Would love to visit this city one day!!!
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We will be spending a week in Spreewald at the end of September, I can't wait.
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In all my years in Berlin I did not make it to the Spreewald. (Well, during some of those it was still East Germany and hard to get to from the west) . After this article it is now on my firm excursion list on my next visit.
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@msf
Actually it was not hard to go from West Berlin to the Spreewald in the DDR for those with a foreign passport, but not allowed West Berliner, unless that got themselves a West German passport by declaring residency.
And yes, if you are ever back in Berlin, do go to the Spreewald without having to go through Checkpoint Charlie.
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Ach Du Lieber !
Berlin is always a special place - unique.
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Linseed oil dribbled on potatoes? Eeek! My dad was a painter and he used linseed oil to mix his paints. It smelled so awful I couldn't imagine ever eating it. I'd just ask for some good German butter.
Linseed oil spoils very quickly. Fresh oil is delicious. Older oil can only be used for, well, maybe oil painting?
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"Many of these areas can be reached by train or bus — so that, for Germany’s urban, carless residents, public transit facilitates easy and affordable access to nearby nature."
This is no coincidence but a crucial planning principle for all recent so-called "premium hiking trails" all over the country.
All stages of Rheinsteig, Rheinburgenweg, Natursteig Sieg, Lahnwanderweg, Rotweinwanderweg and the lower part of Moselsteig for example were planned between railway stations as end points.
The purpose is clear: No car traffic to and from the places and higher passenger numbers on off-peak weekends.
It works! Slowly but steadily.
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Unlike Berlin, I see no graffiti nor piles of cigarette butts on those cobbles. Love Germany, but until they get their smoking regulations up to other E.U. standards, I must pass on a return visit.
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Here a word from a Berliner.
Don't go on weekends. Especially if the weather is nice, because it has the same effect of riding the U-bahn at rush-hour.
Do indulge in the Spreewälder Gurken -- but be wary of the Leinsamen (linseed) oil which is often poured over Quark and eaten with potatoes -- it's an acquired taste.
While most folks in Berlin speak English, it might be a little sporadic once you leave the immediate metro area.
Anyway, it's always nice to say Danke.
Have fun and Gute Reise!
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Completely charming article. Thank you. As my father was from Berlin and a great appreciator of the outdoors, he instilled these bucolic aspects into my life here at an early age. Forever grateful to learn about navigating the various species of nature and small journeys in my punt on a country lake back east that could be paddled about and set to sail on a windy day.
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