The best cycling routes around Fichtenhöhe

Spectacular view of the drift ice of the Oder (15.02.2026) (provided there is another longer period of frost with pronounced ice drift!)!

A very nice section of the trail.

From the bridge, Eisenhüttenstadt looks like a painting: a backdrop of red-tiled roofs, a quiet church, and pastel-colored rows of houses nestled along the shore like traces of past summers. Below, a pleasure steamer cruises along, leisurely like an old gentleman on a Sunday stroll. Its paddle wheel puffs, its bow plows through the water, as if time were a flexible concept. The Oder-Spree Canal glitters in the light, as if trying to reflect the sky—and a little of itself. To the right, the Brandenburg meadows; to the left, the tidy melancholy of a city that has experienced much and made little of it. You can see the chimney of the steelworks, but it's not smoking. Perhaps it, too, has the day off. Anyone traveling here quickly realizes: This is no postcard idyll. This is the real East. With history at its core and a future in doubt. And that's precisely what makes it beautiful – in a quiet, unpretentious way. Looking back here isn't a step backward, but a quiet forward. The wind does the rest. And if you're lucky, a heron will greet you from the shore at the end – like a guardian of a time that doesn't intrude, but remains.

There are moments when you're not quite sure whether you're cycling through Brandenburg or have wandered into a Baroque painting. The Neuzelle monastery complex is one of those moments. Suddenly, it appears – as if parked by mistake, in the middle of the landscape, as if someone had made a mistake sorting through the world heritage sites. The view from the Oder Cycle Path is famous – and rightly so. You roll along, lush green beneath your tires, and then – a mirage of sandstone, plaster, and Baroque boldness. The towers pierce the sky, which, depending on the time of day, hangs dramatically smoothed or dramatically gathered. The facade glows – not garishly, but rather with a warm self-confidence, as if it knew its effect but had no desire to make a fuss. If you stop – and you should – you'll quickly realize: It's not just a building. It's a counterpoint to Brandenburg's reserve. Neuzelle is the exclamation at the end of a sentence of Brandenburg's sobriety. In summer, it smells of meadows. In autumn, of fallen leaves. In winter, perhaps of silence. And in spring, of departure. The paths are well-maintained, the view unobstructed – ideal for a break with a view or a few contemplative minutes standing still. Those who continue on take something with them. Not just a photo, but that rare feeling that something wasn't quite right – and that's precisely why it was perfect.

Anyone pedaling along this dike path isn't just leaving a place—they're changing their pace. Because here, where the Oder winds through the flat land like a silent thought, cycling begins to flow. No pushing, no shouting, no "Beware of oncoming traffic"—just you, the wind, the river, and maybe a few sheep looking curiously but saying nothing. On the German side, the border post; on the Polish side, the same blue sky. The Oder-Neisse Cycle Path isn't a path for those in a hurry. Those who cycle along it shouldn't consider the chirping of larks a distraction, but an invitation. The border? Visible—yes. But it acts like a silent contract with the landscape: You're allowed through here. But only if you listen. If you see. If you feel what a gift it is—this peace between two countries that were once hostile to each other and can now remain silent together. Past Oder floodplains, vast wetlands, small villages with bell towers and vegetable gardens, the path leads through a no-man's-land full of stories. Sometimes flat like water in a calm, sometimes slightly hilly when the dam rises. Sometimes the wind pushes, sometimes it slows – but that doesn't matter. Because the path carries you. If you cycle here, you should keep an eye not only on the speedometer, but also on the grass, which moves in the light as if it were secretly dancing. And perhaps at some point you'll realize: The real border doesn't run between states, but between "I must" and "I may." And on this dyke, you're allowed to just be.

It's a nice little place... but not the Oder...😄🙃

A very pleasant path away from cars

The name, like the street name, comes from the Slavic fishing settlement of Kietz, which was located south of the town. In the 16th century, the gate was merely a small gateway. Through it, one entered the town from the settlement over a narrow bridge over the Warta River. Above this Kietz Gate was the office of the Wall Master in the Gatekeeper's House.