Day's destination: Rechlin / Müritz - 20 KM
In the morning, a spider's web full of dewdrops sparkles between the jetty and the mooring line. Too bad about the work of art, but we have to cast off: We haul in the lines at around 10 a.m. and motor away from the mooring in Marina Eldenburg, our charter base near Waren. We took delivery of the boat yesterday, a brand-new 12-metre steel displacement Schulz 40, and we're excited!
The sky-blue hull of "Lotte" is hopefully a good omen; at the moment, grey is still hanging over us.
We first cross the Reeck Canal to the Binnenmüritz, extra slowly for the angler, who stands upright in his tiny wooden boat and doesn't even seem to notice us under his wide poncho, but then out onto the large, open Müritz - and a jumper and hot coffee "on the bridge". We have about 3 Beaufort from the west. That's enough for a short wave that occasionally sends spray over the foredeck.
Sitting at the front and enjoying the solitude, René tries that just once... It's nice and fresh, so we'd better close the "cake stand" completely for now.
South course. Klink Castle to starboard, "Dicker Baum" to port - a shoal. However, the first glimmer of hope (in the truest sense of the word) appears shortly after 12 noon, roughly abeam the "Müritz-Mitte" buoy: a few rays of sunshine give the wide expanse of water around us a silvery glow. In fact, the weather is set to clear up in the afternoon - it would be nice if the weather app was right at the start of our charter week!
Later: Marina Claassee, Rechlin. On the inside of jetty 2. What a change: the sun is actually shining here in the "south" of the Müritz!
So get out of your long sleeves, leave the tea in the tin and have a relaxed beer instead. Golden October, it can go on like this! Then we walk from the harbour village to the Rechlin Aviation Museum, about ten minutes away. A great collection of old technology; even water sports are represented, with motorboats such as the "Wellenbinder" made of mahogany, which were produced as "consumer goods" at the VEB Schiffswerft Rechlin shipyard in the GDR era.
Daily destination: Rheinsberg- 42 km
You really save a lot of time at the locks in the off-season! Where you might wait an hour or more in summer, now you're almost always on board as soon as you arrive. So it doesn't matter that we don't leave the harbour village of Müritz until 11.30 am. Unfortunately, the sun has changed its mind again: It hides behind impenetrable grey. However, we no longer have any wind to speak of and can leave the sides and rear wall of the canopy open during the journey.
After passing the Kleine Müritz, we head into the countryside: the Mirower Canal lies ahead of us, the first section of the Müritz-Havel Waterway.
There's no denying that autumn is just around the corner: yellow leaves glide off the trees and float on the calm, dark water. At the Mirow lock, the traffic lights have already turned green, a charter raft arrives in front of us and, completely relaxed and without any crowds, we make our way down.
The moorings on Mirower Schlossinsel are certainly particularly attractive now: the renovation of the late Baroque ensemble, surrounded by park and lake, has only just been completed. Nevertheless, we miss out on the opportunity. Never mind, because our destination for the day has its own castle: Rheinsberg.
The Mecklenburg Kleinseenplatte begins south of Mirow. Zotzensee, Vilzsee and Labussee are travelled through, lots of open water, and the locks of Diemitz and Canow in between hardly cause any delay. Past the long row of abandoned holiday homes and boathouses at the narrow section between Canowersee and Pälitzsee:
Empty balconies with stacked chairs and unswept leaves on stairs and doorsteps. Waiting for winter - and the next spring.
We turn south towards the Rheinsberg waters and leave the Wolfsbruch lock shortly before 4 pm. Now it is even more lonely, almost enchanted. Fog hangs on the shore of Lake Tietzow and a fine rain begins to fall. An hour later, we moor in the harbour village of Rheinberg, fortunately it is dry again. We take an evening stroll along the shore to Rheinsberg Castle - and then (not just to warm up!) to the rustic Ratskeller on the market square.
Day's destination: Himmelpfort - 38 km
Heavy rain pelts down on the canopy all morning. We're in no hurry and stay where we are for the time being. The heating is on and breakfast turns into a cosy brunch. It brightens up around 11 o'clock. Soon the last drops fall, leaving behind a mirror-smooth lake.
