The best cycling routes around Groß Kreutz (Havel)

Always nice rolling on the clean dike asphalt.

Buddhism, specifically Mahayana Buddhism, has the largest following in Vietnam. This branch of Buddhism is also practiced in Schenkenberg. The Phuc Lam Pagoda sees itself as an open house for other religions and a cultural meeting place. Among other things, it offers meditation courses for everyone. Since my last visit, the garden has been beautifully tended, and work is being done diligently in the temple.

After years without any visible progress, a successful exhibition facility was built in 2015 and 2016 in the heart of Schenkenberg on the site of the former telegraph station, a lasting landmark for the entire town. Indispensable for this were the highly dedicated instigator Wolfgang Groch and a large number of selfless volunteers who lent their hands intensively and donated substantial sums of money.

There are paths that don't just lead from A to B, but right into the middle of slowing down. The Havel Cycle Path between Phöben and Ketzin is one such path. No inclines, no road noise, no pressure to speed. Just the river to your left, the reeds whispering in the wind, and the sky stretching far over the Havelland like a forgotten promise. You start in Phöben, where time already seems to slow down. The asphalt strip winds gently through the greenery, accompanied by birdsong and the gentle bubbling of the Havel. You cycle past small piers where boats doze and trees lean into the river like old friends. If you're lucky, you might encounter herons standing on the banks like monuments, or the wind painting the water in silvery patterns. In between: a bench overlooking the water – not spectacular, but perfect. A place to breathe. To simply sit. And marvel. Depending on your mood and the weather, you can drift to the ferry in Ketzin. Those who like it can cross over; those who don't can continue along the Havel River towards Brandenburg. There's no wrong decision, just quiet kilometers that quietly etch themselves in your memory. The Phöben–Ketzin section is neither a sporting highlight nor an adventure trail. But if you cycle attentively, you'll quickly notice: Here, the simple becomes an event. And the Havel flows quietly along with you.

There are cycle paths that lead somewhere. And then there are those that simply lead through – through a piece of landscape that doesn't impose itself, but rather invites you. The cycle path through the reed meadows is one of those. On the left the reeds, on the right the reeds, in between the sky, a few trees, and a smooth strip of asphalt like something out of a textbook for cycling pleasure. The path stretches in a straight line between waterways and meadows; sometimes you cycle in thought, sometimes you just keep going. Suddenly the Havel appears, wide, blue, quiet. It smells of summer, even though it isn't. And somewhere in the greenery a heron stands and watches us.

Anyone cycling through the Havelland region on a hot summer day will eventually feel the need to simply immerse themselves – literally. Between the Götzer Berge and the Havel riverbanks, a small paradise opens up: the Deetzer Erdelöcher (Deetz Earth Holes). A landscape of former gravel pits that have soaked up water and now lie so quiet, as if they had never wanted to be anything else. The bathing area isn't an open-air pool with chips and noise – it's a strip of sand bordered by reeds, a small gateway to infinity. The water is clear, the bottom soft, and when you arrive in the morning, it's as if you're submerging your first thought of the day in the water. Hardly anyone is around, no noise, no music – just nature, a few dragonflies, and the quiet jubilation of summer, which here still knows what time can feel like when you don't let it be taken away.

The Havel Cycle Path isn't a cycle path. It's a promise. To open spaces. To light. To slowness. Those who entrust themselves to it between Schmergow and Deetz are served a picture-perfect slice of Brandenburg: smooth as a board, empty as a promise, beautiful as a Sunday. To the right, Lake Trebelsee glitters, to the left, horses stretch out on lush green pastures. In between, you glide along on a finely paved path – so straight, so serene that even your thoughts eventually start rolling. Every now and then, a rider, a herd of goats, or a boat on the Havel. Everything seems to be moving, but nothing is in a hurry. If you want, you can stop. There are plenty of reasons: viewpoints, rest areas, swimming spots. Or the small café in Schmergow, where the ice cream tastes of forest and summer, and the potato soup tastes like home. And if you run out of courage or the desire, the train station in Groß Kreutz or Götz is less than ten minutes away. But most of the time, you don't want to leave. Because it's quiet here. And peaceful. And beautiful. And because you know: the next sunset over the Havel is sure to come.

The Havel isn't a river that boasts – it tells a story. In gentle curves, in quiet bays, in interplay with reeds, herons, and those tiny moments when you disappear as a person and reappear as part of the landscape. The cycle path doesn't follow it, it accompanies it. Past Prussian heritage whispering between the treetops, past disused brickworks that give more space to the wind than to stone. And then this water: sometimes vibrating silvery, sometimes rough against the west wind – always there, always unique. Those who cycle here don't just pedal, but also enter a gently meandering in-between world where even thoughts are allowed to change direction.