Tour West trifft Ostdeutschland

Check in: 1:30 PM – Drop off your luggage and cross the canal via the bridge. There, you will find  ‘Autostadt’: the home of Volkswagen. You can explore the museum on your own, and later there will be a 45 min. guided tour through the park.

4 PM - You are welcomed on board, and we will show you your room, offer a welcome drink and introduce the crew. Also we’ll inform you about the tour and the ship, and give you a safety briefing. After your meal, there will be time to take an after-dinner walk through the city of Wolfsburg in the evening, where we will stay overnight.

We will start with a sailing breakfast to Calvörde: a quiet docking place, and the perfect start for your first bike tour. The tour today will take you to Magdeburg, where Merlijn awaits. Our berth is on the Midland Canal & Elbe waterway junction, and in the evening, there will be an after-dinner walk to the old ship lift and the new ‘Rothensee’ lock. Make sure you get plenty of rest because there will be a visit to the city the following day!

After breakfast, you will ride your bike to the city of Magdeburg, which is the capital of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. The city of Magdeburg is well known for its important historical heritage and the royal palace of Emperor Otto I, the first Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, crowned in 962. Enjoy this city in our modern time, and visit some of the various attractions on offer:

• Green Citadel, we can organize a guided tour for the group.
• Magdeburg Cathedral, the first cathedral designed and built in the Gothic architectural style on German soil, and one of the largest churches in Germany.
• Old Market square with the Golden Rider Statue, a gilded bronze copy of the first free-standing equestrian statue north of the Alps, which can be found right in the heart of the city centre. It was created in the year 1240 and presumably portrays Emperor Otto I.
• Old City Hall, the Hundertwasser Haus and many more places of interest.

After lunch, the bike tour will head for Burg. Before you leave Magdeburg itself, admire the famous Magdeburg Water Bridge, where the ships on the Elbe-Havel Canal cross the Elbe on a navigable aqueduct. Upon arrival at Burg, you will board Merlijn, where you will be served dinner, before we sail on to Genthin, where we’ll stay overnight.

For the real culture lovers, we suggest leaving your bike on board and spending the entire day in Magdeburg.   We can help you arrange transfers to the city and back to Merlijn in Burg or Genthin.

After breakfast, your bike tour will start. Genthin’s governing mayor calls his town “The Pearl along the Canal“, a nice, friendly, and quiet town with a small historical centre. Today you will take your bicycle through two different German federal states: Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg. Just to the north of Genthin, you will find a part of the Romanesque cultural route Transromanica, which runs through Germany, Italy, Austria and Slovenia. In 2007, Transromanica was proclaimed ‘Major Cultural Route of the Council of Europe’.

On your way to Brandenburg, you will bike along the “Tour Brandenburg“ cycle path, which will lead you along the western side of the Havel Lake Plateau. Here, the Merlijn will take the northern route from the Elbe-Havel Canal along the lower Havel Waterway and the Silo Canal up to the Havel. Your bicycle tour will take you through endless forests with numerous “green” views. In the evening, you can enjoy a stroll through the city of Brandenburg, the cradle of the March region, where we will stay overnight.

We start off by spending a little more time discovering the city of Brandenburg. The main highlights of Brandenburg are:

• Nicolai Church, one of the oldest brick built churches
• Peter & Paul Cathedral
• Steintorturm: this defence tower is 32.5 metres in height, and is the only defence tower in Brandenburg open to the public.
• And the most important building of the city: the old Town Hall, which is an outstanding example of late Gothic brick architecture from the mid-15th

After this visit, we will start our biking tour towards Werder. We will cross the Havel on a ferry, travel along spacious lowlands and small “Märkische” villages (villages in the typical March style with timber-framed buildings, just like Theodor Fontane described in his ‘Wanderungen” (Hikes) books). Shortly after the picturesque fishing village of Ketzin, we will approach Paretz, where Queen Louise enjoyed her summer resort, both in the local castle and Paretz Park.

We continue our trip to the insular city of Werder, the city of blossoming trees, which marks the end of today’s bike tour. From here, we cruise on together towards Potsdam.

Potsdam, the capital of the Brandenburg province, is without doubt one of the most beautiful cities of Germany. For this reason, we have scheduled an extra day and night in this city, and offer you the following options:

• You can spend the day on your own or with the group
• Culture lovers can visit this historic city all day
• Water sports on one of the many lakes around Potsdam is also a good option
• Or you can ride your bike around its lakes

Potsdam’s culture: The best-known attraction is Sanssouci Castle (its name means ‘without concerns’). In addition to this former summer residence of Frederick the Great, with its famous Sanssouci Park (entrance included), there are many other interesting attractions that are certainly worth a visit, such as the historical city quarters, the Russian colony Alexandrowka, the Dutch Quarter, and the former Bohemian Weaver Quarters, exuding the atmosphere of a city heavily influenced by Europe.

In addition to its abundant culture, you’ll also discover the regional cuisine in one of Potsdam’s many restaurants.

Today we will follow the European Cycling Track over the Glienicker Bridge, along the Havel River up to Spandau. Spandau is one of the twelve boroughs (Bezirk) of Berlin. It is the fifth and western-most borough, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers, and along the western bank of the Havel. In the evening there will be a farewell dinner, after which there will be time for a nice city stroll through the streets of Spandau.

After breakfast it is time to say goodbye and continue your European trip or leave for the airport.