Temperatures are steadily dropping close to zero this week, but there is no snow in Berlin/Brandenburg yet and this weekend is forecasted to be sunny. So if you’re up for a challenge, grab your bike and embark on this trip to nature, perfect for autumn (as briefly mentioned in my previous post) because you can easily complete it in 3-4 hours. Anyway, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing!
The Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve is located north-east of Berlin not far from the German-Polish border and, according to its official website, home to 240 lakes and numerous moors and meadows. One of the largest protected areas in Germany, the reserve provides ample space for social distancing, whether you’re on a bike or a hike. The region is under the protection of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme.
J and I went on a 37-km bike ride in the Uckermark & Barnim part of the reserve at the end of September, shortly after we came back from our week-long Via Claudia Augusta & Innradweg trip. We still owned a car back then, so we loaded our bikes into the car and headed to Kerkow, Angermünde where we wanted to check out an eco-farm before cycling. If you wanna take public transport, though, you could hop on a regional train to Chorin and cycle to the reserve from there (which I did in summer a couple of years ago). There’s even a bike rental conveniently located at the Chorin train station, so you don’t have to take your bike on the train if you wanna avoid the hassle.
The farm that we visited in Angermünde is called Gut Kerkow, which I recently found out has a butcher shop in Berlin-Mitte. It might be worth a visit this time of the year if you plan to cook proper Christmas dinner, because they offer all sorts of premium meat from goose to Angus beef. The farm in Kerkow has a store selling regional and organic products as well as a tiny cafe offering coffee and cake, which I enjoyed during the trip.
If you take the train to Chorin, there’s also an eco-farm you can cycle to, the Ökodorf Brodowin. The farm is a large supplier of organic products in Berlin and Brandenburg, so if you live here I’m sure you’d recognise the brand. A must-do activity in its eco-village is to either make a round on your own or take part in one of the guided tours. Once you’re done visiting the farm, which also has a store and a cafe, continue your bike trip along one of the paths listed on their website.
Caffeine-charged, we left our car in Kerkow and cycled to the Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve along this route. There are apple trees lining the streets and we were fortunate to have caught the tail end of the season.
If you’re lucky, you can spot some eagles, too. We however spotted a deer instead.
A lovely brick house in the village of Altkünkendorf.
… and a bare shelf where you could grab used books for EUR 1 each and a jar of homemade jam.
You could see on this map some of the numerous lakes in the region.
We spotted some cows grazing near Grimnitzsee, which is actually not a very common sight in Brandenburg (compared to Bavaria, for example).
The landscape of the Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere reserve was formed during the last ice age, and if you’re interested in this topic you could visit the EIS-ZEIT exhibition in Groß-Ziethen.
Since we didn’t have much time, though, we skipped the exhibition and harvested some apples instead. There were plenty that have fallen off their trees.
Spotted some birds flying in a V formation. Maybe they were migrating to the south before winter starts?
I didn’t take many pictures of the bike path but it’s only paved and smooth one-third of the trail (you can see it more clearly in my video). The rest of the time it was pretty bumpy, gravelly or sandy, so better leave your fixie at home!
Beautiful sunset behind me.
We rode past a meadow of these pretty purple flowers but I don’t know what they are. Definitely not lavender.
We reached Angermünde again just after sunset, loaded our bikes back into the car, then it was a short drive back to Berlin.
Watch the highlights of our ride here.
Key stats and stops
Distance traveled: 37 km
Total ascent: 198 m
Total descent: 197 m
Max altitude: 119 m
Terrain: 30% paved and smooth (tarmac/asphalt), cobblestone in the villages, gravel & sand in between. Minor increase in altitude between Altkünkendorf and Grumsin, otherwise flat typical of Brandenburg.
Bike guide: My personal loop starting in Kerkow, Angermünde on Bikemap, plus you can check out other trails on the Schorfheide portal, Angermünde tourism site or Brodowin website
Eco-farm: Gut Kerkow on Greiffenberger Str. 8, 16278 Angermünde
Eco-village: Ökodorf Brodowin on Brodowiner Dorfstraße 89, 16230 Chorin OT Brodowin
Bike rental: LandRad Fahrradverleih Chorin on Choriner Bahnhofstraße 2, 16230 Chorin
Ice age exhibition: Besucher- und Informationszentrum Geopark Groß Ziethen on Zur Mühle 51, 16247 Ziethen
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