Mother and daughter on tour together

We are on the 680-kilometre Berlin-Copenhagen long-distance cycle route. As occasional and leisure cyclists, Franzi and I have planned seven days for the German section of the route. It leads to Warnemünde, where the ferry to Denmark departs. The cycle route is known as "green-blue" because it winds its way through natural landscapes and along the water. At least as soon as you leave Berlin-Mitte behind you. The start at the Brandenburg Gate also had its charm: when we hung up our panniers there early in the morning and adjusted our helmets, we were the only long-distance cyclists, but not the only cyclists. From all sides, helmeted men in suits, women from the capital in Birkenstocks and young fathers on cargo bikes whizzed through the gateways, fast and purposeful, while the Victory Column glittered golden in the background. It was an exciting, urban start to our rural tour.

And now Brandenburg. After a stop at Oranienburg Palace, we drive along quiet avenues, through idyllic villages dotted with ancient brick churches and past rapeseed fields of such rich yellow that I would love to jump into them. In Mildenberg Brickworks Park, now an industrial museum with an adventure park, we wind our way between the disused ring kilns and have a picnic on the banks of the Havel. Later, we get dessert in the form of chocolates in the small town of Himmelpfort, which not only has a real chocolaterie, but also a Christmas post office where Santa Claus receives letters from thousands of children every year. By post, of course. "You never told me about that when I was little," complains Franzi.  "You're from Bavaria," I justify myself. "You had the Christ Child."

But we don't let predatory fish scare us. We also enjoy swimming in Lake Jabel again. Just like later in Lake Krakow, where we sit for a long time afterwards and talk about the future in the evening twilight before pushing our bikes over the cozy cobblestones of the old town to our hotel. Spending the night is easy on the tour; there is no shortage of hotels, inns and guesthouses along the way. Between our dips in the cool water, we also cycle a little; it's just too beautiful in this Nordic landscape, where resin-scented coniferous forests alternate with rolling fields. The sky arches higher and higher above us, light pours over the land and I get a glimpse of the Baltic Sea.
"I love all the water here," says Franzi happily in Güstrow. The sea is still a good 50 kilometers away, but we cycle along an "island lake", a "Pfaffenteich" and a river called Nebel to our cultural destination today: the Gertrudenkapelle.

Güstrow is the town of Ernst Barlach

Some of the most important sculptures by the great sculptor are on display in the Gothic Gertrudenkapelle. We gaze silently at the "Reading Monastery Student", the "Doubter" and the "Pietà", immersing ourselves in the human emotions that Barlach carved out of wood and plaster. The Expressionist lived in Güstrow for 30 years, where he is said to have been inspired by the local brick Gothic architecture as well as the rural population of Mecklenburg.

We also like the people here. "Everyone is so uncomplicated and open and makes great things," Franzi noted when we visited the "Manufaktur Löwenzahn" in the Nossentiner/Schwinzer Heide nature park. Anja Bayler not only sells homemade syrups, herbal teas and fruit vinegars, but also serves us warm yeast plait and delicious wild plum jam in her romantic garden. A few kilometers further on, we marvel at the "Gutshaus Linstow", which Thorsten Dietzel and Franziska Hesse have transformed into a casually chic vacation paradise with lots of contemporary art, where we would have loved to book in straight away.

But we want to go further. We want to go to the sea. To Rostock, where towering harbour cranes tell of the Baltic Sea, and then the last few kilometers to Warnemünde. There we stand on the western pier, let a strong sea breeze blow around our noses and watch the ferry sail away towards Denmark. Next year, we'll be on board too. And cycle on to Copenhagen.

But for now, we're going for a swim.