There is not a breath of wind, and we can only guess where the sun is. The rushing of our stern water is the only sound.
After this detour, we head back north to the Müritz-Havel waterway, across the Schlabornsee lake, past Zechlinerhütte and the Wolfsbruch marina, where unused charter boats lie side by side in a long row. Here, too, the season is as good as over.
On the Pälitzsee then eastwards to Strasen; instead of long queues like in summer, here too there are only empty posts in front of the lock. We share the chamber with two paddlers in waterproofs and an angler with a rattling trout outboard motor. Our "Lotte" follows the course of the narrow Ellenbogensee.
Priepert passes on the port side; from here the route continues through meadows and forest on the Upper Havel Waterway.
Ziernsee, Menowsee and Röblinsee, connected by the Steinhavel, in places almost a dark vault of trees pressing close to the shore and overhanging branches. We pass one lock on this section, the next one in Fürstenberg, which is also the last one for today. This time, however, we don't stay in the "water town" - as Fürstenberg, which is surrounded and crossed by the Havel, is called. Instead, we want to continue a few kilometres further east.
It soon turns out to be the right decision: On the reed-lined Siggelhavel, the eternal grey above us suddenly cracks, behind which a brilliant blue shines.
The sun, which is already low in the sky, takes the opportunity to bathe Lake Stolp, which now lies before us as smooth as polished glass, in a blazing glow. Truly unforgettable! In the far east of the lake, we go alongside the guest jetty of the Stolpsee boathouse. The small village is called Himmelpfort - the name couldn't be more appropriate today.
Day's destination: Neustrelitz - 42 km
Fog lies like a heavy blanket over Lake Stolpsee the next morning. Above and below are one. Visibility on the water: maybe 20 metres. So we can take our time again and take a walk to the lock (the waters of Lychen flow into the Upper Havel at Himmelpfort) and then to the ivy-covered ruins of the old monastery church, which only dimly emerge from the fog.
It didn't clear up enough for us to take off until around 11 a.m. - with our position lights switched on, of course.
There is no wind on this day either, but the sun appears more frequently and provides warming moments on the aft deck. Once again, we return the way we came, via Fürstenberg to Ellenbogensee. But after the south and the east, there is still a third detour: to the north, to Neustrelitz.
It starts at Priepert and first leads across the Wangnitzsee and the idyllic Finowhavel, through dense deciduous forest to the covered bridge at Ahrensberg.
Then on through meadows and floodplains to the Wesenberg lock and up onto the Woblitzsee. It is notorious for its short, steep waves in windy conditions, but today it is peaceful enough to allow even a paper boat to pass safely. The Havel winds its way further north-west from here, its source is not far away. However, we follow the Kammerkanal northwards.
Construction site at the Voßwinkel lock, and behind it the barges are so close that we have to crank quite a bit.
Fortunately, no oncoming traffic. This also applies to the rusty iron bridge just one kilometre further north. Clearance height: 3.40 metres, be careful with mast and canopy! Finally the Zierker See, more treacherously shallow than any other in the area. The string of pearl barrels is reflected in its smooth surface and stretches in a wide arc to the entrance of Neustrelitz town harbour, where we find a spot in the shade of the massive brick warehouses
Day's destination: Zotzensee - 43 km
Time for the circle to close. Our autumn cruise across the Mecklenburg Kleinseenplatte is coming to an end. However, we take advantage of the sunshine to take a walk through the extensive palace park in Neustrelitz, with its temples, statues and views as far as the Zierker See. Only the main thing is missing: the palace itself. A few days before the end of the war, it was completely destroyed - by arson. Only the outbuildings of the orangery and castle church have survived.
Kammerkanal, Woblitzsee and Finowhavel are ticked off, but construction work in the Wesenberg lock unexpectedly costs us time. We wait below deck in the warmth until we get the signal to enter. At Priepert, we head west again onto the Müritz-Havel waterway. We also travelled this route a few days ago.
We don't have a fixed destination today, our last day on the road: Waren is too far, maybe we can make it to Mirow, otherwise we'll just anchor.
