Dinner (goose – ’tis the season, after all) organised by Brandenburgische Sommerkonzerte was what brought my attention to this getaway in the countryside, and the fact that they also have accommodation, so booked a room for three nights.
Easily reached by first a regional train to Fürstenberg and then a bus, with a lot of nature on the doorstep, and a birdwatcher’s paradise.
On a twelve-km walk in a loop around Barsdorfer Haussee, I saw many birds, and Merlin heard and identified practically all the species that remain in this part of the country at this time of year, at least for now. Unfortunately, it was dark and misty and attempts at bird photography were unsuccessful. A couple of the best (but still bad) photos to follow.
The next morning it was bit brighter, and I went out just in time to, first hear, then see two cranes landing for a pitstop before taking off again to continue their amazing journey south. A goosebump moment.
On the Sunday, they had a small, indoor Christmas market, among other things with lots of homemade delicacies. I met up with Lisa K. and her walking group. I have recommended Lisa and her walks – “Berlin Walks” in previous posts, but will happily do it again here. Lisa organises walks pretty much every Sunday of the year and has been doing so for about 12 years (I think). She expertly maps out walks of between nine and 15 km, approximately, timed to end with a meal (optional) in a local restaurant before returning to Berlin. On Advent Sundays, each walk ends in a local Christmas market, which is how they dropped in to this one at Boltenhof where I happened to be staying for the weekend. Lisa’s walks are kind of multinational and -lingual and in at least two languages (English and German). You can ask to be placed on her mailing list here.
I thoroughly enjoyed the entire stay – “just what the doctor ordered” as they say.
