The longer I am in Germany the worse my English is getting. I have started to translate again directly from German to English which doesn’t work. So I will keep it short, with a few photos and a video of the Mecklenburger lakes and the Havelland.

There is a lot of water sports in the river, canals and lakes and we often shared the locks with paddle boats, or canoes. The only ones which are not allowed in the locks are the paddle-boarders. They have to make their way around the locks on land, carrying their boards.

A variety of charter boats are available for a holiday on the water - really anything that floats. We found the caravans on rafts an inspired solution. Our type Linssen is also well represented in the charter business which we saw in Zehdenik. It was great to find mechanics there which knew the Linssens inside out.

Very popular for families are the houseboats- basically floating cabins. 

Cute little cabins on the shores provide waterside accommodation for people who don’t like to be rocked to sleep.

I loved all the birdlife, from cranes, grebes, cormorants, gulls and swans to sea eagles, ospreys and woodpeckers! 

Unfortunately, only a few posed for a photo. Though a family of swans came several times right up to our boat.

In the end, at Waren, I managed to catch an osprey by it’s neck. 

We so enjoyed anchoring in the lakes, going for a dip in the crystal clear waters, cruising past beautiful pine forests and carpets of searoses on the havel and learning more about this formerly lost area of Germany! 

Today we are back in Spandau and about to set off for a tour along the river Spree which flows right through the center of Berlin.

If you like, watch the video of our experience of the lakes below.