Spandau to Berlin to Liebenwalde

Longest day of the tour… I hope!

I woke just before 7, updated the diary then dressed and finished off the packing. Just before 8 checked on Tony and then started loading up the bikes. Pretty quickly we were ready and then we headed back the way we’d come into Berlin.

Tony had picked a route into town on his GPS and it went through some quite back roads, over a hill, and then joined this massive 10 lane road through Germany. I was surprised at the continuous stream of cyclists in Berlin, apparently they are doing all the right things. I noticed a pretty good looking model train shop, closed L And a pretty good looking Wine shop, closed L

There was a monument we came to and we both wondered if it was the Brandenburg gate but it didn’t go all the way across the road and wasn’t very impressive. We continued on, past another monument. And then we came to the Gate. We got some photos, I went over to the Info office for a city, closed L So we road back up this enormous boulevard and stopped at the Russian Memorial and then the Reichstag.

We then headed out of town getting onto the start of the route and we stopped at a small store and had a snack, as we hadn’t had breakfast. Feeling much better off we went. The route is reasonably clearly marked but getting fully out of Berlin would have taken quite a while if we hadn’t had Tony’s GPS. The only thing I notice is that Tony spends ages with the thing.

The route is very scenic once you get a bit further out (although we could have been close to a town for all we knew). We went down little lanes, over canals, there were swans, bridges, nice gardens, picturesque houses, all very nice. We eventually stopped for lunch at a former town hall. I had a burger and Tony had a huge slab of schnitzel, how on earth will he ride with that? Lubricated by 2 half litre beers of course J After we’d paid they brought out little berry and cream tasting glasses. Tony didn’t want his. Delicious!

Then it was back on the bike, up a steep hill to start with which was a bit of a slog. I was really starting to flag but thought we should get 70Ks in (which would be 82 considering the ride into Berlin). Eventually, eventually, we reached a hotel. It is a spa hotel with a pool, massages etc. It’s really looks rather run down from the outside but the location is very peaceful. I imagine it was quite pish in East Germany in the 50’s/60’s. And there was no way I was riding any further!

They only had one room, with a double bed, but two mattresses, so Tony said he’d sleep on the mattress on the floor. We put our bikes in the bike barn, dropped everything in the room, showered and then went to an outdoor area and Tony had a beer while I had a 750 ml sparkling mineral water. We sat for a couple of hours then went inside for dinner.

The restaurant area is modest although it does have nice linen table clothes. They offer a buffet or a la carte. I checked out the buffet. Nope. I had a nice penne with pork(?!) and mushrooms and Tony had 3 medallions pork. I was soooo hungry I forgot to photograph dinner! Oh, and yes I had a G&T.

After dinner we sat outside while Tony finished his third beer and I uploaded all of the photos on to the laptop and did today’s diary. Then back to the room for some TV and reading before bed. Out like a light at 10’ish.