That is a customised start:Imperial weather! By mid-morning, the thermometer is already showing signs of midsummer, the tentative veils in the sky are not worth mentioning and the waves are just lapping softly on the shore. The merry month of May! There's already a lot going on outside, sailors with their masts down are chugging up the Havel, those who already have their sails up and no"Slipstream"on the other hand, needs a lot of patience - or a paddle.
A dashingBaking deck throws waves and ploughs past like a mahogany dream. The mood on board is good - not only the brightly polished fittings gleam in the sun, but also theChampagne bucket on the table in the cockpit. We cast off in a relaxed manner, turn in the pit lane and head out onto the Potsdam Havel, which is as wide as a lake here.
Then we join the weekend traffic on the water, heading south towards the sun.
At least for a few kilometres. After that, we will head north for the rest of the charter week, but on theThe appeal of the route But that shouldn't change anything - because the route not only includes many highlights, but also plenty of variety: From Werder, we will follow the Havel upstream, past Potsdam's palaces and through Berlin's green west, on to Oranienburg, along the edge of the Uckermark and finally across the Mecklenburg Kleinseenplatte to Mirow. Our boat: a brand new Jetten 38 AC fromYacht charter Werder. The deck layout looks like this: Driving aft, sunbathing forward!
Past Werder
The island of the town of Werder, the historic centre of the former fishing settlement, passes by on the starboard side. Excursionists are out and about on the shore, and further back, the pointed spire of the Heilig-Geist-Kirche church rises up out of the green treetops.Theodor FontaneThe undisputed local poet of the Mark Brandenburg is said to have once described this Werder landmark as a "small town cathedral" - whether mockingly or flatteringly remains to be seen.
When it came to the "fruits" of the city, however, the poet became downright rapturous: "Blue Havel, yellow sand / Black hat and brown hand / Hearts fresh and air healthy / And cherries like a girl's mouth."
As soon as Werder lies astern, the next church looms up, this time on the port side. The striking green, yellow and brown patterned roof there belongs to the village church of Geltow, and ahead is already theBaumgarten bridgeover which the Bundesstraße 1 continues to Potsdam.
On the right in front of it, on a row of poles, theWaterway police posted: A patrol boat serves as a floating viewing platform for the officers, and anyone who doesn't follow the rules is allowed to come alongside the blue hull of "WSP 1" immediately. Like the orange wakeboard bowrider in front of us, whose skipper was probably a bit too much forthe "perfect wave" has done. Only the swans seem to be interested in us, however, and so we dive into the shadows under the bridge unmolested.
Just below the north bank of theSchwielowsee our Jetten follows the fairway to Caputher Gemünde and on to Templiner See, which is divided about halfway up by the railway embankment of the Berlin outer ring road. TheDouble-track route was relocated in the 1950s in order to "bypass" the territory of West Berlin by rail.
Potsdam's panorama
As soon as the narrow passage near the western bank is passed, however, Potsdam lies ahead: a magnificent Prussian domed building and a polished GDR plateau now characterise the panorama together as opposing extremes, an urban expression of complicated history, withErrors and confusion also on the banks of the Havel.
But at the latest when theHermannswerder peninsula lies abeam to starboard and the river narrows, you should turn your attention back to the nautical side of things: firstly, because the Potsdam marina opposite offers a good opportunity for guest moorings ( www.yachthafen-potsdam.de ), on the other hand, because the journey behind the northern end of the hammer-shaped peninsula opposite the Havel Bay is a"exciting twist" takes: It is essential to keep to the red side of the buoy line, heading south-east, before the fairway swings back to the north-east. If you take a shortcut to the north here, you can quickly end up on dry land.
Of course, we want to take a closer look at Potsdam, so we are all the more pleased when a guest berth becomes available on the jetty at the marina on Tiefen See just two kilometres further on. We pay 1.80 euros per metre, plus another 1.50 euros per person. Shower tokens cost 1 euro, the electricity flat rate depends on the size of the boat ( www.marina-am-tiefen-see.de ). The small harbour is ideal for going ashore in the old town, and if you don't like walking, you can hire a bike.
