In the middle of our hiking trip of the Pembrokeshire Coastal path in Wales after a large amount of pub food and large amount of beer (for me), I had a brilliant Schnapsidee*. We should bike from Berlin to Copenhagen with a stop in between on Bornholm to do some rock climbing. Turns out it wasn’t such a bad idea after all, because that’s just what we did! (and for once, I wouldn’t go on another terrible bike ride!)
Berlin to Oranienburg
On a chilly July morning, we set off from home with our bags packed with camping and climbing gear for the Berlin-Copenhagen bike trail (trail website). The trail officially starts at the Brandenburger Gate in the center of Berlin. Having ridden by there dozens of times and knowing that there are more than 650 kilometers of trail ahead of us, there was no convincing me to take an official commencement photo with the Gate.
At Plotzensee we met up with an offshoot of the main trail and rode along the canal. For being in the city center, I was really surprised at how nice the way is. We cycled close to Tegel airport and saw some very low planes take off and land. Then we rode by Tegeler See and northwards along the western shore of the Havel river through Hennigsdorf. Coming out of Berlin, much of the path follows the Berlin Mauerweg bike trail and then continuously crosses my blue dot on the 66-Lakes-Trail. It’s funny how I sometimes feel that all of Brandenburg looks the same, but I can distinctly pick out sections of trail I’ve hiked before.
Oranienburg
After a measly 46 km, I was already exhausted. We stopped in Oranienburg because the next campground would be at least another 25 kilometers. The campsite described in the cycling guide was at some kind of boat club or place for Wasserwanderer (water travelers). We found a boat house, but when I tried the two gates, both were locked. As we were discussing cycling to a caravan-only campsite a little further up, an elderly woman approached us asking if we were looking to get into the boat club. She was just passing by and was one of the few people who could sign us in and give us access to this exclusive campsite. The site is not even listed on the internet as having camping, nor was it on our additional bike map. What luck!
Since the day was still early, we rode a few kilometers to Oranienburg’s main attraction – Sachsenhausen. Sachsenhausen was a concentration camp from 1933 to 1945. Visiting itself is free, but for an extra €3 you can get a very informative audio guide. One part I liked visiting was the peaceful Waldfriedhof (forest cemetery) with memorials for specific people or groups who were victims of the camp.
In the evening we cooked our dinner under the pavilion next to our tent. There was only one other family camping there that evening, which is unique considering how massive commercial campsites can be in Europe. We saw some rats come up from the river while we were cooking and decided to hang up our food bags before going to bed to avoid any pesky invasions. In the morning we bumped into the kind old woman again, this time at the supermarket. While commiserating together about not being able to buy just one onion but a whole sack, the woman gave us one of her onions to take with us. Whatever you’ve heard about Germans being cold and unfriendly – forget it!
Oranienburg to Himmelpfort
Trying to bike out of Oranienburg, a man walking towards us yelled that the street was blocked. We passed him as we slowed to a stop and pulled out our guide book and map to see how we could make a detour. “Hallo, ich bin’s noch mal. Bombenentschärfung,” the man said as he now walked towards us again, but in the opposite direction. “Hi, it’s me again. Bomb deactivation.” Old undetonated bombs from WWII are routinely found in Germany. Neighborhoods are evacuated, the police come, and the bomb is deactivated. The man continued to explain how we could continue our bike tour and avoid the bomb. Another friendly German!
This section of trail was really enjoyable because we passed by so much water. Nearly the whole way from Zehdenick to Dannenwalde was on the same trail I had used to hike between the villages last fall. In the middle of the two is the Ziegeleipark. Once used for making bricks, this factory and neighboring fields are a museum for exhibits on the history of the brick industry and its influence on the building of Berlin. The pits where the clay was dug out of have now turned into the many surrounding ponds we had seen in the area creating a unique landscape.
Himmelpfort
After hitting our first few hills of the trip, we cycled into Himmelpfort, a small town right before Fürstenberg. Our campsite had a Christmas-y theme which made more sense once I found out that Himmelpfort is where the German version of Santa’s Post Office is. The toilet stalls were even named after Santas from different countries. Although this campsite was situated on the pretty Stolpsee, we didn’t enjoy it so much…but it could have been the competing non-stop crying babies. Yikes! (total props to those parents on bike tours though!)
Himmelpfort to Useriner Mühle (Neustrelitz)
Leaving Himmelpfort I thought we would finally enter some new-to-us territory. Turns out, we were again on a trail we had hiked before. It had been a much longer than expected, but lovely, hike from Fürstenberg to Stechlinsee to the Brandenburg-Mecklenburg border and back. I had forgotten that we had hiked a stretch of the Berlin-Copenhagen bike trail along the way.
Once we crossed the border into Mecklenburg-Vorpommern we left our hiking trails behind, but were now in a region we’ve paddled around. We first went over a set of locks we had kayaked through, then past the familiar towns of Wustrow, Canow, and Wesenberg. In Strasen we stopped at the local Hofgut (Manor House) and picked up some groceries (mostly homegrown and/or organic). There were idyllic stretches of forest to cycle through, but many were unpaved and sandy. After what seemed like an unending section of hills, we arrived at the Useriner Mühle, a less than two year old campsite overlooking a picturesque lake of the same name.
Neustrelitz
As if we hadn’t already ridden enough kilometers for the day, we took our empty bikes another 10 km (and then 10 km back) to Neustrelitz to try and find out some information about hiking in the Müritz National Park. We decided that we would take a one day detour to do some hiking in the area around Germany’s largest lake (the Müritz). Neustrelitz was worth the visit. The city was built up in the 18th century by the newly appointed dukedom which left behind a beautiful church and palace. We enjoyed a much deserved ice cream at the harbor overlooking the Zierker See before returning to camp.
There’s more to come on the next stretch of the Berlin-Copenhagen bike trail through Mecklenberg-Vorpommern , the first half of Denmark, and all the way to Copenhagen!
*Schnapsidee – I’ve always wanted to use that word! A Schnapsidee is an impractical (stupid) idea which seems wonderful while drunk.
Photo Credits: C.O. and myself
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