2023 Spreewald by bicycle

After our paddling in Spreewald in July this summer I was determined to visit this adventurous area again. This time I took my bicycle with me on the train from Berlin to Lübbenau on a warm and sunny day in late September. I spent the day on my bike exploring the town Lübbenau, the lovely village Lehde and the guesthouse Wotschofska deep into the woods of Spreewald. Although a Wednesday there were lots of tourists taking a boat ride with a Spreewaldkahn, the traditional punting boat in this region, as well as lots of hikers and bikers on the trials along the canals in the wood.

Spreewald is a biosphere reserve and forest located in Brandenburg, southeast of Berlin, Germany. The river Spree runs through this area and Spreewald, meaning “Spree Forest” in English, is famous for its winding canals, traditional Sorbian villages, and spa resorts. It’s one of the best day trips from Berlin for anyone who loves nature and wants a taste of traditional Germany. I went there by train from Charlottenburg train station in Berlin, and traveled the 100 km in about one hour 20 minutes. I paid 25 Euro for a day card by train and 6 Euro for my bike. Arriving Lübbenau train station you`ll have to cross the rails in an underground tunnel and will immediately notice the beautiful wall paintings in the tunnel leading up to the main station building and street. The bicycle ride to the center of the town takes only 5-6 minutes and I first ended up at the well in front of the church. In the Spreewald there are many legends and mythical figures. In Lübbenau, the sculptor Volker Michael Roth, an artist from Rathenow, has brought some of them to life. He made sculptures in steel, which stand on top of a relief as fountain figures in the church square in Lübbenau. Integrated panels bear the names of the figures from which water splashes. Here we meet the Serpent King, the Tree King, the Shape of the Whisk and Lutki – little people who are well-disposed towards humans. Another small Lutk with a pumpkins sit on the edge of the fountain in front of the Spreewald Museum at Topfmarkt. Sankt-Nikolai-Kirche is a protestant church in Lübbenau, Germany. It was built in the 18th century. In July this year my girlfriend and I rented a 2-person kayak and paddled the canals in Spreewald for a whole day. I definitely wanted to come back an explore more of this region. So this late September Wednesday with lovely blue sky and 25 degrees centigrade was perfect for a visit with my bicycle. What makes Spreewald special is over 200 canals traversing more than 267 kilometers, which you can navigate by traditional punting boat called Spreewaldkahn, a kayak, or canoe. Of the 1575 km of rivers in the Spreewald, 267 km are navigable. Due to the unruly nature of the water, the first dams were built at the beginning of the 20th century to regulate the water level and prevent crop failures. To this day, they allow largely unhindered boat trips in the Spreewald. There are also lot of small paths along the canals where you can hike or ride a bicycle. If you want pure relaxation, you can book a Spreewald boat tour in a traditional Spreewaldkahn. A Spreewaldkahn is a punting boat, where the navigator pushes the boat along by pressing wooden paddle against the bottom of the canal. You can book tours that takes from 2 hours up to 4-5 hours. Since the canals in Spreewald are quite shallow, this makes it easy to get around using punting boats. The Spreewald barge is designed as a flat gliding punting boat with a maximum length of 9.50 meters and a maximum width of 1.90 meters. The bow is wider than the stern. This results in the possibility of driving from the river "into the meadow". The lifespan of a barge is about 15 years. The ferryman provides up to 26 guests on board with interesting facts about people, nature and the peculiarities of the area during the trip. The main towns in Spreewald include Lübbenau, Burg and Vetschau and the villages of Lehde and Leipe . If you’re starting from Lübbenau, as I did, you’ll ultimately want to make your way to Lehde. Lehde is a small village with just 130 residents, and one of the oldest and most beautiful in Spreewald. You’ll notice that many houses you pass also have a small boathouse with a traditional Spreewald boat docked nearby. I went to the entrance of the freeland museum in Lehde where this lady wearing traditional Sorbian clothes told me what was to see in the museum. The Sorbs, a Slavic people have been here in this region for more than 1400 years. They have their own language, Sorbian, as you may have noticed on the welcoming signpost at the train station. Sorbian is responsible for the name “Berlin” which comes from the word for “swamp” in Slavic. In Spreewald, the famous village of Lehde gives a unique insight into traditional Sorbian life and culture. The museum contains five original farmsteads from all over the Spreewald region. Inside you can practice milking, run in wooden shoes or build a real Spreewald log cabin. You can learn everything about the Spreewald cucumber and the spicy horseradish. The open-air museum is an entire village within a village. It is located in the middle of the idyllic Spreewald village of Lehde with its many islands. The Spreewald village of Lehde, with its typical Spreewald farmsteads and labyrinthine waterways, is unique in the Spreewald. Here you can still find real village life, only on the water and you also find numerous providers of accommodation. The neighbour, who usually lives above the water, can be reached most quickly by the Spreewald wooden barge. In Lehde, for example, there are usually several barges in front of each homestead and instead of a garage, everyone has an "alley" for boat parking in front of their house. Most of the Spreewald farms in Lehde can only be reached by water or on foot over the stepped bridges. Whether it’s shopping for daily needs, which first has to be loaded from the car or bicycle into the barge and then driven home by water, your holiday luggage or even the delivery of a new kitchen or all building materials, everything is transported by barge. Even the school children, who cross by barge and then cycle to school in Lübbenau. The Spreewald barge is far from being a museum piece and is still the main means of transport in daily life. Well, I also wanted to go to a guesthouse and restaurant in the middle of the forest called Wotschofska. I had to cycle a bit back from Lehde to get into the woods and find a path along the canals that led me to Wotschofska. There is a flash in front Yes, then I must not go so fast The hike from Lübbenau in the Spreewald, to Wotschofska island is 3.2 km long and was established in 1911 as the first hiking trail in the region. The route is also pleasant in summer, as the trees of the high forest provide shade. Boat or canoe trips to Wotschofska are also recommended. The tours start, for example, in Lehde or Lübbenau. Yes, the last stepped bridge Wotschofska" is located in the middle of the Spreewald and can only be reached via a water or hiking trail or by bike. The inn was opened in 1894 and has since been a popular destination for hikers and water hikers. Guests can enjoy regional cuisine in the beer garden directly on the Spreewald rivercanal or in the rustically furnished "Jäger- oder Fischerstube". For business and family celebrations, there is also a large hall with space for 300 people.