Mecklenburgische Seenplatte

Berlin-Rostock-Swinoujsćie (Swinemünde)-Berlin

Two years ago we cycled from Rostock to Berlin in heavy rain. We could not enjoy the beautiful landscape of the "Mecklemburgische Seenplatte". We looked as if we hadn't cycled along but literally through the lakes. So this year we decided to come back and hoped for better weather conditions.
Befor starting with the actual trip, we began our holidays with a biking tour through Berlin, visiting the most famous spots like the "Potsdamer Platz" "Reichstag", "Checkpoint Charlie", etc.

Day 1 Berlin (Birkenwerder)-Fürstenberg (Havel)

After leaving our car at the Bergfeld Hotel we started our trip into the direction of Zehdenik. North of Zehdenik you see lots and lots of small lakes. These artificial lakes  are the results of the clay loam excavation used for the baking of bricks. In 1911 the production reached the sum of 625 millions of handmade bricks. Today it's a natural reserve with plenty of birds and all kind of fish. We spent the night in an lovely Hotel (Haus an der Havel) at the border of the river Havel.

Day 2 Fürstenberg-Waren

Our next aim was Waren in the middle ouf the ""Mecklemburgische Seenplatte". After a visit of the night market, we spent the night at the "Goldene Kugel".

Day 3 Waren-Güstrow

After Waren we cycled through a beautiful nature reserve. To cross this moor landscape we had to use a bike track passing over special wooden bridges built into the moor. In Güstrow we visited the castle which, due to the heavy rain, we could not enjoy two years ago.

Day 4 Güstrow-Rostock-Graal (Müritz)

Leaving Güstrow, we headed towards Rostock the beautiful Hanseatic City with old gables and picturesque marketplaces. From here we joined Müritz on the Baltic Sea. Jac and I had dinner on a fair near the boardwalk.

Day 5 Müritz-Stralsund

In Müritz we found the Baltic Sea bike track that led us along the coast to Stralsund, another famous Hanseatic City with its Brick Gothic style (Backsteingotik) buildings, like the townhall and the Nikolaikirche.

Day 6 Stralsund-Wolgast

  
In Strasund we decided to skip the island of Rügen and followed the bike track via Greifswald to Wolgast. In Greifswald we had picnic on the marketplace with a stunning view at the City hall and St. Nikolai cathedral.

Day 7 Wolgast-Swienemünde-Korswand

In Wolgast we crossed the bridge that took us to the island of Usedom called "the bathtub of Berlin". Following the bike track we crossed all the famous seaside resorts like Zinnowitz, Koserow, Ahlbeck to the Polish Border and on to Swinemünde. Since we had no information about cycling in Poland, we decided to go back and to spend the night in Korswand (Sonnenhotel Maya).

Day 8 Korswand-Usedom-Uckermünde-Torgelow

In Korswald we followed the Usedom-Berlin cycle track down to Torgelow. On our way we had to take a ferry from Usedom to the mainland. There we could see "the Hubbrücke" of Karnin, a drawbridge (vertical lift bridge) that formerly connected the railway line from the Pomeranian mainland at Kamp to the island of Usedom in Karnin. 













After leaving Usedom we cycled trough the urban peat bog near Anklam (Torfmoor Anklam) an extended nature reserve for birds. Finally we reached Torgelow where the first and last raindrops fell on our heads...

      
Day 9 Torgelow-Pasewalk-Prenzlau-Joachimsthal

From here the Usedom-Berlin bike track follows the river Ucker through Pasewalk down to Prenzlau. In the late afternoon we reached Joachimsthal where we spent the night at the "Wenzelhof" hotel.

Day 10 Joachimsthal-Birkenweide (Berlin)

Our last day took us from Joachimsthal back to Birkenweide where we picked up our car. Since we skipped the bike tour of Rügen we had 3 days left, so we decided to join Bray-Dunes and finish our holydays with 2 cycling daytrips around Brugges.