Lakes, gherkins and Sorbs - 6 stages on the Spreeradweg

In front of you is a beautiful and very varied bike path along the Spree, the longest tributary in Germany.It starts in Ebersbach, which you reach well by train. You can also start a bit closer to the source in Eibau, but there are fewer trains than in Ebersbach.Since the Spree rises at Kottmar at an altitude of 478 meters, you start with a gentle ascent, which ends with a crisp climb through the beech and spruce forest.After the descent, you still overcome the Lerchenberg, before you drive in Neugersdorf on Spreeborn over, the historic source at the confluence of the three Spreequellarme.Slightly hilly, the trail leads you along the Czech border and later through enchanting Sorbian villages. Several stone bridges span the Spree, which winds its way through the landscape in countless meanders.The most hilly stage of your journey ends in the historic capital of Upper Lusatia Bautzen, or Budyšin. From the Peace Bridge you have the most beautiful view of the well-preserved old town, which is dominated by the Michaelis Church and the Old Water Art, a former water supply structure. In addition to a large number of historical buildings, the Bautzen Memorial, which is reminiscent of the former prison, is one of the most important sights. A very special church you will find in the middle of the winding old town, the Petridom. Across the cathedral runs a grid that separates the Catholic and the Protestant part of the simultaneous church.

Today you have the longest leg of your journey in front of you, but on the whole much less gradients. Let's go over the Peace Bridge with a beautiful view of Bautzen, whose old town you are walking around on the Spree.Today is marked by countless lakes and ponds. Many of them are artificial, for instance to generate electricity, others are former lignite mines.Most artificial waters were renatured, part of which is the Biosphere Reserve Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft. In addition, the Upper Lusatia is a great recreational area, some with busy sandy beaches, usually with a typical for the region nudist area. But even if you are looking for a cooling off for yourself, you will find something off the bike path. There are enough lakes for everyone.The historic gem of your stage today is the Uhyst Castle. The neoclassical baroque mansion you look at the splendor of bygone times. Today, the enormous building is close to decay and for sale. Do you always dream of your own castle? Then you have every reason to daydream today.You continue on the Spree to Spremberg, or Grodk. Your milestone is not without reason the nickname "Pearl of Lusatia", because despite several destructions by fires, wars or failure to refurbish the historic old town on the Spreeinsel is worth seeing. But also the open-air stage and the castle on Schwanenteich are worth a detour.

Today you can expect a very beautiful route with well-developed bike paths. You see the Spree in different facets, such as north of Spremberg, where it is dammed to a large lake or in the afternoon in the Spreewald, where the Spree is transformed into a river labyrinth.Almost exactly halfway through your day's journey lies Cottbus, or Chóśebuz, which is ideal for a lunch break. Strolling through the city, you will discover interesting buildings of various eras, such as the Art Nouveau State Theater, baroque houses on the market, the 13th-century Spremberger Tower or the Soviet-futuristic Planetarium.You follow the Spree out of the city past the Spreewehrmühle. Slowly, the Spree begins to branch and more and more canals, swamps and ponds lie along the bike path: You have arrived in the Spreewald. But before that you can make a detour. The bike path on the Hammergraben leads you through a particularly beautiful pond landscape, the shore is dominated as a contrast to nature by a huge coal power plant.In the heart of the Upper Spreewald lies your milestone castle, or Bórkowy, known for the spa with medicinal spring water. Worth seeing is also the spa and legend park with sculptures from the Sorbian mythology.

The fourth stage of the Spreeradweg is all about the Spreewald. The Spreewald is very well known for the delicious cucumbers and the tourists who are driven by boat through the extensive system of canals.But the Spreewald can do more. It is also a Biosphere Reserve of UNESCO, which has set itself the goal of protecting the unique landscape. Forests, wet meadows, rivers and canals form a huge biotope, where around 18,000 animal and plant species feel at ease.In the small town of Lübben, with its worth seeing castle, the temporary reunification of countless spur arms takes place, before the Spree branches off again in the Unterspreewald and forms many small and large ponds.Sometimes on gravel, sometimes on asphalt, but always flat you snake your bike through the water-dominated landscape to Alt-Schadow, or Stary Škódow, a tranquil village at the northern end of the reserve, where your today's stage ends.

You have left the Spreewald and now drive through dense alluvial forests of the ever-widening Spree, which you cross more often today. In Leißnitz you do not do this over a bridge, but with the last hand-operated ferry in Brandenburg.To the left or right of the Spree, which has formed several lakes and a few branches, you drive to Beeskow, the gateway to the Niederlausitz. The place was badly damaged in the Second World War and gradually rebuilt. Today Beeskow shines again in medieval splendor.On the Spreeinsel in the center of the village stands the castle Beeskow. Today it is an educational center, but also houses a museum of art in the GDR, a regional museum with mediaeval magazine and torture cellar and a music museum.Through dense forests you follow the Spree and arrive after a total of almost 70 kilometers in Fürstenwalde. Many beautifully landscaped parks run through the city, which is nicknamed "Green City on the Spree".

At the end of your journey you follow the river loop of the river Spree to Erkner. Officially, you have arrived at the end of the Spreeradweg and can now board the train for Berlin.Optional extensionWe will show you a nice and interesting way to Köpenick. From here you are also quickly by train in the center of Berlin.On your last kilometers you make a round through the cottage settlement Klein-Venedig and drive on to Rahnsdorf with its pretty, small village center.Here you cross the Spree with the ferry F23, which runs every hour from Tuesday to Sunday. Or with the last rowing ferry of Germany, the line F24, which runs at the weekend. According to the timetable a crossing takes place once an hour, but if you wave the ferryman in his house, he will pick you up and bicycles will find space on the small rowboat.The grand finale of your trip is the trip around the Müggelsee, the very popular recreational area in the east of Berlin. Wonderful bike paths invite to explore and many beaches for swimming. Before you reach the station Köpenick, you drive through the old town and past the castle.If you want to continue to Spandau, where the Spree flows into the Havel, you can follow the European cycle path R1 and have erradelt thus the longest tributary of Germany from the source in Saxony to the mouth in Berlin.