Bernhard Gruner is actually just a newcomer. Nevertheless, the 1972 Olympian doesn't take any offence at his adopted home in north-west Brandenburg. On our tour through the Ruppiner Land region, the former railway specialist trumpets into the silence almost every hundred metres: "A lake on the right, a lake on the left. Pure nature, it's just a dream!" When asked which lake he is talking about, the 67-year-old usually has to answer in the negative. "Gosh," he says, "I don't know, there are so many."
There are a lot of them, that's true - and that's what makes the landscape so attractive. The region north of Neuruppin is the area with the most water in Germany. A labyrinth of glistening lakes, meandering rivers and dead-straight canals. The region is also known as "Brandenburg's blue north". This slightly hilly lake landscape was formed during the last ice age.
You can find the complete travel report with these tours as a PDF download below:
- Tour 1: Forest and water (120 kilometres, 560 metres in altitude, max. 6 % gradient)
- Tour 2: Forest and meadows (117 kilometres, 340 metres in altitude, max. 4 % gradient)
