Mecklenburg Lakes: Thrilling ride ahead

Arrive early and look forward to Waren. A stroll through the historic old town and also a visit to the Müritzeum, in the house of 1000 lakes are worthwhile. The nature experience center is Germany's largest aquarium landscape for native freshwater fish and offers an experience exhibition on the native forest, bird and water world.

At the beginning you cycle from Waren along the Müritz. This 117 km² large lake is the largest lake in Germany. Afterwards you will cycle on beautiful cycle paths through impressive forests to the island town of Malchow in the area of the Upper Lakes. Marvel at the swing bridge that connects the old town island with the mainland. It opens hourly to boat traffic and allows approximately 20,000 boats and passenger vessels to pass through each year. Seeing this award-winning structure in action is certainly a bit of a highlight. If you like, visit the Malchow Monastery Church, which is part of the Mecklenburg Organ Museum. If you climb the tower, you will be rewarded with a fantastic view over Malchow and the lakes. Your further cycling route also has a lot to offer. Through a varied landscape with mixed forest, meadow areas and forest clearings you cycle to Lake Fleesensee and Lake Plauer See, one of the large lakes of this fascinating vacation region. Look forward to the climatic health resort Plau with its picturesque old town and the 13.5 m high lighthouse. Take a stroll through Plau and discover the Renaissance town hall from 1888, the art treasures of the St.Marien town church and of course the Plau lift bridge, one of the most popular photo motifs of the town.

Today you leave the area of the Upper Lakes and cycle through the gently rolling river landscape of the Elde, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's longest river. The Elde connects the Mecklenburg Lake District with the Elbe River. Take a short break at Goldberger See and look forward to the Nossentiner-Schwinzer Heide Nature Park, which begins here. Vast forests, quiet lakes as well as numerous historic churches, monasteries and manor houses are the special characteristic of this nature park, which includes 60 lakes. Even white-tailed eagles and otters are at home here. Many are thrilled when they see a white-tailed eagle gliding over the lakes and forests. Through this fascinating natural landscape you cycle to the Barlach town of Güstrow. Now the culture is in the foreground. Let yourself be inspired by the old town worth seeing with its half-timbered houses and brick Gothic, with its imposing town houses, magnificent Renaissance buildings and the classicist town hall. Marvel at the castle from the 16th century. The town museum, galleries, hidden cafes and picturesque backyards also make a visit a special cultural treat, especially the Ernst Barlach Museum.

Today you will cycle gently up and down through the beautiful landscape of the Mecklenburg Switzerland Nature Park. Gentle hills, varied forests and old oaks characterize the image of the nature park. In many places you can discover ancient oaks as well as numerous resting cranes and geese in autumn and spring. Even all three native species of eagles (screaming, osprey and white-tailed eagle) have found a home in this nature park. From the 17th to the 19th century, the manor structure so typical for Northeast Germany had developed here. Representative manor houses, castles and farmsteads were built, often with impressive rural parks. In a good mood you cycle towards your destination of the day, the Reuterstadt Stavenhagen. Stavenhagen received the official honorary name Reuterstadt in 1949 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the death of the poet and writer Fritz Reuter. Worth seeing is not only the historic market place with the beautiful Reuter monument, but also the historic castle with park and castle wall and the town church built in brick Gothic style, which houses a lot of treasures.

Your cycling route takes you first to the Ivenacker Tiergarten. For 1,000 years, gnarled oaks have been growing here in a piece of forest near Stavenhagen, among them the oldest oaks in Germany. The oak tree, which is a good 35 meters high and has a trunk diameter of 3.50 meters, is probably around 1,000 years old. Visitors can admire the Ivenack oaks not only from the ground, but also from a height. A 620-meter-long treetop path runs through the giant trees at a height of about 20 meters. You will then cycle through the valley of the Tollense River towards Neubrandenburg, the largest city in the Mecklenburg Lake District. Look forward to the adventure city on Lake Tollense, which proudly bears the epithet 4-gate city. The medieval city fortification is a popular photo motif and invites you to a discovery tour. Let yourself be enchanted by the brick Gothic and by the 4 historical city gates (built from 1300 to shortly after 1450), which are worth seeing. These richly decorated city gates representatively document the prosperity of medieval Neubrandenburg.

South of Neubrandenburg stretches the Tollensesee. On the Seerundweg you cycle along the eastern shore of the lake, accompanied by mixed beech and oak forests, before the landscape changes and you cycle through open meadows and farmland. On your bike path to Neustelitz, you will encounter traces of the very popular Prussian Queen Luise in Hohenzieritz. In Hohenzieritz Castle, once the summer residence of the Dukes of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, a memorial today provides information about Queen Luise. Behind the castle stretches one of the earliest landscape gardens in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, created from 1771 by the English garden architect Thomson. You will then cycle along beautiful paths to Neustrelitz. Visit the palace garden, which is well worth seeing and was created as early as 1731/32. Marvel at the neo-Gothic castle church and the graceful west towers of the brick building.

Your last stage takes you back to the Müritz National Park. You cycle through extensive forests, along marshes and meadows. Look forward to this cycling route, because the forests, lakes and moors form a breathtaking scenery. The last ice age formed the Mecklenburg Lake District, a particularly charming landscape with hundreds of lakes and bogs. They are embedded in a hilly forest land. Its old beech trees give us an idea of what the former primeval beech forests looked like all over Germany. Today, the old tree giants and the dead beeches are home to many species of bats, insects and fungi. With a little luck, you may spot white-tailed eagles, ospreys or cranes. In order to protect the uniqueness of these forests, they were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2011. Look forward to the starting point of your bike tour, the spa town of Waren an der Müritz. Stroll through the town, which is well worth seeing, and take a stroll in the marina on the shores of the lake and thus enjoy your beautiful bike tour.

After breakfast it is time to say goodbye to the Mecklenburg Lake District. There is still much to discover here, so we will gladly book additional nights for you.