Stage VI: Ueckermünde - Trzebież [42 km]
Marking of the trail: good in the Anklam-Warsin section, common course with the Oder-Neiße-Radweg (D-12) trail, signs of the Stettiner Haff-Rundweg appear sporadically. From Warsin, take the Oder-Neiße-Radweg south, then leave the trail in Rieth and head to the border. The trail is marked from the border in Rieth to the exit to Nowe Warpno.
Ueckermünde is a beautiful town at the mouth of the Wkra River. You will be tempted to sit on a charming market square with a fisherman's statue and a nearby pigs’ statue, which, although looking happy, are intended for slaughter. The most photographed place, however, is a giant red bench where an adult looks like a dwarf. To see it you have to turn into Hospitalstrasse.
The town is proud to have the Pomeranian Dukes' Castle, one of the few on the German side. Today there is a museum of the Lagoon there. Right next to it, on the bank of the Wkra river, there is a moored cog - a replica of a medieval ship on which Hanseatic merchants sailed. The vessel was launched in 2011 and its shape was based on the model of the Ebersdorf cog from 1450, the altar image from the Rostock Museum and the remains of a medieval ship found in 1962. You can board it on a three-hour cruise around the bay.
There is a zoo near Ueckermünde, where you will see lions, wolves, or macaques. An attraction for children is the possibility of stroking, for example, dwarf goats, sheep, alpacas, ponies, or llamas, which does not happen in every Polish zoo. Here you can also feed the animals, and the food is sold from vending machines.
Cycling paths, local roads and short sandy sections take us to the border with Poland. It would be a sin not to make a short detour to Nowe Warpno - one of the westernmost cities in Poland, picturesquely situated on a peninsula. The turn to the bicycle path to the town is several dozen meters after the turn for cars. Nowe Warpno was not seriously damaged during the war, so you can admire the 15th-century old town with half-timbered houses. What's more, 15 minutes is enough to cross by boat to Altwarp in Germany on the opposite shore.
In the season, the ferry connection from Nowe Warpno to Altwarp runs from Wednesday to Sunday from 10.30 / 13.00 / 17.45. From Altwarp to Nowe Warpno - from 10.00 / 11.45 / 14.15 / 16.30. You can transport bicycles, although you will not save a lot of kilometers that way.
Cycling towards Szczecin, we can see a church with a half-timbered structure in Warnołęka from 1727, although photos from the lavender field "Lavender retreat" in Brzózki would probably get more likes in social media. Cycling along the road No. 114 we will reach Trzebież.
Alternatively, you can cycle from Miroszewo or Warnołęka to Brzózki on the road made of concrete slabs on the flood embankments and with a view of the Lagoon. However, it must be taken into account that the road is in bad technical condition. It may also be quite overgrown in summer.