Dense primeval forest and sparse moors covered this land when the Obotrites arrived from the east more than a thousand years ago to settle between the Elbe and Oder rivers. Long before that, the glaciers of the Ice Age had not only left behind sandy ridges and marshy lowlands, but also formed countless lakes with their meltwater.
However, one of these bodies of water was incomparably larger than all the others in the neighbourhood: even on clear days, the shore on the other side was just a dark line and storms could whip up such waves that the boats were left on dry land. It was no longer a lake, but a small sea! Morize in Slavic - Müritz.
But even if the fishermen can still sing a song about their moods today, the beautiful days make up for all the capricious weather. After all, where else in Germany can you steer straight ahead for a good hour without bumping into anything? At most on Lake Constance.
And of course, the Mecklenburg Lake District is not just made up of the Müritz alone: To the west are Kölpinsee, Fleesensee and Plauer See. No locks stop the journey from Plau am See, which lies at kilometre 120 of the Müritz-Elde waterway, and Buchholz at MEW kilometre 180.
That makes sixty relaxing kilometres in one go, if you want. Even the "Swabian Sea" can't offer much more. This year, we are therefore saving ourselves the queue at the nearest marina and choosing the "Große Freiheit" for our charter summer cruise in the north-east.
We set off from Marina Eldenburg near Waren, the main base of Yachtcharter Schulz. Serena" is already waiting for us at the jetty, all in white and brand new.
We want to explore the area in the coming week with this Schulz 37 steel yacht. As thunderstorms are still forecast, we won't set off until tomorrow and will take our time shopping and fitting out after the briefing and handover.
While towers of clouds grow to icy heights in the south, we make ourselves comfortable aft in the warm, charged air. The first sherry goes overboard, of course - better safe than sorry. And lo and behold: the rolling thunder remains far away, not a drop falls on us.
The next day begins hazy, but with virtually no wind. As we cast off and turn the bow to the west, a drone appears above us. Like an oversized dragonfly, it follows us for a while along the Reeck Canal. But as we round the first bend, it loses interest in us.
The exit of the canal, which connects the Binnenmüritz near Waren with the Kölpinsee, is a good kilometre ahead of us. Between the two stone piers, we head out onto open water. The wooded banks lie in the pale haze of the morning. They are nature reserves: the Damerower Werder peninsula to the north and the Blüchersche Bruch to the south.
Anglers have already reserved the best spots, immobile silhouettes in their boats. We stick to the buoyed fairway, which keeps our distance from the closed shorelines of the nature reserves. We head towards the Göhren Canal at the western end of Lake Kölpin, which releases us after 600 metres into Lake Fleesensee, which is also home to Malchow, our first destination.
To reach the town harbour there, however, we first have to pass the only significant obstacle in the area - the new swing bridge in the town centre.
It opens on the hour from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the season. However, as we have time, we leave the fairway shortly after the canal to the north and drop our anchor in a nice spot in three metres of water to catch up on breakfast.
Wakeboarders are at the start on the water ski course in the south and from the harbour of the "SBS Yachthafenresort Fleesen" in Untergöhren ( www.sbs-fleesensee.de ) houseboats set sail. Together we set course for the "island town"Malchow.
The new swing bridge is only five years old and replaces a dilapidated predecessor at the same location. It crosses the eye of the needle between the so-called Old Town Island (to which Malchow owes its special nickname). It is not worth arriving too early before an opening, as the narrow funnel in front of the east side of the bridge quickly becomes narrow.
A signalling system indicates the status. The entrance to the town and guest harbour is just around the corner on the north bank; however, the outside of the harbour wall belongs to the excursion boats. We look for a spot on the inside of the finger jetty and take the stern to the pier. Electricity and water are within easy reach, the sanitary facilities and harbour office are located in the service building.
On the bank opposite, the neo-Gothic tower of the monastery church rises out of the trees. It houses the " Mecklenburg Organ Museum ", which also organises concerts.
This time, however, we are interested in a different piece of history: the "DDR Museum" - appropriately housed in the old "Film Palast" on Kirchenstraße, the clock turns back thirty years and more. A hodgepodge of everyday objects, from the tube TV from the VEB Fernsehgerätewerk Staßfurt to the Palace of the Republic made of Formo bricks (the GDR version of Lego) and the scratchy FDJ blouse. Honni's framed honey smile hovers above it all. Worth seeing!
