Germany is one of my favorite countries. And one of the areas of my most interest is the Mecklenburg Lake Plateau. It is home to the largest lake, canal, marsh and river network in Germany and is sometimes referred to as "the land of a thousand lakes" because it contains more than 1,000 natural lakes. This lake was formed about 12,000 years ago from the glacial meltwater valleys and sandar of the last ice age. The area around the Mecklenburg Lake District is partly hilly but mostly flat, sparsely populated and mainly covered by forests, lakes and marshes. They are a natural habitat for numerous plants and animals, including endangered species. So there are several nature parks and well-known lakes with unique flora and fauna, such as the Müritz, the biggest German lake lying entirely within Germany and recognized by UNESCO as the World Natural Heritage, the Plauer See, the Fleesensee, the Tollensesee, the Schamler Luzin and the Kölpinsee.
To reach this area, we can easily travel from Berlin or Hamburg by train, car or bus within a few hours. Although the road and train networks are very good, I think the best way to explore this area is by boat. However, I was not lucky to experience this kind of transportation.
Mecklenburg Lake District is an excellent destination for those who enjoy the tranquility of nature or water-sports activities due to its several swimming beaches along the lake shores. Besides, we can also visit the palaces, museums, charming historic lakeside towns as well as enjoy local specialties. And the specialty I like most in this area is smoked fish. And the best place to go for that is at a small shop in Insel Camping in Plau am See.
We have been unable to visit many lakes in the area, even the National Park Müritz, but we had some interesting experiences and memories here.
Lake Neukloster
What impresses me about this lake was that along the lake was a forest.
In the forest they made a trail for pedestrians or cyclists. And along the way there were a few beautiful houses of the locals.
And also in this forest, it was my first experience of sleeping in the forest. We set up a tent on a dry yellow leaf bed in an empty space. That night I had a hard time sleeping because I was scared. The insects whistled around and scuffed under the yellow leaves. However, I finally fell asleep. But only a moment later I was awakened by a loud roar. I was scared to death because I thought it was the roar of a bear. But Gautier calmed me down that it was the roar of a moose looking for a partner. Although assured, but I was still scared because the roars were very scary. Fortunately, the animal just roared for a moment and then got away so I could sleep a while before morning came.
Lake Herthasee
This lake was quite small. Its surface area is only about 0.202km2, located in Jasmund National Park and the famous limestone cliffs. Here, we camped together with three nice German fellows.
And also here was where I could not catch a fish but big mussels.
Just throw the fishing rod down and you can get a mussel without struggling. Although the mussels were very fat and big but not tasty because they were freshwater mussels. But I think if I had had some Vietnamese holy seafood dipping sauce, they would have tasted as good as marine mussels.
Lake Plau am See
In addition to enjoying the best smoked fish in the world here, I also experienced for the first time camping in a nude camping. Nude is a cultural feature of Eastern Germany so do not be surprised when you encounter a naked camping or resort or park when you visit this area!
Lake Canower
This was a very small lake so it had a very small beach, only about 6m long and 15m wide. We had the beach and a beautiful sunset for ourselves.
At the time we visited Mecklenburg, although this area was so interesting, quite many people didn’t know about this area, even the native Germans. But I've read lately that more and more tourists are getting to know this area and it is becoming a tourist destination that attracts more tourists. So why do not you come to visit before there are too many visitors ?!
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