What to do in Rathenow

Situated less than one hour away from Berlin - with the ODEG line there is a train every hour, the two-way ticket costs 17 EUR - Rathenow is famous for the optical industry an the special red bricks, made from the clay of the river Havel. Maybe during the winter, it doesn't say too much to the visitor, but during the summer months, it has for sure a hidden natural potential. Here are my discoveries, done part of my first trip out of Berlin in 2017.

Just in the front of the red bricked train station, there is the big Druckerplatz, where the classical colonnades are bordered by two feather like glass columns. It is the local respect paid by Rathenow to the one who put this locality on the German map of industry, Johann Heinrich August Drucker, theology graduate, who created the German optic industry.  

From the train station, we took the Friedrich Ebert Ring, passing near the Soviet Cemetery, a reminder that Rathenow used to be once part of the communist part of Germany. Hence, the predominant architecture of the place is old communist blocks of houses, with some stylish architectural presences, mostly abandoned, like the pinkish one in the picture - situated at the corner of Berlinerstraße. Pity, as in its glorious times, this one might have been look like a little urban castle. 

One of the few spare time activities people here can do - particularly in the winter - is to attend some of the musical events hosted at the Musikbrauerei. It offers cocktails, dancing evenings or the opportunity to watch main sport events together. Could be something when you are looking for some company.

At Platz der Freiheit, the local court - Landsrat - is hosted in a very impressive red bricked building, with religious architecture influence, but also urban elegance. 

Close from it, there is another center of local activities: the cultural center - Kulturzentrum - where besides the theatre, there is also a museum presenting the local optical history and achievements - Optikmuseum. Near by, the City Center offers the best of shopping as well as some local coffee houses. Other shopping opportunities can be found along Berlinerstraße.

After 10 minutes of walking, you find yourself near the Havel, which during this time of the year looks grey and unattractive. But once the spring is set, the natural setting on the shores offers a pleasant company for biking. 

The old city wall - Stadtmauer - is a remainder of the old history of the city. Well preserved it is surrounded by nature too. Close from the wall, there is the Haveltorkino, an American looking movie theatre offering...not surprisingly, an American dinner venue. On the same side of the road, there is the optical center, to be visited only if you are really a potential customer. For the visitors, there is only the aforementioned Optikmuseum. All over the city, small billboards with various optical illusions are displayed, awakening the interest of the visitor for knowing and discovering more.

Going on the different shores of Havel, there are different snapshots of the city, many of them displaying a mixture of new communist architecture and old red bricked buildings. I suppose when everything is green, the entire concrete apparitions are looking friendlier. 

The spectacular metal bridges connecting the two shores of the Havel are part of the Naturradweg road, a natural biking route. As for now, there were only kids enjoying the adventures of riding alone from a part to another. On the other side of the bridge - Am Altenhafen - , there is a small historical area, with a church and a monument dedicated to the famous German politician Otto von Bismarck from the end of the 19th century, who started his prodigious career in the modest Rathenow. 

For some diversity, a statuary group of people about to throw a bottle in the Havel, brings you back to the humorous present. Not sure if this statue has to do with some local habits, but it's funny anyway. Better not ask more sometimes.

More classical and interesting is a couple of meters away, the baroque monument in the memory of Friedrich Wilhelm the Great. Back to the train station, we tried to discover other hidden treasures of the city. For instance, the Stadtgalerie Karl Martens Kunstverein, featuring local works of art. If you are hungry for some snacks, I've spotted two bakeries serving traditional local Hörnchen - the German version of croissants - sandwiches and pastry: Meister Möhring and Bäcker Lohse, on Mittelstrasse. 

Our trip started on a grey winter note, but less than one hour away from our departure, the sun shined in Fontane Park, a natural destination where you can walk, enjoy the beautiful nature or ride your bike. As our trip to Rathenow ended in an optimistic note, as I am sure I will soon return for a long nature walk. Who knows, maybe I will finally start biking myself this year and this place look like a good beginning for a different journey. It looks so quiet and tourism-free that you may want to visit it more often.

