Berlin: Havel, Oder and Spree round trip

Look forward to the former Prussian residence city of Potsdam. It is characterized by unique palaces and gardens along the Havel: Sanssouci, Neuer Garten, Babelsberg, Glienicke, Pfaueninsel and Sacrow have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1990.

Arrival to Potsdam main station / parking lot at the hotel / rental bikes at the hotel.

In Potsdam you cycle through the city center first to the historic Glienicke Bridge and from here you follow the "Berliner Mauerweg" cycle path to the banks of the lake Großer Wannsee. Always close to the shore, you roll comfortably on the Havel cycle path to the old town of Spandau with the citadel and the Gatower post mill.
Continue on the well-developed Havel cycle path via Hennigsdorf and Birkenwerder to your destination of the day, Oranienburg, with the renovated castle and the restored park. Since the State Horticultural Show in 2009, the dream landscape of Electress Louise Henriette von Oranien has shone in new splendor and is worth a nice tour at the end of the day.

The very well implemented bike trails will lead you along the waterside and through the Schorfheide today. past the Langer Trödel (area of stagnant water, no longer navigable today) to the watergate of Zerpenschleuse, past the Finow-channel to Marienwerder and finally to the Werbellinsee. The untouched landscape is sparsely populated and offers plenty of space for small discoveries: the local history museum in the former city prison of Liebenwalde, the boatmen's houses on the 400-year-old Finow Canal and last but not least the Neo-gothic village church that seems much too big for Marienwerder. The day ends at the hotel right by the shore of the Werbellinsee, in the middle of this wonderful nature.

The first few kilometres of the day lead past the crystal clear Werbellinsee, measuring up to 55 metres in depth, to Joachimstal. This is where Emperor Wilhelm II. had a unique train station constructed in Norwegian country house- style so that he could travel into the Schorfheide to go hunting more comfortably. Today, the Emperor’s station has been redone to shine in its former glory again. Not far from here, a wide viewing platform allows enjoying a spectacular panorama view over the biosphere reservoir of Schorfheide-Chorin. Through a beautiful landscape, you will continue along the Grimnitzsee to Chorin, where a short side trip of 3 km to the Cistercian monastery of Chorin is a worthwhile idea. From here, the Mönchsheide, an almost deserted strip of land, leads to the lift lock of Niederfinow. It is the oldest one of its kind in Germany that is still active today. Overnight stay in Oderberg or Hohenwutzen directly on the Oder River.

Today you will experience a completely different landscape! The Oderbruch and the Oder form a unique natural landscape in Europe. By 1762, the inland delta of the Oderbruch, formed in the Weichselian glaciation, was drained under the Prussian King Friedrich II and settled with newly built street villages as planned. You follow the river for a few kilometers on the Oder-Neisse cycle path directly on the Oder dike. Here you will experience a breathtaking, extremely sparsely populated landscape on the border with neighboring Poland. Following a closed down railway line, you will then cycle further inland to Wriezen before you follow the long-distance track (Radfernweg) Brandenburg through the hilly Märkische Schweiz. In the afternoon you can look forward to the small SPA- town of Buckow with its remarkable Brecht-Weigel-Haus at the Schermützelsee.

From Buckow, the pearl of Märkische Schweiz, you cycle through many small villages to Rüdersdorf near Berlin. Take a short detour to the Museum Park Rüdersdorf, which tells the story of lime mining. Visit the former furnaces and transport facilities and see how the old industrial plants worked. The "Gerhard-Hauptmann-Stadt" Erkner with its interesting museum and the Müggelsee is now quickly reached. Look forward to your hotel by the lake, where you can enjoy the beautiful idyll in the Biergarten at the end of the day.

From the Müggelsee you cycle right through the forest to the Müggelturm tower, which offers you a fantastic view over the greenest district of Berlin. A small ferry (not included) takes you from Wendenschloss over the Dahme to Grünau, where you will come across the Berlin Wall Trail a short time later. Follow this along the southern outskirts of Berlin on the trail of the more recent german history and come across many commemorative plaques and memorials. On the Teltow Canal you continue via the former Dreilinden checkpoint to Babelsberg and there along the famous film park to the historic city center of Potsdam and on to the starting point of your tour.

Your lovely roundtrip around Berlin and Potsdam ends after breakfast at the hotel.