From Berlin to the Baltic Sea

In June 2022, when the days seem endless in the north, Anne-Marie and Jean Claude set off on a long cycling journey, first along Germany’s Baltic coast, then taking the train to Berlin and cycling back to Rostock along the famous Berlin–Copenhagen cycle route.

Here is the day-by-day account of part 2 of the journey: from Berlin to Rostock and the Baltic Sea.

You can also find Anne-Marie’s account of Germany’s Baltic coast in the Grand Angle magazine.

Why continue along the Berlin–Rostock route after 2 weeks on the Baltic coast? We had to get back to our car, and returning to Lübeck by train was not all that convenient. Looking more closely at the map, we realised that Berlin was not very far away, and that taking the train from the Polish border to Berlin was easy. The Rostock–Lübeck connection was easy too. That was all it took for us to decide to round off our exploration of the Baltic with the Berlin–Rostock route (the German section of the legendary Berlin–Copenhagen European cycle route), with a short stop in Berlin, of course.

Overall, the route follows the Grand Angle Berlin to Rostock cycling trip. Our verdict: this route is magnificent, but it will leave you wanting more unless you add a little time by the Baltic Sea. So follow our example, or cycle the full route from Berlin to Copenhagen.

Warensee © Anne-Marie Billault

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Zempin - Berlin

The train does not leave until 11 am. We spend the morning at the beach; the weather is already beautifully sunny and warm. An idyllic swim in a warm, calm sea, with an almost deserted beach.

Usedom Zempin © Anne-Marie Billault

An easy train journey to Berlin. From the Hauptbahnhof, we reach our hotel easily along the cycle paths.

Day 1 of cycling: Berlin – Oranienburg – Zehdenick, 39km

After 2 ½ days in Berlin, we resume our journey towards the Baltic Sea. We take the train at Potsdamer Platz, which is much easier than using the main station. A short half-hour train ride takes us to Oranienburg, a small provincial town where nothing happens… except that there used to be a concentration camp. We see groups of schoolchildren heading towards the memorial.

The day’s ride begins beside a lake; overall, it is very beautiful, intimate, charming and… wonderfully easy to cycle, with a few long straight stretches; it is a real motorway! The scenery alternates between light-filled natural oak and beech forests, pine plantations, cultivated fields and hedgerows, and reed beds. In the forest, the trees grow very tall; they stand quite close together and their trunks remain slender. For long stretches, we follow the Havel Canal, with locks allowing barges and pleasure boats to pass through.

Between Oranienburg and Zehdenick © Anne-Marie Billault

The riverbank is planted with fragrant lime trees in blossom and fringed with reeds and water lilies; kites circle overhead; benches dotted along the route invite us to stop for a romantic break. Zehdenick, our stop for the night, is a small, fairly working-class town with a rural feel, amid a network of rivers and lakes. On the outskirts, it has a small leisure harbour, a peaceful haven for a drink or dinner under the watchful eyes of the many ducks.

Zehdenick © Anne-Marie Billault

Day 2: Zehdenick – Neustrelitz, 87km

A wonderful day, with bright sunshine and beautiful scenery. We arrive tired but not exhausted. As for the cycle path, the surface remains excellent all the way to Fürstenberg; after that, some stretches are a little harder to ride, with a few climbs and descents. The stretches on shared roads are very quiet indeed.

Between Zehdenick and Neustrelitz © Anne-Marie Billault

The scenery remains picturesque, with a peaceful atmosphere and very few people around. This stage is heavily wooded, with pines, oaks and beeches, but never feels enclosed. There are fields and meadows with hunting hides along their edges, the lingering scent of lime blossom, and a few very peaceful villages. Our route is often surrounded by lakes, though we do not always realise it (from Fürstenberg onwards, we are in the Mecklenburg Lake District). A hare, unflappable common cranes, and an enormous, very old stork’s nest occupied by a stork and its chicks.

As for sights along the way: leaving Zehdenick, we pass through the forest and across the site of what was one of Europe’s largest brickworks in the 19th century. The enormous brick towers, rails and wagons have been preserved, and a museum has been created (the Germans are excellent at making the most of industrial sites that were ugly to begin with!).

Former brickworks © Anne-Marie Billault

Throughout the day, we often see enormous brick towers rising into the sky; it is impressive. Another place, far more powerful and deeply moving, lies just before Fürstenberg: Ravensbrück concentration camp (for women and children). The entrance to the memorial is just a little further on; we see a whole group of young people returning from it. The cycle path runs alongside the camp, which is clearly visible. In this idyllic natural setting. The image becomes etched in my mind, poignant and indelible.