For more inspiration about what to do in Rathenow, check my dedicated Pinterest board: https://de.pinterest.com/ilanaontheroad/rathenow-brandenburg-germany/

Exploring Ostkreuz

As I often travel around Berlin, it happens to pass very often near Ostkreuz Berlin neighbourhood by train speed, but I never dedicated enough time to explore it properly. The many colourful walls or the glittering sea that you can see from the train were tempting enough to make me spend one full day walking its streets and taking as many pictures as possible of the most interesting corners. But before doing this, I had to find my way through the relatively complicated maze of the Ostkreuz train station...

Once out under the late autumn sunny sky, I made the tour of the big park on Matkowskystrasse, discretely observing the ping-pong competition enfolding, trying not to disturb the youngsters laying on the pavement with their bottles and loud music on the side. Open air party? Anyone is invited today.

To keep the spirit up, the colourful walls bring life to the many dilapidated entrances. It is weekend and people hurried up out of the house, enjoying the rich food opportunities lined on Lenbachstrasse, from icecream parlors to small restaurants or the home-made food from Zebrano Velicious.  

If you raise your eyes, you can see some interesting decorations on the highest buildings, and if you are looking for some cultural entertainment, there is even a theatre Vebereck. Tourists discover the area together with the locals, using the relatively cheap accommodation available here. As the area is connected through S-Bahn to the main city attractions, you don't necessarily need to pay for a central location. You can use the money for more interesting things, like trying the foodie attractions on Neue Bahnhofstrasse: from a falafel kiosk to a Vietnamese pho or vegan cakes, you can have a tour of the world in a couple of dishes. Burger Ring offers even a hummus burger, if you are interested in some fusions.

Keeping in mind all these destinations for later in the day, I continue my wandering around Ostkreuz, and in my effort to make connections between different areas, I am crossing the Boxhagenerstrasse, the fancy Friedrichshain avenue not only for food, but also for alternative stores and fashion. After all, I am not completely new in the area, it seems. For now, I am walking direction Lichtenberg, crossing the bridge over the train station lines where, as usual in Berlin, intensive work is going on for repairing or extending the train lines. The beautiful sky compensates the view of the ugly construction site, but I am trying to go as soon as possible on the other side of the huge bridge crossing a, as for now, no-man's land. 

Ten minutes later, there is a different landscape waiting at the other end of the bridge. First, you have a lot of green and clear waters, as I am landing now in the Rummelsberg part of Berlin. Second, there is a new born view of Berlin, that you can often encounter when visiting former communist areas: the new Berlin architecture, of black and white buildings with Perspex balconies, rows of identical squared buildings. 

You can still find remnants of another era, like a former swimming complex abandoned now, or a party boat, but the landscape is changing little by little into a very modern, and I suppose expensive too, residential area.

If you are bold enough, you can rent a kayak for your own tour around the lake to observe closer the new realities. As for me, I am using my time for touring the park, together with the other families with children, with or without bikes, that choose to spend their weekend outdoors. The Rummelsburgersee is a beautiful and calming background, and you can feel the new vibes everywhere. Ostkreuz, as many other places in Berlin, will change a lot in the next 2-3 years.

I continue to notice the messages of new beginnings for this area, further on on Hauptstrasse, a street crossed by fast yellow trams. The other neighbour close by is Köpenick, which I visited several times since moving here and which I've found interesting for the mixture of old culture and picturesque nature. Once on Nöldnerstrasse, one feels back in time, a couple of decades back our current 2016, in the middle of old buildings, embellished only by creative street art.

One of the building I've seen often from the windows of the train, and was always intriguing for my inner architect lover, is situated at the end of Nöldnerstrasse. A social building, created by the optical illusions of the covering panels. Viewed from the train speed the effect is more spectacular, but even from closer it creates an interesting perspective, although the choice of colours is not necessarily my favourite.