We don't have far to go the next day: we head south-west across the narrow Malchow Lake and then the even narrower, reed-fringed Recken. Behind the A19 motorway bridge, theLake Petersberg.
The fairway here runs close to the southern shore; special attention must be paid to the red buoys. We are now only separated from Lake Plau by a 500 metre long passage, at the southern entrance to which is the Lenz harbour, where guests can of course also be accommodated (and there is not only a full service but also a boat filling station and a restaurant with a terrace right on the banks of the canal: www.lenzer-hafen.de ).
Even with the " Lenzer jug " opposite is where guests can moor. To cool off: the bathing beach on the shore of Lake Plau is only a few minutes' walk away. However, we have other plans for our lunch break, pass the rather low road bridge (clearance height: four metres; pay attention to the bridge level) and then head north on Lake Plau.
With a Length of 14 kilometres comes from theRanking of the largest lakes in Germany We are still in seventh place. With the wooded shore of the Plauer Werder peninsula on the port side and the buoyed-up water ski track on the starboard side, our course takes us into Wendorf Bay, where the floating jetty of the "Fischerei Alt Schwerin" marina awaits us at the north-western end.
Business is already in full swing, but we still manage to find a table on the restaurant terrace. They serve crayfish from their own farm and smoked eel with brown bread. If you have your own rod and reel, you can get the necessary equipment here. Fishing licence.
The westernmost point of our trip is now within reach: we return to the fairway and cross Lake Plau, which is a good four kilometres wide at this point (and very summery today). Dinghies with slack sails bob along, hoping for the slightest breeze. On the "Seelust", which is now approaching us, the upper deck is filled to capacity with day trippers in sunglasses.
Our destination is already recognisable: the lighthouse on the pier of Plau am See is just ahead.
This is where the Great Lakeland ends! From here, the course of the Müritz-Elde waterway follows regulated sections of river and canal to the Elbe near Dömitz, which is still 120 kilometres away. The first lock, however, is already waiting in Plau, just round the corner. Instead of entering the mouth of the Metow (which leads in its direction), we keep to the right of the lighthouse and look for a spot in the new, well-protected fishing harbour (whose jetties are primarily intended for pleasure craft).
In recent years, the colourful ensemble of a harbour village with holiday flats, service building and harbour kiosk with snack bar has been built around it - and the lighthouse, which offers a beautiful panoramic view over the lake from the lower gallery, but still deserves to be called a "real" sea mark.
The upper floor is home to theBeacon for the approach to Plau am See.
The following day, we return the same way: via Plauer See and Lenzer Kanal, past the Malchow swing bridge and on through Fleesensee. After passing the Göhren Canal to Kölpinsee, we turn out of the fairway to port, where the short passage to Jabelschen See is hidden in the thicket along the shore. However, a pair of buoys and a green-white-green sign on a birch tree to the west of the entrance help us to find it.
Carefully enter the green tunnel - for a few minutes in the Amazon!
And then out onto theLake Jabelwhich is only the smallest of the "big ones", but all the more picturesque for that. Straw-coloured reeds line the water's edge, the forest behind is dense and green. Clouds and anchormen are reflected in the quiet bays. In the marina of the holiday resort " Maribell " in the north-west of the lake we moor at finger piers and piles - it could hardly be more idyllic.
During a walk, you can stock up in the small village shop and pay a visit to the brick church. Of course, we end the evening with the view "at home" - on our aft deck.
Now all that's missing is the Müritz itself to complete our trip. After Kölpinsee, we leave our charter base on the left and follow the Reeckk Canal to Binnenmüritz. Waren is easy to recognise, the tower of St Mary's Church an unmistakable landmark. However, we follow the fairway at the "Eldenburg" buoy to the south and between the two headlands of Behrenswerder and Ecktannen out onto the open Müritz, which could not be more peaceful. A long procession of charter yachts and houseboats is on its way, a real waterway;
Holiday traffic connects the two exits of the lake to the north and south like a string of pearls.
Klink Castle passes us by, as does the wide bay of the Sietow arm of the lake. We set our sights on the next tributary, the Röbeler Binnensee and the town harbour at its end, where we spend another relaxing night on the jetty.
The destination of our last day is Waren itself. But it doesn't go that quickly: there is unexpectedly thick fog over the Müritz. It reaches as far as the Röbeler Binnensee. It takes time until the sun is strong enough and the veil lifts - the "Small sea" is always good for a surprise.
You can read this article in the September 2018 issue of BOOTE. The Booklet is available in the DK-Shop.
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