Ravensbrueck © Anne-Marie Billault

Neustrelitz, our stop for the night, contrasts with the villages we have passed through so far: it is a small tourist town on the shores of 2 lakes. The houses are smart, and the square is enormous and very beautiful. We spend part of our evening watching the birds on the lake in the setting sun: geese, ducks, grebes, moorhens and their young.

Neustrelitz

Neustrelitz © Anne-Marie Billault

Day 3: Neustrelitz - Waren, 65km

The most beautiful stage of the route. We are in the heart of the Lake District. Woodland stretches alternate with fields and meadows, always amid water that we cannot always see, but whose presence is palpable.

Lake at Mueritz © Anne-Marie Billault

The section of the route that crosses the national park is absolutely beautiful: we feel far away from everything, right in the heart of nature. In a meadow, a flock of wild geese, and right beside them, a flock of common cranes; they all ignore us completely. A little further on, some deer; a hare watches us calmly before crossing the track. The terrain makes for fairly easy riding, with a fun succession of short climbs and descents; we hardly meet anyone. Here, the farms are enormous and built entirely of brick, as are most of the houses; we pass through villages where we struggle to find an open café…

Mueritz National Park © Anne-Marie Billault

Müritz National Park © Anne-Marie Billault

We eventually find one in Ankershagen, where the waitress is French-German. She describes Lake Mühlensee as a little paradise on earth. It is only 2,7km away, but back the way we came… We give it a miss. Fellow cyclists, bear it in mind; apparently the water is warm!

A few less interesting stretches run alongside busier roads, but we soon forget them. The stage ends at the northern tip of Lake Müritz, Germany’s largest inland lake, in Waren: an elegant tourist resort with a large marina. The contrast with the rest of the stage is even greater than yesterday.

Waren © Anne-Marie Billault

Our hotel is on the shores of a small lake just to the north, the Tiefwarensee. An idyllic swim in warm, fresh water, alongside swans and ducks.

Tiefwarensee © Anne-Marie Billault

Day 4 Waren – Güstrow, 70km

We set off early to avoid the heat. Today, the scenery is much like that of the previous days: more forests, more meadows and fields, more lakes; still the scent of lime trees, common cranes, herons, geese… few lively villages or cafés! Yet we never tire of it; we drift along in this atmosphere of being a little apart from the world.

At Lake Krakower See, we meet a small group of Swiss travellers, fellow Grand Angle guests: a friendly, warm encounter. Our arrival along the shores of Lake Inselsee comes as a surprise. There is a designated beach, and huge numbers of people are swimming: we join them, and it is an absolute delight. Once dry, we carry on to our lakeside hotel, a little before the town.

As for the terrain, this stage is hilly, and the track through the forest is not always easy to ride, with sandy ground and some cobbles. But we make up for it on the roads, where we fly along through a succession of climbs and descents.

Day 5: Güstrow – Rostock, 60 km

We ride through Güstrow early in the morning; it is quite a beautiful town. Its large castle in the heart of the square is undergoing extensive renovation, but is covered with trompe-l’œil sheeting that looks just like the castle’s actual façade.

Leaving the town, we soon reach the Güstrow – Bützow canal, which we follow… all the way to Bützow! The scenery is beautiful and peaceful, just as you would expect along a canal: the water is partly covered with water lilies and duckweed, and the banks are lined with reeds, alders and lime trees, with sweeping views across the meadows. The track, surfaced with concrete slabs, is only moderately easy to ride.

From Bützow to Rostock, this stage is not particularly interesting, except that it really is very easy going: pedalling is a pleasure. Getting into Rostock is very straightforward. Sightseeing and an evening in Rostock.

This journey from Berlin to the Baltic Sea comes to an end! Tomorrow, we will take the train to Lübeck. We were worried about the rather tight connection when changing trains at Bad Kleinen: no problem at all, there are only 2 tracks, and it is just across the platform!

Our drive back from Lübeck to Méaudre will take place on a Monday and Tuesday: avoid German motorways on Mondays, especially major routes such as the one we took (Hamburg – Frankfurt - Basel); the motorways are in poor condition, many have roadworks, and the volume of heavy goods traffic is almost unbearable.

How about extending your cycling trip along the Baltic coast?

If the ride from Berlin to Rostock leaves you wanting more, the Berlin–Copenhagen route continues towards Denmark. Another option is to follow the German Baltic coast from Lübeck towards Stralsund, Rügen or Usedom. Check current transport and accommodation arrangements before planning an extension.