Besides the feeling of new and change that you can feel in the air, Karlhorstrasse breath differently, with its laced-like decorations of the facades. The impression continues on Turmschmidtstrasse, where you can also see some Art Nouveau designed signposts. The bookstore Paul+Paula looks like a cozy place to spend some time during the winter, followed or before some snacks at Brot und Küchen (Bread and cakes) on Pfarrstrasse. 

There is another reason why I decided to cover extensively the Ostkreuz neighbourhood today: its special kind of street art I've read about and spotted during my train rides too. There are no specific directions helping you to find it, and after a lot of walking during which I was almost sure that I might skip this part of the program, I was lucky enough to discover one of most colourful streets of the city. 

The attractive and creative art - half-way between dream and utopia -, as elaborated as any piece of art you can find in a museum, is colouring the ugly walls and weed-invaded streets of Tasdorferstrasse, Wiesenweg or Wartenbergstrasse. Most streets are either abandoned or hosting car repair stores, not a good idea to visit it at night, but if you want to see the spectacular street art, you should visit only by day. 

In some cases, the art is so elaborated, that I wish I can keep in my mind as many features of the style as possible, for being able to recognize him - or her - later on. I can resonate with the irony and the magnifying glass through which some of the contemporary realities are perceived.

The day was pretty exhausting, with many different things to see and discover, and a lot of non-stop walking and search for the best photographic angle. For my well-deserved lunch, I have a stop at the newly open Harapeco on Neue Bahnhofstrasse for some Japanese original food - forget the sushi, please, this is for first-time tourists! I am happy to test their noodle okonomiyaki, a specialty originally from the Hiroshima area, a savory pancake grilled, with various ingredients you can choose yourself and soaked in a special sauce. In Japanese, okonomi means how you like it, and yaki - grill. In a free interpretation, a grill of your favourite ingredients. The prices are middle, but they really deserve it: it tastes delish, and the sauce gives a particular taste that you can hardly identify with anything else you had before. The matcha latte accompanying my meal was also well done, with the special taste of green tea maintained despite the milk addition, which is not always the case in the local variants of this beloved drink.

When time has come to leave Ostkreuz, ready for a new adventure finding my line at the train station, I am happy that I made it through this area, step-by-step, just in time before tremendous urban changes are about to take place in the area. I wish I can make a tour in the next years, but I hope at least some of the foodie places will remain unchanged or at least, will get even better. 

Why to take a trip in Spreewald

I have visited intensively Spreewald area a couple of years ago, when I spent a lot of time discovering short destinations from Berlin but attracted by so many other beautiful natural and cultural destination didn't return since. This year, while searching for easy travels where the baby can enjoy the nature and the fresh air, this region made it back on my priority list. The last week, I decided to come back, and a blue cloud with cotton candy clouds welcomed us. My train stop was Lübben, where I was ready to see some new attractions or see the old ones with completely new eyes.

Near the train station, a dam construction is exhibited, announcing what you can experience if you try to get to know Lübben better.

In a way, nothing changed since I was the last time, and the more I was advancing into my trip, my memory of directions returned, being able to make it through without too much difficulties. For the first time traveler, there are many arrows and directions, that lead your path behind the train station. You may find that there is even a Western style saloon! In order to arrive to the central area, you have to cross a big park, with water channels, bridges and statues commemorating WWI heroes. 

The vegetation is quite wild and less than 10 minutes upon arrival, you feel like entering a small forest with all its secret wonders - minus wild animals, as far as I know. Expect to meet many bikers, as the area is a favourite destination for 2-wheel travelers, especially from Berlin. Friends acquainted with the biking here told me that it is a relatively easy ride of around 30 km., in the middle of a beautiful natural environment. One more reason to start from here my biking adventures in the near future. 

This yellow house hosting a photography studio was a memory from my first trip too, and was glad to see it unchanged. It seems that people here still trust the good guidance of a family photographer for recording their memories, instead of using the nowadays smart tools.

While I was crossing the park, was thinking that a trip here can be a nice Romantic encounter, and this statue confirmed my feelings.

