Nine times Oder and Europe in the heart: Cycle tour through the Oderbruch to Poland

Start and finish: Wriezen train station 
Length: 51 km, duration: approx. 3 - 3.5 hrs.
Arrival and departure: RE4 from Berlin Hbf. to Ebers-walde, then RB60 to Wriezen. 

Your highlights:

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  Free: feel the vastness on dikes, railroad embankments and lookout points and overcome former borders by bike
• 
  Nature: watch thousands of geese during migratory bird season 
• 
  Colonists: visit pretty villages that were repopulated when the Oderbruch was drained.
• 
  Well taken care of: stop in cozy little gems

From Wriezen along the old railroad embankment towards the Oder River 

Your round trip starts in Wriezen. Right at the beginning you cross the Wriezener and then the Güstebieser Alte Oder. It goes dead straight on the Oderbruchbahn-Radweg through beautiful scenery along the former railroad line. An old tobacco barn reminds us of the forgotten tradition of tobacco cultivation in the Oderbruch. In beautiful excursion weather, it hums everywhere, birds chirp and daringly cross the path in front of you, and at the end of the first section, the Oder River awaits with its imposing view into the distance. 

The most beautiful border crossing: the Europe Bridge

Where trains used to cross the Oder, you can now cross the great river by bike. The German-Polish bridge symbolizes growing together and overcoming borders in Europe. Many photos and explanations about the history of the bridge are installed and numerous possibilities for a break invite you to listen to the frog and heron concert at the impressive Oder floodplain. While you easily cross into Poland on the imposing, almost 900m-long structure, the Oder flows leisurely but surely underneath you. On a spectacular viewing platform, you can get an excellent overview of the landscape.

In the Protected Landscape Park along the Polish slopes of the Odra River. 

We continue on the Zielona Odra cycle path (ZiO). The cycle path runs along a country road with little traffic. Along the Oder slopes, which border the Oderbruch on the Polish side, there are great views of the Oder floodplain every now and then. At Stare Łysogórki the water of the small Słubia flows parallel to the course of the Oder. In this area of the Cedyński Protected Area, you'll look out over a former inland delta that looks really wild with cut-off marshes and floodplain forests. There, even willows are still cut for basketry. If you are lucky, you can observe silver and gray herons, the mighty white-tailed eagle and numerous other water birds. 

The small regional museum houses, among other things, a collection of bicycles from the war and post-war period. A large military cemetery commemorates the contested area. Before you cross the Słubia River, a small restaurant invites you to take a break. Tip: be sure to make the short detour at the memorial wall to a former bunker stand. From the top of the hill, a magnificent view awaits you: the big river, the view of the Oder-Spree lake district - time to take a deep breath!

Small ferry with a big name 

In Gozdowice, too, a small regional museum displays memorabilia from the war. Now the fourth crossing of the Oder is already waiting for you. Driven by two paddle wheels, the small ferry "Bez Granic" - "without borders" - crosses the great river every hour from April to October. 

Viadrus will welcome you on the other side. The river god of the Oder has his eyes turned towards the mouth of the Oder and the Baltic Sea. From the small hill on which the sculpture stands, you have a beautiful view over the dike foreland. The locals also like to come here to simply check on the water level or to watch the leisurely flowing water.

In the bird sanctuary "Mittlere Oderniederung"

Across the Güstebieser Alte Oder you cycle through the wide landscape. Relaxed sheep graze along the high-water dike, which is covered with flower-rich fresh meadows. In spring and late summer, with a little luck, you will be able to make spectacular migratory bird observations: thousands of gray and bean geese then dominate the meadows and the airspace. 

You leave the short section on the Oder-Neisse cycle path in Zollbrücke. In 1755, in the course of the Oder regulation, a wooden bridge was built over the Oder, where customs were charged for passing. This is no longer required today, so treat yourself to a culinary break. How about a refreshing ice cream made from goat's milk? 

End of the tour in the colonist village and along the Old Oder River

In the oldest colonist village Neulietzegöricke you can still see what the villages of the Oderbruch once looked like. A signposted village tour tells about the life of the new settlers in their many half-timbered houses, who came to the Oderbruch in the course of the drainage. In the Kolonisten-Kaffee (colonists' coffee shop) you will find homemade cake, pumpkin soup or onion tart, if you like.

The last kilometers you follow the Oderbruchbahnradweg again. At Karlshof and Altwriezen, you will cross the Alte Oder once again and continue on the dike along the old riverbed to the stage finale in Wriezen. 

Refreshment tips: 

• On the Polish side, Edyta and Ryszard's Healthy Foodtruck with homemade bigos awaits hungry cyclists at the Europabrücke bridge during the summer months.
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  Stare Łysogórki: B&B also with coffee & cake & snacks.
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  Zollbrücke: Restaurant Dammmeisterei Zollbrücke with idyllic garden, Zollbrücke goat farm.
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  Neulietzegöricke: Colonist coffee shop
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  Wriezen: Pizza at the Ristorante "Juani

Extra tour tip: 

• Check ferry times online beforehand.
• In Neulietzegöricke take a circular walk "across the field from village to village" (approx. 1h). On the way between Neulietzegöricke and Altwustrow you can learn about the special features of the natural area and the two heritage villages on 10 information boards.