Rain sets in. We also have to wait at Strasen lock, as a push boat from the water and shipping authority with a barge full of piles is given priority, and it's 5.30 pm before we even leave the gates of Diemitz lock behind us. We don't have much light anyway, and it soon gets really dark. We decide not to continue to Mirow and run the risk of not getting a decent berth there after all. Stress at the end? It really doesn't have to be. We choose to anchor in Zotzensee: the beautiful bay in the far north-west is ours and there are no buildings here.
So we don't disturb anyone and are not disturbed - and the next anchor light is also a good kilometre away. We drop the anchor at a depth of four metres, and when the diesel stops, silence suddenly falls.
The trip planning for the rest of the day is quickly completed: back to Waren in one go, another 36 kilometres, but only one lock. Afterwards, we make ourselves really comfortable in the saloon once again, while night is already falling outside and the contours of the shore are fading to black. How quickly that happens in autumn!
Further information:
The charter company: Yachtcharter Schulz has been in business for twenty years and is one of the largest charter companies in north-east Germany. The fleet includes boats for two to four people. One-way trips are possible between the four bases in Barth (Bodden/Baltic Sea), Neukalen (Peene), Wernsdorf (Berlin) and Waren (Müritz). Information: Yachtcharter Schulz, An der Reeck 17, 17192 Waren/M., Tel. 03991-12 14 15. www.bootsurlaub.de
The charter boat: As the name suggests, the Schulz 40 was developed by Yachtcharter Schulz on the basis of customer requests. The 12 metre long steel displacement yacht does indeed have extensive equipment (including bow and stern thruster and satellite TV) and was very spacious in the two-cabin version we sailed. Weekly prices range from 1190 to 2540 euros, depending on the season.
The precinct:The Mecklenburg Kleinseenplatte is Germany's most popular charter area, the infrastructure leaves little to be desired, and the towns all offer good supply options and a whole range of sights. The charter certificate applies, so a pleasure craft licence is not required for a holiday cruise. If you are travelling with your own boat on a trailer, you will find a slipway in almost every town. Larger boats can be craned, for example in Rechlin (Müritz harbour village), www.hafendorf-mueritz.de ) and Rheinsberg (harbour village Rheinsberg, www.boat-city.de ).
The area is suitable for beginners and navigation is largely unproblematic in clear weather. However, be careful outside the buoy line and with the clearance heights. Up-to-date nautical literature (see below) helps to avoid unpleasant surprises!
The waterways:
Müritz-Elde Waterway (MEW) Length: 180 km (Buchholz/Müritz to confluence with the Elbe), locks: 17, clearance: 4.19 m (Vipperow), draught: 1.20 m, maximum speed: 6 km/h (Dömitz to Plau), 9/25 km/h* (Plau to Buchholz)
Müritz-Havel Waterway (MHW) Length: 31.5 km (branch from the MEW to the confluence with the OHW), locks: 4, clearance: 4.00 m, draught: 1.40 m, maximum speed: 9/25 km/h*
Rheinsberg waters (RhG) Length: 13 km (branch from the MHW to Rheinsberg/Grienericksee), locks: 1, clearance height: 3.65 m (Kleinzerlang), draught: 1.40 m, maximum speed: 9/25 km/h*
Upper Havel waterway (OHW) Length: 94 km (Neustrelitz/Zierker See to the confluence with the Havel-Oder-W.), locks: 11, clearance: 3.41 m (Voßwinkel), draught: 1.40 m, maximum speed: 9/25 km/h*
* on lakes and lake-like extensions with a width of more than 250 m, the maximum speed limit is 25 km/h (outside the 100 m wide protective strip close to the shore).
The literature:
Inland Charts Atlas 2: Mecklenburg Lake District (new edition 2015). Format: A3, ring binding, 28 charts plus planning charts. With nautical area information. ISBN 978-3-944082-14-1, price: €39.90. www.kartenwerft.de
From Berlin to Müritz cruising guide. Author: Bodo Müller. hardcover, 96 pages, 61 photos, 37 plans. Nautical and tourist information. ISBN 978-3-89225-278-8, price: 29,90 €. www.delius-klasing.de