Lübben and Spreewald area in general is famous for its vegetables, especially cucumbers, and autumn brings the harvest season and some opportunities to celebrate. The first of October, for instance, during the evening, a night of pumpkins lights was held and all over the city, pumpkins carved in different postures were lying at the entrance to houses. 

Am Markt is where you can find bakeries - some open also during the usual days of rest and holidays - such as Dreißig open since 1911, where you can find some fresh snacks and sandwiches and coffee, exactly as you need for continuing your biking. The architecture of the square has some special traits, and you can see less of the usual communist standard constructions - that are otherwise everywhere.

Lübben, as well as many localities in Spreewald area until Cottbus, are also famous for being the home of the West Slavic ethnic minority of the Sorbs, whose language is the only officially recognized minority language. Nowadays counting around 150,000 people, they have specific traditions and their own religious identity, as well as beautiful costumes, particularly for women, with white embroideries and generous lace layers. The names of localities are written in Sorbian language, like Lubin, for Lübben, for instance.

Despite the communist efforts towards uniformity - the Soviet troops were a daily presence here after the end of WWII -, buildings from different times were preserved. For instance, the Estate, on Gerichstrasse. Between 1717 and 1722, it used to be the meeting place of the Assembly of the Estates - the aristocracy members - of Lower Lusetia - the administrative region Lübben was part of at the time. 

This ivy-covered house, close to the castle island is another example of aristocracy mansion. It used to be a gardner house, a summer residence, and nowadays it hosts a cozy restaurant serving, as many others in the area, mostly fish meals matched with potatoes and pickles. 

The next destination for the day is the park around the castle, with its channels and gardens with stairs leading to the boats parked in the front. 

The main stop, the pickles' counter, where you can taste the various local productions before buying at least one small plastic bucket as a tasty memory. I am not a big fan of such snacks, but I know that if you are a meat lover, you can match them very well with different kinds of schnitzel or sauces. The most sought are prepared with different spices, or garlic or honey mustard. 

The food is a temptation, but I rather think to spend my time in a more sporty way. For the courageous and swimmers, you can rent a canoe for exploring Spreewald in a completely different way, as much as you want and by choosing your own itinerary.

Otherwise, you can take your seat in a gondola and take a 2-hour tour which includes some tasting of special liquors made of different fruits and herbs, also a specialty in the region, bundles in a hand made basket on a hand made white crocked tablecloth. The tour costs 12 EUR for adult, and 6 for children under 6. 

We have a gondoliere, which leads the boat through the channels, stop at the many dams, maintained by locals trying to get some extra money - small pickles plastic buckets are attached for tips. The gondola is full, many of the visitors being locals. The gondoliere is giving some technical explanations once in a while, but I prefer to focus more on the natural beauty this time. The vegetation is covering the view beyond the shores and you feel like swimming out of time. A time capsule leading you through the quiet waters. 

Half-way, we make a long stop for some pickles tasting and food shopping. Besides the gondola tours, there are also local fish tours where you can discover the local fishing history. With the fish season open between 1st of October and 11th of November, you can also try your hand to fish your own dinner.

The advantage of the gondola tour is that you can spend a good amount of time breathing deep the fresh air of the Spreewald. The shores are generously adorned by vegetation and big trees and sometimes is so quiet that you can only hear the ducks making their way through the waters. 

Once the gondola tour is over, I continue with a walk in the park surrounding the castle, another massive area of green where it is up to you how you want to explore: either by foot or by bike, laying your picnic basket and resting to finish your weekend book. As long as the sun is shining, you can enjoy the good nature feeling in many possible ways.

The park has a big area dedicated to children, where they can experience walking barefoot in the mud or the sound of different materials and instruments. It look like a huge open air experimental laboratory where you can enjoy discovering the world around even if you are beyond the average age of the participants. 

