Today we made an early start at 7.30am – which was just as well as it got very hot later on. In all we rode 89km from Shonewalde to Burg in the Spreewald.

Most of the journey was along straight flat roads, alongside wheat fields – with wind farms looming on the horizon every now and then.
We passed through many small villages and some bigger towns. Starting off we took a route through Weizen, Meinzdorf, Herbersdorf, Ihlow – to the first biggish town Dahme – where we got a pastry from the Lidl supermarket for our breakfast. This old town had great cycling infrastructure, with bike paths built alongside some of the cobbled streets. There were quite a number of older people out on their bicycles doing their morning shopping.

Shortly after Dahme we got onto a good bicycle route that gave us a short cut to Kummritz. Then we made our way into Luckau, then Lubbenau. Lubbenau had many soviet era style apartment blocks – very neat but not pretty.

From here we were skirting around the Spreewald – but couldn’t really see water.

The Spreewald is a UNESCO biosphere reserve known for its traditional irrigation system, consisting of more than 200 small canals. It consists of wetlands and canals interspersed with agricultural fields. Tourism and agriculture are the main activities.

As we got closer to Berg we started to see some of the tourist activity, such as these people on a horse cart.

We also saw a group on quad bikes. A little later on we saw some storks, including a nest with young. I love the fact that the nests are on poles especially erected for them.

Nest with baby storks – on special pole

The canals are relatively narrow, good for kayaking and you can also take a ride on a gondola type tourist boat through.

Spreewald canal

There is a “harbour” for these tourist boats at Berg. There are also many health and wellness type places around Berg, including a natural warm water spa.

We just relaxed at the hotel, and drank a Weissebier on the veranda after exploring the town.