Obere Havel, die kleine Seenplatte, Müritz, Plauer See, Müritz-Elde.

From Fürstenberg you  may head out to the great lakes of Mecklenburg. Your first visit has to be the rococo schloss at Rheinsberg. Further West there’s Mirow with its strange wooden boathouses, the charming town of Roblin and the great Muritzsee. Heading eastward there’s Weserberg with its wooden harbour buildings, as well as Neustrelitz.

On these varied waterways and open lakes a little more care is required than on canals, but what better reward than to anchor far out in a lake and  take advantage of some of the purest water in Europe: for a swim in idyllic and unspoilt surroundings.  Pause too at one of the many fish smoke-houses to enjoy an unmissable local speciality.

Cruise suggestions Out and Back

One week
Fürstenberg, Strasen, Neutrelitz, Mirow, Buchholz, Rheinsberg
191km, 18 locks, 4h / day

Matzlow, Parchim, Lübz, Plau, Malchow, Waren
190 km, 16 locks, 4h15 per day

Ten/eleven days
Fürstenberg, Strasen, Neutrelitz, Buchholz, Rheinsberg, Templin
282 km, 24 locks, 4h30 / day

Matzlow, Schwerin, Neustadt, Grabow, Dömitz
206 km, 24 locks, 3h15 / day

Two weeks
Furstenberg, Mirow, Rechlin, Buchholz, Rheinsberg, Wesenberg, Neustrelitz, Lychen, Templin, Zehdenick
261km, 30 locks, 3h 15 / day

Matzlow, Schwerin, Neustadt, Dömitz, Parchim, Lübz, Plau, Waren
396 km, 40 locks, 4h15 / day

One week Loop from Ketzin near Berlin
Ketzin, Spandau, Charlottenburg, Berlin, Erkner, Köpenick, Wannsee, Potsdam
160km, 5 locks, 3h30 day

 Havel, Havel-Oder, Rheinsberg, Neuruppin 

The Havel, with its many lakes and tributaries, stands at the heart of the historical heart both of Prussia and of Germany.

Head for Berlin with its famous museum island; Berlin’s 18th and 19th century buildings owe their situation and the very means of their construction to the waterways, which conveyed all the wood, stone and brick that was needed for their erection. While the forests and lakes that these canals cross are not short of natural charm, the waterside towns retain many mementoes of this period of activity: tile works and factories producing the great ceramic stoves which were so typical, as at Velten.

This industrial heritage can be seen too in many museums, one of the finest and best-known in the whole country being  the Berlin Technical Museum. Equally fascinating is the Mildenberg Ecomuseum on the Havel ; but first of all, do make the sidetrip to Lychen. The River Woblitz meanders through the heart of the forest before opening out into the Grosser Lychensee: it’s one of the major highlights of the area.

Cruise suggestions 

From Furstenberg Out and Back

One week
Furstenberg, Lychen, Templin, Zehdenick, 
204km, 20 locks, 4h 30 a day

Two weeks
Furstenberg, Strasen, Neutrelitz, Buchholz, Rheinsberg, Templin, Zehdenick
360km, 32 locks, 4h a day

Three weeks
Fürstenberg, Oranienburg, Berlin, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Havelberg, Wittenberge, Schwerin, Lübz, Röbel
620 km, 43 locks, 5h / day

Now available trips to and from Ketzin near Berlin

One week one way
Ketzin, Potsdam, Berlin, Hennigsdorf, Oranienburg, Zehdenick, Regow, Fürstenberg
340km, 20 locks, 3h45 per day