Sunday, 4.7.
The day of depart has come and we heartily say farewell to the Müllers, who not only have been extremely hospitable but moreover provided a respectable entertainment programme. We would like to return to Malchow one day, it is not far from our home.
 Schloß Klink |
On some cobblestone roads we reach the Klink. There is another castle with a phantastic view high above the Müritz. But the buildings are unused and wait for better times. A biker couple with brand new bikes comes up and we have a chat. The woman says "This is the romance of spider webs". The path leads along the shore of the Müritz for a while but then it gets too impassable and we turn to a comfortable road towards Röbel. This is a nice town at an side branch of the Müritz. In the next village Ludorf there is an old church with an octagonal floor plan built of brickstone.
 Church at Ludorf |
 Müritz |
The city of Mirow is not so interesting, along the main street there are smaller houses in grey. The castle is restaurated and it will last some time until it will be completed. Besides of the church at the castle there is jacked up the skeleton of the new built top of the tower. You will see this from a greater distance usually. The lake is named Mirower and Kotzower See and is stretched to the north. We have not the time to wander as far as the countryside would invite to do.
Beneath the window of our room there is the terrace of the Cafe. For my face is still sunburnt I put off my spectacles - titanium frame, bifocal and super reflected - and deposit them at the window sill. I then use a after sun cream to do something good to my skin. And when I am ready I turn back from the mirror and cannot find my glasses, they have disappeared. And the window is closed though it was open before...
Eventually I recognize what had happened. The wind has closed the window and this has pushed my glasses out. So I must get my spare glasses and go outside to search. The Cafe terrace is rather occupied and soon the people look at this crazy guy who creeps around among the bushes. At last I find myself nearly standing on the lost spectacles. They are intact, so I immediately put them on my nose and pass the astonished cafe guests trying to act in a cool manner.
As we consume our dinner we observe a special guest who obviously looks for a stop-over of a busparty. This gentleman is also very cool and drinks one beer after the other at the expense of the restaurant's owner.
Monday 5.7.
At the next morning we have a chat with the owner. He comes from Thüringen and tells, that they will start to increase the reminiscent atmosphere of the house in respect to the surrounding buildings of the castle etc.
Today we ride at another jewel of landscape, the lakeland between Neustrelitz and Rheinsberg. There are lots of small lakes which seem to dream among the forests. They are nearly all combined together which offers many possibilities for canoeists. The roads are not so good, lonesome and sandy. Sometimes we have to push the bikes. Near Fleth at the Vilzsee there is an old saw mill. The paddle wheel is in the inner house and to be seen through the windows. I take a photo of the lake covered by waterlilies.
 Lake with Waterlilies |
 Schloß Rheinsberg |
 Der Stechlinsee |
|
 In Gransee |
The background is: The popular Prussian Queen Luise Auguste Wilhelmine Amalie von Preußen died on the 19th July, 1810 near Neustrelitz. During the night of the 25th July the coffin was set up on this place at Gransee and so the famous architect Schinkel designed this monument here.
Tuesday, 6.7.
The last stage of our tour will lead from Gransee to Berlin. We pass hamlets with funny names like Kraatz-Buberow, Kleinmutz or Zehdenick. Then we get lost in the local forests. As we stick deep in any sandy path some men who are looking for mushrooms can help us to declare the route towards Krewelin. They had no luck with their mushrooms likewise so they say "Then we go for fishing". We then ride at the border to the big forest Schorfheide parallel to a canal. We reach Liebenwalde and enter a baker's shop.
 Sachsenhausen |
There were prominent persons set in solitary or under arrest without any light (Dunkelhaft) for months or even years. The cameras of the visitors click. We are meditative if the humanity will ever learn from cruelties in the past. We don't think so if we look for an opinion about present times.
At Oranienburg we are swallowed by the busy traffic of the large city. We soon give up to cycle any more as we get lost within a canal, an Autobahn and a training area for dogs. We head for the S-Bahn at the station Birkenwerder. At Berlin we have friends and are announced by phone. We purchase the tickets and then enter the next train. Eventually we detect, that we had to stamp the tickets at the station. So the rest of the ride is somewhat thrilling but it ends without a desaster.
As we meet our friends, the family of Werner M. the biketour is over. We have two additional days for Berlin, Heidi was not there since her school days.
Wednesday, 7.7.
Today we want to go to Berlin-Mitte, that is the center located at the other side of the wall during DDR-times. First we look at the famous shopping promenade Kudamm and wonder about the meanwhile notorious conquest of shopping areas by big concerns like H&M, C&A, Peek & Cloppenburg and others ending with Mc Donalds. The old fashioned Cafe Kranzler looks like a foreign matter therein.
