Germany Epic 4: Mecklenburgers all round

Finally, another exciting instalment of the Germany trip, almost a year after it actually happened. After Hamburg we got back on the bike and thrust Eastwards in an attempt to escape built-up areas. I recall it being a fairly straightforward, if not fantastically exciting, ride to the capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Schwerin. We arrived too early to check-in to the Ibis Budget hotel on a commerical centre on the edge of town, so literally hung around for a while until it wasn't too early enough.

Once suitably installed, we got changed and decided to walk into town. This took the best part of an hour and, through luck rather than judgement, we ended up at the very picturesque Schloss (castle) with its extensively manicured gardens. There were lots of ducks...

An orangerie-type thing (probably an orangerie)...

And presumably Jesus (he's everywhere - no picture supplied).

We then wandered into town, which was very nice. The buildings were all well kept, there was extensive access to the surrounding lakes and a road named "Arsenalstrasse." We had a late lunch next to the Pfaffenteich (a smaller lake), which included (but was not limited to) Schnitzel. Ah schnitzel, the hammered, breadcrumbed, shallow-fried, meat-based meal of the (German) Gods. After that, we wandered a bit more. We considered taking the train the majority of the way back to the hotel, but didn't. Then we considered taking a bus, but didn't. So we ended up walking back. It was alright.

The next day we rode a fairly short distance (an hour or so) to Broock, where there was a cheap (30 euro) Guesthouse/Motel thing. It was a bit clangy and jammy, but perfectly adequate. Also, despite turning up fairly early, we checked in, dumped our gear and took a little, relatively-unencumbered trip to nearby Plau am See which is on the Plauer See (a big, presumably-entirely-coincidentally-named, lake). This appeared to be the place old people go to walk short distances and eat seafood and/or ice cream. There were a lot of cute buildings and a fair few boats. That was about it. Again we wandered. We found some cheap food (I think there may have been a Lidl, an Aldi and a Netto all literally next to one another, although that may have been somewhere/anywhere else in Germany) and went back to the "hotel." We didn't achieve too much. We probably watched Nickelodeon as that was the only channel on German TV where we could change the language to English. Honestly, I have never before, or since, watched "The Thundermans" or "Ricky, Nicky, Dicky and Dawn," but they featured heavily on the TVs of our German hotels. However, "The Loud House" was genuinely good, albeit too-rarely scheduled.

The next day it rained heavily. Very heavily. Also wind. So we ended up mainly taking the Autobahn to Berlin, where they had closed practically every lane of the #10 motorway to clear branches off the tarmac. Lots of German drivers don't really like motorcyclists filtering through the traffic, although lots seem willing to help. If you are filtering, expect German motorcyclists to follow you, because they suddenly realise it's a great idea, especially when it's raining and there's a shed-load of unnecessary traffic caused by people driving massive cars. Here's a picture of a boat at Plau am See, next Berlin...