Per Pedales from Müritz to the Baltic Sea

We didn't actually have a specific route in mind and therefore didn't plan anything properly in advance. Despite this reckless approach, we were highly motivated to start our cycling adventure in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern at the Müritz harbor in Rechlin, on a beautiful summer day. Apart from the starting point, the only given conditions were the destination - Greifswald - and the arrival day, July 31.

So after a hearty breakfast at Captain's Inn, we began our journey by circumnavigating the southern part of the Müritz. The first part from Rechlin, through Viperrow, to Röbel on the Müritz circular route was one of the most beautiful sights we had ever seen on a bike. We passed through charming little villages, rode past endless golden wheat fields, and occasionally took detours along a field path where we would come across a lady with an easel trying to capture the wonderful landscape on canvas. The town of Röbel itself is a gem with its historic old town and beautiful lake areas. Along the circular route along the Müritz, there are also lovely bathing spots with well-maintained camping sites and cozy guesthouses. Along the way, there are numerous cyclist pit stops, big and small, each one more beautiful than the last. However, I suspected that towards the end of our day's stage, when we would be really thirsty, this offer would probably thin out, unfortunately, and that turned out to be true.

After a few kilometers along the Müritz, we left the Müritz circular route and chose a direct route to Malchow, our next stop, due to the late hour. Unfortunately, the bike path network away from the well-known routes (such as the Müritz circular route and the Berlin-Copenhagen long-distance cycle path) is not yet continuous, which meant that we had to ride several kilometers on heavily trafficked main roads. In Malchow, we took our next break and quenched our growing thirst. Malchow is located between the Fleesen and Plau lakes and is the center of the local holiday region. We had already been here 8 years ago in spring, when it was cold and quite deserted. How different the town appeared now... bustling street cafes and beer gardens, and people strolling everywhere, pure Mediterranean flair.

Considering the heat, we decided to make a detour to the Plau lake, where we enjoyed a wonderfully cooling swim in the clear water of this large lake. In the entire lake region, there are countless bathing areas, which are practically all freely accessible and well-maintained. Once cooled down, we decided to push ourselves for another 30 km to Krakow am See, which turned out to be quite a laborious affair. It's best to rely exclusively on the map and choose the bike routes marked on it. Although they may be longer in some cases, they avoid main roads. And Google Maps is not always up to date in the Mecklenburg Lake District, so we were led promisingly onto a field path that ended up leading nowhere. In the end, we pedaled about 15 km on a main road that was fortunately only sparsely frequented at this time, in a straight line through an endless forest, and the only variation was the smell of a decomposing deer carcass lying in the roadside ditch. And the increasing headwind, which always seemed to come from the front, didn't make the endeavor any more enjoyable.

So we arrived in Krakow am See, sweaty, tired, and somewhat dehydrated, after 7:00 PM and immediately tackled our next problem - accommodation. Online, there was simply nothing available within a radius of at least 15 km, and an additional stage was definitely not an option anymore. After being turned away by two hotels, luck was finally on our side at the third (and last) place. We owed this to the fact that guests had made reservations but had not arrived by 7:00 PM and were also not reachable by phone. We expressed our gratitude. The story was less funny for the receptionist when the missing guests suddenly appeared half an hour after our hostile takeover and caused a commotion.

The hotel is run or leased by two Lithuanian women, which was also reflected in the menu. The cold borscht soup was just the right thing after such a day. We were lucky in this respect as well, as all other restaurants had already closed their shutters at 9:00 PM. The Seehotel, a rather stylish place with a beautiful lakeside terrace, not only closed at 10:00 PM but didn't even have its lights on anymore, creating an almost eerie atmosphere in the town. High season and everything fully booked? The Mediterranean feeling we had absorbed in Malchow had completely vanished. It wasn't too bad though, as we were quite tired after over 80 km and were looking forward to the first night in a hotel bed after a week in a cabin on a boat.