 Europacenter |
We then get the photos except one film which would not work (I got these photos later by mail). Meanwhile the wheather is so ugly that we are glad that we had not to cycle today. We ride to "Unter den Linden". Beneath the lime trees there is rain and we enter a cafe. As we leave the cafe it continues to rain.
We pass the Brandenburger Tor, some years ago a historic act, meanwhile nothing spectacular. Now we flee from the rain into the Reichstag, finally we pay for the restauration activities of this building with our tax. There is a large exhibition about the history of Germany. The themes are (in German): Mittelalter, Preußen, Sturm- und Drang- und Kaiserzeit, Weimarer Republik, Nationalsozialismus and Weltkriege, Trümmerfrauen and Wirtschaftswunder, at last the Wiedervereinigung, which had happened at the balcony of this very building.
We then visit the Alexanderplatz. The wind blows around the corners. In front of a shoe-shop the rolling shoe racks start to sail away. The trademen at the streets have covered their stuff with canvas and will sell nothing.
We stumble into the next exhibition "Der Traum vom anderen Deutschland" at the Marienkirche. The theme of this exhibition is Nationalsozialismus and Holocaust. So we have absolved a good amount of cultural events, Sachsenhausen yesterday and the two exhibitions today. As if he would know about this fact a reporter with a microphone comes up and asks for our impressions. Here you can say it again, who has learnt anything if you look around in the world. We argue if we would to be heard in the radio one day.
Now we head for the cathedral. This has just reopened some days ago after a longish restauration. The organ is played. The echo shall cover several accords they say. But therefore the accustics are somewhat spongy. We hear the organ music like a steady roaring. Everything else is brand new and needs some dust and patina to look reminiscent again. But the sarcophargus arrangement of the first Prussian kings looks old. But we cannot say if there is something in them.
 Berliner Dom |
The Pergamon Altar is in the first hall of the museum. The figures of the altar look like a great puzzle with many absent parts. You can get famous at once if you find a new part of the puzzle anywhere in the world. The part will then given your name and been added to the puzzle. Then there is a big gate from Babylonian times (Processional Way) built by blue glazed clinkers. They are reassembled from fragments and this must be a boring piece of work. As well a floor mosaic from Roman times. Soon one get fed with cultural peciuliarities. The Islam section contains old carpets which look like drawn from a water puddle. At last I knock at one of the Pergamon sculptures to prove if they are hollow. Immediately someone shoots around the corner and with twinkling eyeglasses spits out "Don't touch anything".
 Dummy of the Schloß |
 Framework |
At the end of our Berlin tour we have a look to the legendary artist's quarter Kreuzberg. We await small shops, antique sellers and a scenic atmosphere. We ask a young man, where we could find this all. He doesn't understand. "Watch your pockets" he says. A young girl comes up to help us. We should walk straight down the street, there will be lots of shops, pubs and things like that. OK, the shops are mostly Turkish greengroceries. The pubs are gloomy and some individuals hang around. We better go back and are somewhat disappointed.
Thursday, 8.7.
At this day we will visit Potsdam. We take the bikes with us which is no problem in the S-Bahn. In Potsdam we hit the B1 - this long road across Germany - again. But then we dive into the big park of Sancoussi - cycling not allowed. But we don't care and no one else does. The Neues Palais is recently renovated. At each entrance as there are theatre, staircase hall or toilet they are charging for entrance fee. We enter the cafe without a fee. Facing mirrors, marble walls and old paintings we sip our coffee.
 Neues Palais |
 Stealer |
 Windmill |
 Sanssouci |
 Römische Bäder |
 Chinesisches Teehaus |
 Holländer-Viertel |
 Cecilienhof |
We look at the pretty park formed by the landscape garden designer Peter Josef Linne. He even has generated some hills for the cyclist. We then pass the famous Glienicker Brücke. This was the place where they changed the agents during the cold war period.
On the rest of the way back to a S-Bahn station we nearly get lost. But finally we are back at our friends, put on the baggage and say farewell. More than one week we have stayed between Magdeburg and Berlin, the way back lasts some hours only.
Addendum
Every reader of our story about Mecklenburg/Brandenburg will have seen, that there are a lot of somewhat funny names in these regions. I was very delighted to find the verse of a poem named "Havelland" by the poet Theodor Fontane in reference to this fact (translation not possible):
Und an dieses Teppichs blühendem Saum
all die lachenden Dörfer, ich zähle sie kaum;
Linow, Lindow,
Rhinow, Glindow,
Beetz und Gatow,
Dreetz und Flatow,
Bamme, Damme, Kriele, Krielow,
Petzow, Retzow, Ferch am Schwielow,
Zachow, Wachow, und Groß Behnitz,
Marquardt-Uetz an Wublitz Schlänitz,
Senzke, Lentzke und Marzahne,
Lietzow, Tietzow und Reckahne,
und zum Schluß in dem leuchtenden Kranz:
Ketzin, Ketzühr und Vehlefanz.