Mecklenburg Lakes

The Mecklenburg Lakes district is Germany's great inland sea — a flatland of extraordinary beauty where more than 1,000 lakes are linked by rivers, canals, and wetlands across a former glacial plain. The 180-kilometre route from Rheinsberg to Plau am See passes through the heart of this lake district, connecting the elegant Baroque palace at Rheinsberg, the wooded shores of the Müritz (Germany's largest inland lake at 117 square kilometres), and the charming lakeside town of Waren — all in a landscape so flat and watery that you sometimes lose track of where the land ends and the water begins.

Rheinsberg was the childhood home of Frederick the Great of Prussia, who spent years here before ascending the throne and transforming it into one of Europe's greatest 18th-century palaces. The young Frederick played music, studied philosophy, and formed the intellectual character that would later define his remarkable reign. The Baroque palace on the lakeside is modest by palace standards but beautifully proportioned, and the park around it is among the finest landscape gardens in northern Germany. The town of Rheinsberg retains an aristocratic calm that is a pleasant contrast to the rest of Brandenburg.

The route north from Rheinsberg passes through Neustrelitz — a planned Baroque town built as the capital of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, its streets radiating from a central church in a classic star pattern — before reaching the Müritz National Park. This is the largest national park in the German lowlands: 310 square kilometres of ancient lake and forest landscape where white-tailed eagles nest, ospreys circle, and common cranes gather in their hundreds of thousands during autumn migration. The Müritz itself is immense — on its western shore near Waren, the distance across the water is too great for the far shore to be visible, creating the illusion of standing at the Baltic Sea.

Waren an der Müritz is the route's most rewarding town: a well-preserved historic centre with Gothic church and half-timbered buildings directly on the water, with restaurants serving freshly caught Zander (pike-perch) and Hecht (pike) from the lake. The local fish-smoking tradition produces particularly fine results, and the harbour offers boat trips and canoe hire. From Waren, the route continues west through a string of smaller lakes to Plau am See, a picturesque town with a medieval castle ruin and direct lake access.

For van drivers, this is an unqualified joy. The roads through the lake district are almost perfectly flat — this was a sea floor as recently as 10,000 years ago and has barely had time to wrinkle. Engine temperatures stay low, fuel consumption is minimal, and the roads are quiet enough that the pace naturally slows to match the herons fishing in the roadside ditches. Campgrounds throughout the Mecklenburg Lakes are exceptional: most are directly on the water, with private jetties, boat hire, and evening light on the lake that is hard to describe without sounding sentimental. Wild camping is possible in some forest areas but check local regulations.