The last sight of the trip is the newly renovated castle, built in 1150 and that changed many hands through centuries, among which the House of Hapsburg. Nowadays it hosts a restaurant with nice outdoors view over the water channels, small bridges and the park.
Although I am not sure I am curious to check Lübben in the winter season, as long as you can stay outside and explore the nature, it is worth a visit, by bike or just using your two feet. A full day of nature exploration is a good opportunity to clear your mind and think about your next steps in life.

Why Calau is a very successful example of travel branding

If you are looking for a long list of places to see and for entertainment, food experiences and cultural enchantment, Calau is for sure not your place to spend an adventurous day. But if you are curious to discover a destination that is trying its best to attract tourists and to learn some lessons in travel branding, this is where you should go. The train from Berlin takes around 1h30, and starts the ride every hour from Lichtenberg - or Ostkreuz. The first observation: from the train station till the city, you should walk around 30 minutes (the distance is of 2 km.)- or more if you are a bit slow. The joke goes that the reason was because the founders of the city 'wanted you directly from the train tracks'. 

This is one of the many jokes part of the city's living histories. The way to the city center is not very spectacular, with some green patches, a city swimming pool, some industrial stores and many typical, but only 4-storey Plattenbauten, the classical staple of communist architecture.

The small central area where we finally arrived when I was almost sure that we are on the wrong track looks clean, silent and invaded in all its corners by black metal dwarfs caught in different activities: reading, stumbling or just making grimaces to the visitors. There are the famous Kalauers, a kind of local jolly jokers ready to make your spirit low or high, depending on your sense of humour. A humouristic publication dedicated to such jokes used to be published here. At the local bookstore, small books with jokes are on the front row. You can use this visit as an opportunity to improve your sense of humour, why not?

The Cottbuser street is the main street, where you can find some of the big stores - many looking like the Berlin Wall was not destroyed more than a quarter of century ago. It starts with the Hotel zum Post, apparently the only posh destination with a local gourmet restaurants, and it continues with various other convenience locations. At the Tourist Information Center, you can not only obtain some maps and other information about directions, but you can also register for some guided tours - in German. Among others, there is a Old Timers bus tour - there is a very impressive collection of vintage cars - or a tour of the main churches. You can also visit the tower of one of the churches from where you can have some vistas of the area.

In the central square - the Markt - the city hall looks like a small castle, with an Italian restaurant welcoming the visitors near the entrance. Near the Markt, there are many icecream parlours or other small bakeries - like Bubner  - where you can stop for a cake or a coffee or both. 

But the visual unexpected surprises, not included in any guided tours that usually make my travel day. On a side street from the Market, a huge wall painting of a tree looks almost real from the distance. It is aimed to cover an otherwise ugly looking exterior elevator and it does it in a very artistic way. All my due respects to the artists and to the local authorities that understood the transforming power of the street art.

The old city area is covering a small area on the back streets of the Markt. The buildings were preserved in their historical originality and are hosting various museums sharing stories about Calau and its personalities. For instance, I've learned about Carl Anwandter, a former mayor and local politician who participated at the 1848 revolution and after moved to Chile where he encouraged the German immigration. 

There is one of the last days of the summer, and on the streets near the city exit huge tracks are hurrying up to go to the land for some latest agricultural works. If you are in the mood for some hiking, you can easily do it in the middle of the yellowish fields.

On old cobblestone streets, the jolly joker is surprising the visitor, just to be sure that you are not falling asleep or start thinking that Calau is too dull. 

Buildings bearing the architectural traces of the 18th and 19th century, create areas where you feel more like a traveler from Berlin, but a courageous time traveler.

Old Medieval walls destroyed by time, rains or wars were integrated into the local landscape, bringing some Romantic feeling into the busy industrial life. It makes you curious to find out more about the life that used to be once behind those walls. On the same street, there are also some small art workshops of local artists, a demonstration that Calau is more than jokes and ruins. 

On the (long) way back to the train station, I had enough time to consider once again my travel lessons in Calau. I cannot say it was the greatest trip of the year or even of the week, but in a couple of hours, I've learn something new about a place in Germany, that welcomed me with some nice surprises and a lot of jokes. Only for those small achievements and it is worth a little travel try.