DRIVE 7: Grand Old Prussian Avenues 85
EAT AND DRINKAROUND SCHLOSS RHEINSBERG
Schlosshotel Rheinsberg expensive
An elegant dining option featuring
an inventive regional menu with
the occasional exotic Asian touch.
Try the local speciality Zander (a perch-
like fish), served with sesame rice
and carrot.
Seestrasse 13,16831 Rheinsberg
(north of Rheinsberg); 03393 13 90 59;
http://www.schlosshotel-rheinsberg.de
Other options
For a unique local gastronomic
experience, pay a visit to Eisfabrik
(Kurt-Tucholsy-Strasse 36, 16831), an
ice cream maker with a wide range
of highly unusual yet refreshing
flavors, which include garlic,
parsley, and radish.AROUND KLOSTER CHORIN
Alte Klosterschänke moderate
This traditional restaurant, a short
walk from the monastery, uses fresh,
seasonal and local organic produce.
The excellent Klosterpfanne (cloister
pan) combines three types of pan-
fried poultry with baby carrots, corn,
and mashed potato.
Amt Chorin 9, 16230 Chorin
(south of Chorin); 03336 653 01 00;
http://www.alte-klosterschaenke-chorin.de3 Kloster Chorin
Brandenburg; 17279
Founded in 1258 by Cistercian
monks, Chorin cloister (open daily)
is studded with decorative brick-
work. One of the grandest red-brick
struc tures in Germany, its scale is
impres sive even today; it is hard to
imagine what its impact would have
been in the 12th century. Dissolved
in 1542, the monastery slowly
crumbled until the 19th century, when
its slender arches, graceful windows,
and step gables were renovated
during the Romantic movement.
The surround ing parkland beside
a pretty lake offers an idyllic walk.
ª Return via Angermünder Strasse
and just before Eberswalde, turn left
4 The Schiffshebewerk
Brandenburg; 16248
A huge iron sentinel perched amid
rolling green hills, the Schiffshebewerk
(ship hoist) has a frame work of
gigantic girders designed for lifting
boats 118 ft (36 m) between the
Oder river and the Oder-Havel
canal, two vital regional waterways.
The ship hoist cuts the process of
transferring giant barges from
several tedious hours to just 20
minu tes. On its com ple tion in
1934, it was the largest of its kind
and remains impressive, particularly
when viewed from the upper
platform (open daily), a vantage
point that provides good views.
It is also possible to be a part of
the experience by being lifted or
lowered in a boat, such as those
belonging to Fahrgastschiffahrt
Neumann (03334 244 05; http://www.
finowkanalschiffahrt.de), whose ticket
booth is in the Schiffshebewerk
parking lot information kiosk. An
adjacent visitors’ center (open daily)
details the construction of the hoist
and of a new structure that is
planned for 2012.
ª Turn left out of the parking lot,
then at the T-junction turn left briefly
on to the B167 then right following
signs to Prötzel. In Prötzel, turn left on
to the B168, then right at a round-
about to Bollersdorf. Shortly after
Bollersdorf. Then, turn right to Buckow
and then left on Schulstrasse to reach
the public parking lot.Above Sculptures adorning the garden,
Schloss Rheinsberg Below Pretty red-brick
Kloster Chorin“death camp,” around half of its
220,000 prisoners were killed.
Inside, several museums detail
the lives and fates of the prisoners
and document the horrors of
systematic executions. Take a
tour of the hall that examines
the Soviet Special Camp (1945–
50) that existed here after
World War II when the Russians
imprisoned 60,000 suspected
Nazis and killed at least 12,000
of them, although most of them
were probably innocent.
ª Turn left from the parking lot on
Strasse der Nationen and then right
on to Strasse der Einheit. Take the
B273 to Wandlitz, then turn left in the
direction of Bisenthal and continue
toward Eberswalde. In Eberswalde,
turn right on to the B167, then left
over the canal towards Angermünde.
Finally, turn left at the sign for the
cloister parking lot.
on Oderberger Strasse which
becomes Macherslust, then turn
right on to Hebewerk Strasse. Park
at parking lot beside the ship hoist.