suspension or suspension forks. A little tip on the side if you want to avoid a veritable shaking trauma: Firstly, don't clutch the handlebars tightly, just hold them loosely and control the shocks that way. Otherwise, either ride over it at "full throttle" or so slowly that you just don't tip over.

Across the Wannsee to Potsdam by bike

We decide in favour of the quicker option, as the ferry is about to leave, taking us across the Wannsee towards Potsdam. We continue across Berlin's Grunewald forest, which is actually still home to wild boars. We didn't see them, nor did we see Sarah Connor or Joschka Fischer, who live here in one of the classiest and definitely the greenest neighbourhoods in Berlin.

Less than an hour ago, we had to slalom through hordes of tourists jostling around the Brandenburg Gate. And now, a few turns of the cranks further on, but still in the Berlin city centre, we are cycling in the middle of the countryside. On Oranienstraße in Kreuzberg, we listened to teenagers raving about how "super chilled" Berlin is. Sorry, but you can really chill out much better in the solitude of Brandenburg. "The distance is so close" - the slogan of the local tourism experts is no coincidence.

With an area of around 30,000 square kilometres, Brandenburg is the largest of the five new federal states. And the most sparsely populated with just 2.5 million inhabitants. "Sometimes even the Australians and Canadians who cycle here are surprised at how lonely it is here," says Ursula Karberg from Hotel Seestern in Fürstenberg, "but once you've left Berlin behind you, there's really nothing going on, then you have your peace and quiet in the countryside."

Germany's only Aldi with its own jetty

This is true so far, but does not yet apply to Brandenburg's state capital Potsdam. We didn't pay a visit to all the "celebrities" who now reside in the villa district of the former Prussian capital. But we did stock up on apple spritzer and bars at Germany's only Aldi supermarket with its own jetty. And, of course, we took a look at Sanssouci Palace and the New Palace in Potsdam's stately gardens. By the way, cycling is mostly prohibited there.

Cycling is permitted in the small town of Werder, which has made itself very picturesquely comfortable on an island on the Havel, although it is once again difficult because of the cobblestones. Werder with its small fishermen's houses is a total work of art and reveals a real surprise. The area is not only an important fruit-growing region, but also has the most northerly vineyard in Germany, the Werderaner Wachtelberg.

Towards Brandenburg an der Havel, we glide along almost alone on finely tarmaced cycle paths. The Middle Havel meanders through green meadows, a lone angler on the bank has even dozed off over his fishing rod. The perch and zander obviously don't want to bite today. There are said to be sea eagles here, and at the right time of year storks populate the numerous nests on the roofs of houses and church spires. Even beavers and otters have returned to the area. We have to make do with a few ducks that land on the water with plenty of chattering.

Brandenburg: Between cliché and reality

People don't always say only good things about Brandenburg and its inhabitants. For example, there is the Brandenburg song by the cabaret artist Rainald Grebe. It's pretty mean what he says there. "There are countries where things are going on, and there is Brandenburg," he sings, before he really gets going: "There are three Nazis standing on a hill and can't find anyone to beat up." Cliché or reality? You don't really know. There are only a few hills at first. But a lot of friendly people who showed us the way when, for once, the route was not so clearly signposted.

And the area is always full of surprises. Like in Stölln, where a stately Ilyushin Il-62 aircraft lies, stands, parks or whatever "in the middle of nowhere". The Interflug passenger aircraft landed there in 1989. It was not an emergency landing, but a carefully planned aeronautical masterpiece. It was in Stölln that Otto Lilienthal undertook his first adventurous attempts at flying. In August 1896, the aviation pioneer crashed and succumbed to his injuries. But without his experiments, the dream of flying would probably have taken a few years longer.

We continue on the Vélo, as the landscape here is somewhat barren in the form of potato fields and cornfields. Heinrich von Kleist might have meant this when he once claimed that God must have fallen asleep during the creation of Brandenburg. We, on the other hand, sleep sweetly and blissfully that night in a castle hotel and set off in the morning for Neuruppin, the "Pearl of the Mark" and hometown of the poet Theodor Fontane. King Frederick William II commissioned its reconstruction as a model Prussian town, with wide streets on which his guards could drill and march. Today, these streets, lined with magnificent houses in the early neoclassical style, are perfect for a stroll.

Between Neuruppin and Rheinsberg with its rococo castle, we roll along on a kind of "motorway for cyclists". The paths here are so wide that almost an entire bowling club could cycle side by side. The further north-east we go, the more the tour becomes a rollercoaster ride. It's no coincidence that the area is called Ruppin Switzerland.

Shortly after Fürstenberg an der Havel lies the small town of Himmelpfort. Pretty and tranquil, but because we no longer believe in Father Christmas, who has set up a Christmas post office here, we quickly continue via Zehdenick to Oranienburg. Slowly but surely we approach Berlin. The car traffic is getting heavier and, after several days in the Mark Brandenburg, you can feel it in your nose. And what do I do? I sing and whistle again at the end of this "chilled" cycle tour: this time the unofficial anthem of the capital: "That's the Berlin air, air, air... Havelland-Runde: GPS data

You can find the GPX track for this tour in the MYBIKE Collection on komoot.

Useful information

Arrival

If you are travelling by train, it is best to get off at Spandau (book your bike on the IC in good time), information at bahn.de, bvg.de. If you are travelling by car, take the A100 or A115 to the starting point at Scharfe Lanke in Pichelsdorf.

Information

• Havelland Tourism Association, Theodor-Fontane-Straße 10, 14641 Nauen/OT Ribbeck, Tel. 033237/859030, dein-havelland.de
• Ruppiner Seenland Tourism Association, Fischbänkenstraße 8, 16816 Neuruppin, Tel. 03391/659630, ruppiner-seenland.de
• TMB Tourismus-Marketing Brandenburg GmbH, Am Neuen Markt 1, 14467 Potsdam, Tel. 0331/298730, reiseland-brandenburg.de

Accommodation

• Hotel Prinz Heinrich, Fischerstraße 48b, 14542 Werder (Havel), Tel. 03327/732060, hotelprinzheinrich.com
• Watersports Centre Alte Feuerwache, Franz-Ziegler-Str. 28, 14776 Brandenburg an der Havel, Tel. 03381/222018, water sports centre-alte-feuerwache.de
• Hotel and Restaurant Seestern, Ravensbrücker Dorfstraße 26, 16798 Fürstenberg/Havel, Tel. 033093/61957
• Stadthotel Oranienburg, André-Pican-Straße 23, 16515 Oranienburg, Tel. 03301/6900,
  stadthotel-oranienburg.de

Worth seeing

Potsdam-Park-Sanssouci is a cultural highlight, potsdam-park-sanssouci.de. You should also plan time for the picturesque little town of Werder, as well as Neuruppin, birthplace of the poet Theodor Fontane and the no less famous architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Frederick II spent the happiest years of his life as crown prince at the beautifully situated Rheinsberg Castle, www.spsg.de. The historic Olympic Village from 1936 in Wustermark is probably an insider tip.

Literature & Maps

• Bikeline-Radtourenbuch Havel-Radweg, Verlag Esterbauer, with detailed maps at a scale of 1:50,000, esterbauer.com
• DuMont Travel Pocketbook Brandenburg, dumontreise.de