To the Dutch Quarter
In search of acool sip we first head to the nearby Dutch Quarter. Begun under Frederick William I in 1831, the new neighbourhood was intended to attract enterprising craftsmen from the Netherlands to Prussia - with a perfect copy of their homeland. The swamp was drained, tree trunks rammed in and a foundation poured. On top of this, aChessboard of streets and houses, 134 in total, complete with eaves and stepped gables, as in Utrecht or Amsterdam.
His son Frederick II, soon to become "Old Fritz" himself, completed the neighbourhood. Only the new residents made themselves somewhat scarce, and in the end many Prussian civil servants moved in.
Nevertheless, there are still big celebrations in April: the Tulip Festival, what else? We first treat ourselves to a drink in the rustic "Hohle Birne" in Mittelstraße.real Potsdam beer in a glass. This comes from close by on the other bank of the Havel from Forsthaus Templin, a small organic brewery. If there had been such fine brewing back then, perhaps more Vissers and Van Dijks would be living in Potsdam today.
World heritage on all shores
But of course the cultural programme in the Brandenburg state capital is far from over; even withoutSanssouci Palace and its gardens could fill several harbour days in Potsdam. Dozens of other representative buildings, which were intended to reflect the splendour and glory of the emerging kingdom of Prussia, are now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site: from the baroque Neues Palais, which later - in colonial times - even housed the"Top of Kilimanjaro" to the Belvedere on the Pfingstberg, for whose elegant collonades Prussia's court architects looked to Italy.
The deep lake opens up to the north onto the - especially at weekends -probably the busiest waterway crossing In front of the bright facades of Babelsberg Palace, which rises up on the steep southern bank in the park of the same name, the Griebnitzsee branches off here, leading on to the Teltow Canal. To the north, the famousGlienicke Bridge its steel supporting structure over the narrow section between Potsdam and Berlin. This is followed by the Jungefernsee, from where you can turn westwards to the Sacrow-Paretzer Canal or follow the Havel chain of lakes onwards to Spandau - our route.
The bridge of the agents
But first the Glienicke Bridge, which not only separates the two neighbouring towns, but was also used during theCold War was also a very special interface between the blocs. Until 1986, captured agents were exchanged here three times, totalling 40 people, including the American spy pilot Gary Powers, who was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960. It was only last year thatUS director Steven Spielberg a film about the "Bridge of Spies" in the cinemas.
For the filming, the bridge had to be transported back to the time of German division for a few days. For this purpose, it was equipped with checkpoints, state emblems and GDR lanterns and - as an irony of history - was of course completely closed again.
If you want to cross the "Agents' Bridge" yourself, you can do so at thepublic marina moor on the Potsdam side. However, the swell from the many pleasure boats, water taxis and excursion boats makes it very choppy here.
So onwards to the north-east, pastGlienicke Castle and across the Jungfernsee with the free-standing Heilandskirche church on the green north bank. Forest now encloses the river on both sides, and a stretch of lake begins in front of us, which leads up to Tegel and is the only lake on the route until the turnaround.Water sports area of the West Berliners was. A small leisure world of its own, with fixed boundaries, but all the more beautiful for that.
Lots of history at Wannsee
Major clubs with a long history are based here. Their banners - often in theColours of the empire - The harbour is adorned with racing rowers, cabin cruisers, dinghy cruisers and yachts. Many of them anchor in the lanken, the shadyBays of the Havel lakes.
The term, like so many in the region, comes from the Slavic language and actually refers to a marshy or wet lowland on the shore.
The Pfaueninsel is passed, with its peculiar, two-towered pleasure palace, and then the tiny Kälberwerder, privately owned by a rowing club, before the"Bathtub of the Berliners" opens - the Großer Wannsee with its lido and one kilometre long sandy beach on the eastern shore.
"Pack your swimming trunks, take your little sister, and then get out to Wannsee", sang the young Conny Froeboess in 1951, just eight years old.
The cheerful hit made the popular excursion destination and the girl with the Berlin snout famous throughout the country. Her father had actually written it for the Schöneberg Boys' Choir, but it was rejected - perhaps precisely because of the innocent "swimming trunks".
After one lap, we leave the Großer Wannsee heading north. It's important to keep clear of the shallows in the south-west of Schwanenwerder, which reach right into the centre of the water. The green fairway buoy at this point is aptly nicknamed "mother-in-law" - if you cut it, you'll run aground...
