Micro-adventures on your doorstep: bikepacking in the Lake District and Mecklenburg Switzerland

After a few more kilometers through nature that is as lush as it is lovely, a real highlight awaits with Schloss & Gut Ulrichshusen on the lake of the same name. Far from the hustle and bustle, there is nothing but silence around this red-brick gem - interrupted only by the chirping of birds and the croaking of frogs. The house, which has been in the family for over 800 years, has a turbulent history to tell: It last burned down to the ground in 1987 for unknown reasons, was lovingly rebuilt in 1993 and reopened in 2001: With hotel rooms in the manor house, stables, castle, wheelwright's workshop and water mill, as well as vacation apartments, a restaurant and the concert barn. Top-class soloists and orchestras - from Anne-Sophie Mutter to Daniel Hope - perform here every year as part of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival.

From the castle, the three friends drive down small, terraced streets surrounded by quarry walls to Lake Malchin. Your gaze wanders over picturesque villages, pretty woods and fields; avenues of trees provide shade and air that seems freshly washed.

At the campsite in Dahmen, exhausted cyclists will find ideal conditions for a rest: right on the lakeshore, they can take a seat with an unobstructed panoramic view between young families taking their youngsters for a walk. Boats dock at the jetty, a signpost points in the direction of an observation tower.

And the detour there is worth it: from the elevated perspective of the stilt house on the western shore of the lake, there is nothing but nature. As far as the eye can see. „Wow,“ Sarah reads enthusiastically from the display board. „There in the reed beds and on the water are great crested grebes, blackcaps and lapwings, and even the endangered reed warbler, bluethroat and white-tailed eagle can be found here! ” Their twittering and whistling is a treat for ears stressed by the noise of the city. A tip for amateur ornithologists: In the fall, flocks of greylag geese, cranes as well as flowering and seed geese regularly rest at Lake Malchin.

The bikepacking tour continues in a relaxed manner through a lovely hilly landscape, taking you along quiet side roads with flowering fruit trees and white birch trees through the middle of Mecklenburg Switzerland. Or is it the countryside after all? A short stop on a hill between G&uumlitz and Gorschendorf could almost give you the idea: Because here, gently rolling meadows in lush greenery guide your gaze down to Lake Kummerow, the fourth largest lake in the state.

Parallel to the lake is the Peene Valley nature reserve, one of the most pristine river valleys in northern Germany. Vito, Thomas and Sarah enjoy a particularly good view of the widely ramified river landscape, which some call the »Amazon of the North«, from Himmelfahrtsberg near Upost. It has this name because a Protestant open-air church service is held here every year on Ascension Day. But on all other days too, anyone who struggles up the sandy dirt track can lean their gravel bikes against the summit cross and take a contemplative break with a fantastic view.