The best hikes from bus stations around Schaplowsee

Brick church, probably from the 15th century. Two-bay nave and chancel. Tower from 1895/1896. Burnt out in 1945 and rebuilt in 1949-1951.

The wooden bridge is partly rotten and partly has holes. You should really push your bike or ride carefully.

https://koellnitz.de

The Storkow region is home to rare salt marshes, among the largest of their kind in Europe. You can discover this unique natural phenomenon on the Salt Trail. From the eight-meter-high observation tower in the Marschallwiesen, you'll have a sweeping view of the landscape – ideal for observing cranes and many other bird species in their natural habitat.

Here you'll find a lovely restaurant, a farm shop, and exciting events are occasionally offered. My recommendation is the freshly made sandwiches from the farm shop. They're quickly prepared in front of your eyes and are delicious. If the weather's nice, you can enjoy them outside on the picnic benches or head down to the lake, where there are also some seating areas. You can find more information and opening hours here: https://koellnitz.de/.

Groß Schauener See is part of the Dahme-Heideseen Nature Park. It is part of a picturesque chain of lakes formed by ice-age glaciers. Today, the lake is an important nature reserve managed by the Heinz Sielmann Foundation. Here you'll find the Köllnitz Fishery (with a restaurant and farm shop) and the Sielmann Foundation (with an exhibition hall). You can get very close to the lake and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere.

There are paths that lead nowhere – and that is precisely their greatest strength. The path along the Stör Canal is one of them. A narrow line through the landscape, marked by tree roots, protected by the shade of beech trees, accompanied by water that knows no hurry here. And then there is this bench. It doesn't stand in the way, it doesn't ask questions. It waits. Set between ferns and the edge of the forest, half wood, half moss, overlooking the shimmering green water that does little more than reflect itself. A place for all those who want to be still – or already are. You hear little here – the beating of your own heart, perhaps, the rustling of a bird in the undergrowth, the quiet intake of breath from the canal, which seems as if it could also be dreaming. Those who take a seat here aren't just sitting. They become part of a scene that seeks nothing because it has everything: light, foliage, silence. And the invitation to simply stay. You should come here more often. But you only say that when you leave. While you are sitting, you don't say anything.

They say the eye finds rest when it sees expanse. Anyone who wants to explore this phrase should walk the towpath along the Storkow Canal. It's a path that doesn't impose itself – and that's precisely why it stays. The canal flows through the countryside like a tranquil thought, flanked by birch trees that bear a light glow even in winter. Here, between Philadelphia and Kummersdorf, Brandenburg stretches out in its most beautiful simplicity. The sky hangs so low that it kisses the water. And on the water, perhaps a boat passes by, slow as a thought that has nowhere to go. It smells of grass, of old wood, of yesterday and the day after tomorrow. Whoever walks here doesn't have to say much. The path tells enough. Of horses that once pulled barges. Of walkers like WanderTom, who write: "Simply wonderful" – and are right. The canal becomes a mirror. Not just for trees and clouds, but also for what within us wants to be still. You don't walk here. You let yourself be guided. By the water. By the light. And by the quiet feeling that sometimes a narrow path contains more than an entire city.