In the shade of the Grunewald forest
The wooded ridges of the Grunewald forest rise up on the starboard side, with theGrunewald Tower with a popular viewing platform. This part of the Havel, the Große Breite, is a popular regatta area, but even without a race there is a lot going on here today. Lasers, folkboats and skerry cruisers are taking advantage of the now somewhat livelier breeze to make their way between the banks. In between, theWhite Fleetupstream and downstream.
At its northern end, the chain of lakes splits again into the Stößensee to the east and the Scharfe Lanke to the west. A little to the south, theMarina Lanke Guest berths and service ( www.marina-lanke.de ), the boat refuelling station Berlin Super and Diesel ( www.bootstankstelle-berlin.de In between, the Havel continues northwards, now strictly canalised, into the district of Spandau.
After three kilometres, the Spree flows in on the starboard side. At this point, the Untere-Havel waterway, which we have been following since Jungfernsee, merges into the Havel-Oder waterway, and at HOW-km 0.5 theSpandau lock waiting for us. We register by phone and go alongside at the waiting area.
We first have to wait for a Polish pushed convoy to pass through the valley, but it takes less than twenty minutes for the "Bizon" and its lighter - shrouded in a greasy cloud of exhaust fumes - to push out of the open gate.
We lock together with a barge, other pleasure craft and paddlers, who first open their umbrellas in the blazing sun in the chamber. Relaxed, we make our way up and on to theLake Spandau.
Shortly afterwards we are moored to the still new floating docks of theOld town harbour Spandaudirectly on the promenade, in a prime location and with good supply options. The overnight stay costs 1.50 euros per metre of boat, plus a flat rate of 2.50 euros per person for electricity, water and sanitary facilities ( www.altstadthafen-spandau.de ). At the harbour: the upmarket but very good fish restaurant "Raymons" ( www.raymons.de ).
The Spandau Citadel
It's a 30-minute walk to the semi-hidden Spandau Citadel, whose water-enclosed,star-shaped bastions half hidden behind trees at the southern end of the lake ( www.zitadelle-spandau.de ). The mighty fortress, which is almost 500 years old, housed the imperial war treasure until 1919.1000 boxes full of gold coins were kept behind metre-thick walls and a three-tonne armoured door in the Juliusturm.
The treasure is long gone, but the door is still there. You pass it when you cross the impressiveWooden spiral staircase inside the tower up to its crenellated platform. The view is magnificent. We follow the course of the Havel further north with our eyes inDirection Tegel. Tomorrow we will take this route on our own keel.
ThePalaces of Potsdam are behind us and also theGardens of Berlin. And with them the Sunday atmosphere on the water, white sails and bow waves - and the midsummer sunshine that has done the merry month of May all honour in the past few days. If we hadn't forgotten our swimming trunks at home, we would have unpacked them at Wannsee!
Now we continue north under a grey sky, past the islands of Lake Tegel, before we meet the crossing car ferry at theBottleneck near Tegelort give way. The river then takes another breath. Its two banks, with their small jetties and arbours, are up to 400 metres apart before it merges imperceptibly into the Nieder-Neuendorfer See, which now stretches as far as Oranienburg.the only wide expanse of water will remain.
Further north
Shortly before the northern end of the lake (the narrow, buoyed fairway runs along the western shore), theHavel Canal to the west: Over a distance of almost 35 kilometres, it makes a wide loop around West Berlin (probably the main reason for its construction) until it returns to the Lower Havel far downstream near Ketzin.
After a construction period of just thirteen months, it was completed in 1952, withRubble from the then still heavily bombed-out capital and already earmarked for expansion. However, it remained the only major waterway project in the GDR to be realised. The Havel Canal is largely reviled by pleasure boaters.
Who would trade the tantalising lanken between Reinickendorf and Babelsberg for his monotonous,with the ruler through the landscape just to save nine kilometres? You'd have to be in a real hurry. Hennigsdorf now passes by on the left, with the huge halls of the electric steelworks.
Between smoking chimneys, a crane claw courageously reaches into the interior of a barge lying alongside and unearths a ball of scrap metal, which shortly afterwards lands with a great clatter on one of the rusty mountains on the pier.
But as quickly as we change the waterway map, the loading bridges disappear behind the next bend in the river and theIndustrial noise faded away.
A good hour morethrough the green (in which, at kilometre 18.4 LU of the Havel-Oder waterway, there is also the pleasant harbour of the Havelbaude marina: www.marina-havelbaude.de ) and at HOW-km 25 we turn left onto theOranienburg Havel which takes us to our first destination for the day.
Its water depth is actually given as 1.4 metres, but the weed at the bottom is already so thick that ourEcho sounder The speedometer displays 0.0 several times, flashing wildly. At kilometre 1.7, it actually becomes very flat before the eastern bank at the small jetty of WSC Möwe. It is better to keep close to the bulwark on the other side here.
From the House of Orange
We want to go a little further anyway, because now it's gettingstately - and almost metropolitan. Passing under the bridge, into the now neatly bordered canal, the baroque façade of the "Oranienburg" - as it was christened - comes into view on the left.Brandenburg's ruler Friedrich Wilhelm built the palace in honour of his Dutch wife Luise Henriette.
The darkcurly beauty The omnipresent chronicler of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, Theodor Fontane, recounts that the Queen of Brandenburg from the House of Orange, whose influence on the political decisions of the Great Elector is also said to have been immense, felt reminded of the landscape of her homeland during a hunting trip in 1650.
Even the still relatively new palace harbour, where we moor soon afterwards, is in some ways a legacy of Luise Henriette. After all, it was she who first took care of the design of the palace gardens.
Without the green spaces, vegetable patches and "grotto" (a small garden house), it would probably never have developed into the park that became the venue for a state garden show in 2009 (a fitting title:"Dream landscapes of an electress") - and the harbour was only built for this major event.
Although its location divides opinion (oneConcrete basinjust laid out so that you can see almost nothing of the park or castle), but with a nice harbour master and at least quick access to the formerExhibition grounds (Admission: €2.50/adults, €1/children (7-17 years, information also via the castle harbour: www.oranienburg-erleben.de ).
The next morning we follow the Havel-Oder waterway further through theLehnitzseewhich ends as quickly as it began. Ahead of us, an older, small, but all the more colourful in its paintwork, a motorised goods vessel is pushing comfortably towards the Oder, which is still a long way off. Together we pass through the Lehnitz lock, and only after another dozen kilometres do we part ways as we turn north into the Malzer Canal, which connects the Havel-Oder with the Oder.Upper Havel waterway connects.
Green Brandenburg
Liebenwalde is the name of the second lock of the day, now with a much smaller chamber and self-service. The OHW begins in the town itself, or more precisely: the Voss Canal, which follows the wild course of the Schnellen Havel at some distance and in a somewhatcalmer paths follows. If you would like to spend the night here, you can stay at Marina Liebenwalde ( www.marina-liebenwalde.de ).
The historic river, which has been made navigable againLong rummagewhich runs eastwards from here to the Oder-Havel Canal and merges into the Finow Canal behind it, has not yet been opened. However, after some delay, it should finally be ready in 2016...
We can't know it at this point, but the next 12 kilometres or so from the third lock at Bischofswerder to Zehdenick are going to be a long one.the most atmospheric on this second part of the journey: The sun shines warmly through the still young foliage of the trees, and the water lies before us like a mirror without a breath, while the stern water only murmurs softly. Yesterday the bustling city, todaygreen idyll - A journey that really has everything in store.
The oldSchifferstadt Zehdenick welcomes us with its bascule bridge. At the waiting point on the west bank in front of it, we request the automatic opening, and soon afterwards the barriers for the cars close with a rattling bell. Conveniently, the following lock is also connected, and we are in the headwaters sooner than we had hoped - luckily, because the sky is now closing in like adark curtain and a cold wind springs up.
Around the corner to the right, we are waved onto a free jetty at the Little Marina. Not a minute too soon, because the first heavy drops are already falling. It takes a while before the low sun breaks through again in a golden colour and gives us theSundowner on the aft deck of our Jetten.
We enjoy it, because by now we know the weather forecast for the remaining two days: lots of wind and constant rain. But even that can't really upset us - after all, we've been on thisHavel cruise have already experienced more than enough.
